WhyOne

Two drink minimum?

Just went over Gino's IMDb... What an incredible career. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0134481/ Gonna miss you, man....

Received this sad news just a few moments ago from the Local 695 office... "It is with great sadness that I contact you to let you know that Sandy Cantamessa called today to notify us that Gene Cantamessa passed away around 2:43 p.m. Gene's family will let us know the details of his memorial services shortly. Best regards, Elizabeth Alvarez" Gino will be missed by many. He was the real deal. Jay

Worked with Ralph Jones in grad school, he went to the bay area and became John Meyer's right hand for several years. A very bright guy. What's the name of Jim T's book? J

US Customs can be a bear some times. Though I haven't been out of the country with gear for a while, I'd recommend getting the carnet. Best wishes and good luck. Jay

Yes. I strongly urge all of us to download this page as a handy reference.

Dangerous assumption! Some are sharp as tacks, and make it their business to really know everything about everything - how else can they be sure they are really saving money?

+1

James Lindsay was the first to manufacture black and white blankets for sound, back in the mid eighties. As with most of his innovations, he was copied by several large manufacturers of furny pads, and James stopped making them. His 'end to end strap' sand bags were copied by Matthews, his camera belts and accessories by a dozen competitors.... Wonder how many camera folk wearing Lindcraft pouches on their Lindcraft belts know James is a Sound Mixer?

Consensus with the Senator! In the long run, in all aspects of this business, what counts the most are the relationships that are built . Jay

I'm with Mike on this one. SMQVs at 250mW transmitting four feet to 411s attached to a 788T in the trunk. Trim the ISOs conservatively, put a slightly hotter mix on Trk. 1. Use an IFBT4, sometimes with a mag mount external antenna for the follow folk. I use this technique especially if the front or rear end of the scene has the talent getting in or out of the vehicle with dialog, and I'll carry that end from the cart. Jay

Welcome, Matthew! Are you in the IA? Jay Patterson VP 695

I have only done the above mentioned technique once. Much more often I've worked something out with the vendor, such as weekly installments (paid out of my rental fees). Most companies, if they've done some good business with you, will consider this. Jay

LMFAO!

Extreme Cold: MOW "Death on Everest - Into Thin Air" ABC 1997, on location for six weeks on the Pitzdal Glacier in Tyrol, Austrian Alps. Working between 9,500 and 14,000 feet. Daytime temps between 0°F and 20°F, nights were -10°F to -40. Three items of note: 1. The Hot-Rod Nagra. Both of my Nagras (IV-S & 4.2) had been lubed for cold by Dan Dugan in SF, but Dan and I neglected to take into consideration that both machines had been "Duganized" for years - tensions increased way above Nagra specs. Day one of shooting, first roll on the machine, at about 8°F, as I was toning up I noticed the supply reel was standing still! Closer inspection revealed that the capstan was still pulling the tape off of the reel, past the heads, and packing nicely on the take-up reel. Immediately reached for my timecode buddy (Denecke GR-1, sn: 04) and read the timebase of resolved playback..... rock solid! Apparently, the high tension and the extreme cold kept the bi-metallic brake against the supply roll. Fortunately, the 3M-986 became super-slick, allowing the capstan to pull it off the supply roll. After confirming sync and timebase, I decided not even to tell the telecine house (in England) that there were any issues. When I returned to the states, Dan was incredulous (you all know he is or was the head of the west coast Sceptics!) and insisted on testing. He froze the unit, and sure enough, below about 10°F the supply reel locked up but the capstan continued to pull off the tape...... 2. Lead Acid Batteries. Big argument/discussion with the camera department (out of Barrendov, Prague) about batteries, and these guys were pretty sharp (our loader was the guy that invented the reflex optics that Arri bought and put into the Arricam - brightest reflex system ever). They insisted on taking the spent batteries at night into a warm structure for charging. I parked all of my gear in the cold for several days before shooting, leaving the chargers hot in the cold. My batteries and charger were at below zero the entire time. In the day shooting, camera went through their batteries fairly rapidly, mine were fine. Night shooting - well, we were all happy it was Arri at 12VDC as opposed to Panavision at 24VDC, and my bricks continued to work ok at -40 powering the Arris. 2. Cables. At zero and below, cables became stiff and fragile. Stepping on a power run would break it. Sound fared much better, using Canare. Though the cables stiffened slightly, I had no issues, even at -40. Canare cable saved my cold *ss! Everything worked, all hardwired Schoeps, had a great time, ended up with a CAS award.... Jay P.

