nawvernmonkee

Perhaps retired, at least for now..

Gentlemen.. If anybody knows about this I dare say they will reside here. My friend has a couple of AKG 451's, I've always quite liked to use these (in a live environment) but now they develop noise after about,.. well anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes and therefore are now rendered redundant. Do we have any experience of this issue ? It would be nice to be able to restore them to their former glory and put them back to work.. All the best

Ha Ha yes, well the first five things that popped into my head would have got me sacked 1. Directing, peice o' p*&s 2. Pardon ? 3. Depends how much your paying 4. (Swing round to see who answered-"accidentally" hitting the director in the face with the boom) 5. Sound would be easier if you turned 6 of those cameras off ! Re 5. that'd just be dull though wouldn't it ? I'll get my coat.....

I would like to think I would be a football (soccer) player but really.. I had a job at a PR firm when I was young but made a decision early to do sound when I finally realised I was crap at football. Been a live tech for ages and whilst fun & often rewarding whitney, the advice I reckon long term was right, I'm crossing over, albeit slowly. Dan, there is apparently some research (although I cant find it) into the joy provided by listening to a live concert as opposed to an mp3. Something about the premise of muscle absorption of extended frequencies, as well as hearing (I got hooked on live sound after hearing, or rather feeling, a drum kit soundchecked through a big PA, a little different I grant you) The Laurier centre may be a good place to start. But for a little inspiration have a look at this talk by (the wonderful) Evelyn Glennie who, I'm sure you already know, is deaf.

I am also interested in how these toolkits are built up and would like to see the results. however i suspect that there won't be one definitive solution, much like the job itself. DM

Your welcome in blighty any time, we got geeks and golf courses a plenty, not to mention Barack fever, and tea ! it is raining though :-/

FWIW I am finding your area of work massively more dynamic than live work, obviously you might think for rock n roll, but even more than theatre, classical or conferences, and as such I am learning to take more care of the source material and have been inclined lately to employ both methods of moving the boom mic and where not possible (low budgets = low ceilings quite a bit, it seems) adjusting the (what i would call) the input gain. Not something I would ever consider in my usual line of work. It's jolly good fun though ! D.

Hey Crew, guys.. I hadn't expected the great responses we got here and the interesting methods which I now appreciate much more having spent the day 'in the trunk' (no not literally) so to speak. If I may address a couple I'll spill on our somewhat 'Heath Robinson' approach a little later. Alan, understand totally. Everyone, Cubs will be on my shopping list from now on, David n Don B Thanks for the great insights, jp & rp now i know what you mean, and overall I agree, the puzzle requires it's own solution. So just for fun and at the risk of emabarrassing myself kitwise, here's how we went on. Our resources have been limited ( 2x 416, 1 Audio Technica boundary (heavy) and a really rough clip on stereo mic (aiwa) +SQN to Camera). One driver in front, two thugs in back, small brit car, two cameras (internal with operator and one external). Boundary mic on visor for driver slightly to his left (uk remember) also to get thugs as they leant fwd (but 'looking' at driver). Stereo clip midway back attached to the ceiling which eventually I used to add a little top end to the men in the back lost by the distance of the main mic, mixed to XL2 (no back up cos we were mobile, usually use MAC n BR via 01v96). I made sure we had a rehearsal to get the mix right and the only problem I had was a loose lightbulb rattling about inside a fixture during the drive. I was surprised with the results frankly. The talent were loud and entertaining. This choice wasn't so good for a later situation and again a new decision had to be made. Overall, undoubtedly, I need more tools for the job, and there is a list waiting for either the next budget or whatever spare cash that becomes available over the year. Given that, the management of each situation has been key to the project as a whole. I have been lucky with the very sound friendly producers and a great student boom op who has been open to everything improving both our educations (one for the future). A few more days to go then and its back to the live stuff. I really hope that the editing goes well for them and they get something that justifies the interest from the sales agents here. Some great efforts have been put in by certain people in all departments, more so than I have seen before in these types of productions. Anyway thanks again everyone for your time and efforts, it really is much appreciated. All the best Darren

"......... and try to make it sound like it looks" I'm encouraged to know that I am of a similar mindset. Darren

Just like to say thanks very much for all you replies. I'm grateful for your opinions and interested in all the different techniques, some, or combinations of some, I will be putting into practice in the morning. Regards all Darren

Just wondering if any of you guys would like to share any tips about recording dialogue in a moving vehicle. Tomorrow I shall be attempting just such a feat and so far convincing the powers that be to tow the vehicles is going well. I think they had planned to drive them. You will therefore all probably guess the level we are working to but I wouldn't mind knowing how it's done usually. Plus any other tips of course. All the Best Darren

If it helps I use an MBox2 pro with Macbook Pro and Boomrecorder and it all works fine. Brians suggestion is a good one though, I think all that happened automatically for me when I installed the accompanying protools software. All the best Darren

FWIW I would find that extremely useful... best

Knowledge can be learned. Experience can be gained. But character is different. You either have it, or you don't. Might I suggest, Character is built ?

Right ho then, not normally prone to this kind of announcement but thought I'd throw it out there just the same. Just finished shooting a film here in leeds and now I either go back to the live work as the corporate season ramps up, OR (and) look for some work as a third man/utility with some of you 'big guys,' (I know I know, but you know what I mean). It's the next step on my inevitable journey into fillum sound. So, any brits listening, who need a no.3, or possibly a no.2 (actually that sounds.... no never mind), or anyone who fancies flying me somewhere else for a while, preferably sunny, please feel free to get in touch. All the best Darren www.darrenmcmahon.co.uk