I can only speak on network episodic, which is probably at the top of TV. I know there are commercial and feature mixers who get higher rates.... Minimum episodic package: A mixer/recorder chain capable of a minimum of recording a mix track and six isos, onto a hard drive/SSD and delivery media (CF is rapidly replacing DVD in all houses). Two fishpole rigs w/ a set of interior and exterior mics and wind protection. Six channels of lavs. Transmission and two receivers for Boom and Utility. Transmission and ten receivers for clients. A small playback system for BG etc, not to be confused with a full on PT rig for lip-sync.... The capability of "going portable" and working from an insert car or process trailer. More and more, one has to have a "free driving" solution, when talent is driving with an operator in the car. AND ENOUGH BACK UP SO THAT ANYTHING THAT FAILS CAN BE REPLACED IN A FEW MINUTES. Weekly (five day) rental on this minimum package starts at about $1850/week. Disney will only pay this. Many get $2000/wk. I've been told some get as much as $2650/wk. Virtually all expendables are paid for by the production, but at this point most producers are not allowed to let them go through the mixer. Extras: Smart mixers present a list of possible additional rentals to the production at the beginning of the show, with two or three Competitive Bids from reputable rental houses, have the list pre-approved, then bill for additional rentals as used. Some studios will not allow the mixer any additional rentals - incorporated third parties only. Jay P.

I use a ChargeTek 20 amp power supply/AGM charger floating on a 71AH MK AGM battery, into a Remote Audio Hot Strip for distro. I keep a second ChargeTek on the truck to keep my bricks topped off, and if the cart power went down, a quick run to the truck for the spare...

You referred to "Friday Night Lights", and the success of this show had a lot to do with David Boyd, a brilliant Director/DP, who formed the basic working style of the show. David has a lot of respect for sound, and the way he set up the shooting style reflects that. With two or three cameras and two boom ops, the show would shoot wide masters on two cameras simultaneously while the booms played overhead, getting basic tracks and learning the rhythms. Successive rounds took all cameras together going tighter, with the booms much closer and the ops (both camera and sound) more familiar with the exchanges. By the close up round everyone got to play their A game, as it were.

Senator, afewmore, I stand with you. Jay

Keenen, Go for it! Over the years, I've discovered an operation that not only ships quickly, has competitive rates, yet carries top quality, made in the USA products: BatteryStuff.com The ChargeTek chargers I use (I own two of them, one on the cart, one on the truck) have an on-board computer to manage charge voltage and current, are waterproof, and the only time I've ever heard of one failing was when it was fed 220VAC by mistake. The output is so clean that I use it as a large DC source for my cart and float it over a large MK glass-pak (AGM) battery. None of my analog or digital equipment seems to mind the voltage jumping from 12 to 14 volts when high charging. These units are used exclusively by the Warner Bros. Sound Dept. for all of their production carts. In my application, I connect to AC whenever possible, but on a full charge, I can run my big ass rig (11amp draw) for three hours before having to switch out the battery (I use the 70+ amp version of the MK for the cart). The Pelican case size (31 amp) I use for my portable bricks. Two years ago, when researching AGM batteries, the East-Penn MK batteries came out on top and are made in the states (so is the ChargeTek). Very quick delivery. http://www.batterystuff.com/ (the website) http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-chargers/12-volt/marine-chargers/RTIC-1120.html (excellent charger) http://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/rv-marine/gel-cell/8GU1.html (31 amp hour made in the USA - Pelican size) I also agree with the 4-pin flip-out cable method. Additionally, I have taken to using 14 gauge zip cord for all "hidden" dc, using wire nuts for gathering leads together. When I buy a new battery, I immediately attach an automotive fuse holder to the positive lead, bare wire after the fuse, along with a piece of same gauge wire on the neg lead, terminating in bare wire. Any system changes can be accomplished quickly using the wire nuts. I am willing to spend a little more for top quality, made in the USA, products. I look forward to the LiFE stuff and the reduced weight, but the Adjusted Glass Material sealed lead-acid batteries work real well. A tip - try never to run a lead-acid battery down below it's rated voltage. A "12V" AGM when fully charged will produce 13.5VDC or so - switch it out when it hits 12, and you can expect FIVE times the `manufacturers projected life cycle. Jay Patterson

Slightly more on topic... EVERY reputable rental house will give you a "Comparison Quote" on the items in your package, might take a day or two if the house is real busy, but remember, the same house probably sold you your gear... Jay Patterson

+1

Max, thanks for the article. An elegant statement of what we all know and feel. Much to my surprise, I'm on a show now that uses film! Loved the homage to Brakhage, the original "experimental cinema" "filmmaker", yet the even the very next wave of "experimental filmmakers" - Frampton, Greene, Conrad, and Brakhage's protegee Sharits, etc. understood in the mid seventies that ones and zeros were going to replace celluloid. For me, it was all over when Kodak stopped making ECO... Jay

I agree with you, Billy. Thing is, if it HAS become their responsibility, it also means they are accountable for the actions. I'll find out if this is true or not. Jay

Don't know if this is gospel, but recently a key grip told me that the rules had changed, and that "safety" calls are now in the purview of the DGA. If this is so, then we should take a look at the DGA's rules on lightning (which might be the very same as the IATSE/AMPTP rules. Almost all films, union or non-union, that use SAG or AFTRA talent are DGA...