Mike Ford

I work mostly in narrative as the utility. We keep names and numbers on them. We have 16, average day 5-6 go out to the regulars on their chairs, often gets muddled if I'm away wiring or on set booming and the mixer is being harassed for them when they call rolling so we implemented a sign out sheet again but that hasn't made them magically come home, led to a wild goose chase this week rather...When they don't come back after a week we file a loss and damage report and wait a month to get a new one...first three seasons only lost two total...as of today we've lost five in this season alone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For chairs I try to stick some scraps of duvetyne or whatever I can find between the cushions rubbing together to minimize squeaks. I've had bad experiences with the set dressers after rubbing any kind of creams or pastes on leather or vinyl furniture that ended up leaving a residue but that's another topic..jackets I ask wardrobe for help

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Director: "the boom! The boom was in!"

Mixer: I'm not calling you a liar, but when we tilted up I saw a c stand, a flag, a PA, and lastly the boom as well..."

Director: " why is the boom always in????"

I ask the wise: I brought my guitar on an out of town ENG shoot. I thought it better than watching tv or drinking at the bar. The camera op that I just met told me that some producers would be upset about this. Is bringing your guitar to the hotel a newbie move(being "we're bringing around so much sh%t already") ?

I wish I had brought mine on location on my current show (full season of episodic far from home) Instead brought my baseball glove. Today at lunch we had about 7 guys throwing the ball around....also have my Xbox with me too...

My kit is usually:

Belt with pouch to keep spare batts, multi tool, flashlight, transpore, moleskin, cotton gloves, extra foot foam, candy and gum stash.

Boom

HD-25 headphones

Remote Audio 7506s for some days

Boom box, grips love it.

Rain gear

Full change of clothes and sneakers

Ibuprofen pepto bismo and tums.

Head lamp

Bag of jokes and a sense of humor

I often wear dark clothes to hide myself as a boom but that's not too far from what i wear usually....it's not too often that my pale arms stick in the reflection that I'm blamed for...and then usually they say "you're ok if you don't move" and I say " that's great...as long as the actors don't either!"

On set I usually rotate through two different pairs of Merrells, one with more firm, aftermarket insoles and often skate shoes. I try to swap shoes at lunch, socks too sometimes just to be comfy when it's warmer. Neos for rain but weary of them since a friend slipped on the gate of a truck wearing them in wet weather.

Winter shoots, electric socks and foot warmers!

I'd have hit the tone button to censor what I would say next from being recorded

Also take it easy on the left wrist and try to boom ambidextrous when I can

I'm starting week two tomorrow booming on a 6 month long episodic show far from home. 3 days before

I left home I woke up not being able to walk due to fluid in the knee. Saw my sports doc who drained it. Still not 100% after week one but feeling better and SITTING whenever possible when I rest the boom.

My years of skateboarding have finally caught up with me... I'm still young in the game and not even 30 for a few weeks yet...I try to eat right, stretch and keep active without aggravating the knees or shoulders and keep my fingers crossed...ive heard many horror stories and don't want to compromise a career I love..

I've replaced the cable once only to find it was the right side driver. Replaced that and alls been good so far. I love them for booming as they're smaller and offer low end so i can hear any handling noise...now if only the cable didn't take so much abuse when it gets caught on the ACs walkie as he squeezes by me slating on these tiny sets...

On an episode of "Arrested Development" the Bluth family is having an emergency meeting about some possible leaks about family business. At the moment when Gob Bluth says "it's almost like they have a microphone in this room!" you see the boom intentionally dip deep into the frame...cracks me up.

You could use those DVD ram cartridges from the PD 6 as a wheel chock after I'm done with the machine..lighter and would recycle them into good use!

"Does anyone with experience purchasing 80/20 materials know of a good place to order online?"

I do believe our friend Johnpaul215 on here has fabricated his cart himself out of the material from a local supplier here in Philly. Give him a shout, sure he'd be able to answer any questions firsthand.

Sam, my PSC has threads to add a bumper on the base, recall it used to be an available accessory but could be wrong.

Planning a trip to the hardware store to figure out thread sizes, one of these days

Booming the past few years i've used ambient, loon, vdb, etc...all have their merits but I've been using a psc elite coiled internal cable with the right angle base for a few years now and it's still my go to pole for all around use. Collars are great, easy to untwist the cable and relatively quiet. Personally i won't use coiled internal on anything longer than '12 as in my experience it adds weight and cable noise but it's all subjective. Second choice would be Ambient. Own a longer, newer k tek that doesn't seem as smooth as the older models, and also a short cabled Avalon pole as well for ENG.

All seem easy to clean and maintain but still the PSC stands out for me.

My $0.02

Any way you mic em, those guys always sound good talking about an Eagles loss. 

e.

Joe Buck always happens to sound "good" when he's talking bad about any Philly team. He's biased against this city!

Go Phils!

I found wraptime lite to be useful for keeping track of timecard info. Job names, rate entry, meal times, OT, calculates it all, great reference when wrapping out late on friday night...made my last feature easier organization wise.

Jan, as someone who gave me a chance and who made me learn by doing, I'd say you are spot on. Having regularly worked with you and my Philly guys since, 3rd and boom, seems every mixer expects something a bit different based on preference though the priorities are the same...all about boundaries and personality and how they run their ship... It is the 3rds job to put out fires, expendables, inventory, keep an ear out for rug, foot foam, prop silencer needs,make truck runs and take care of the folks that can't leave their post. We play a big role and have to earn trust from the team and talent when we are responsible for the wires and the relationships that are built on both sides. All about watching our own butts and being diplomatic...and dont screw up the time cards...

Working in NYC more now...we should get lunch!

Seems to me all the EVPs I've experienced sounded like bg actors and members of the grip dept...

Q: Did you hear about the new grip test....

A: They lock you in a room with a bowling ball and you either have to steal it or smash it.

3 actresses all just landed parts on a big new feature and are sitting in a fancy restaurant to celebrate. The first one is asked how she got the part, to which she replies:

"I slept with the director, he said he'd give me a great part and make me a star."

The second one is asked how she got the part and she says:

"I slept with the DP, he said he'd light me all sexy and make me famous."

When the third actress is asked she says:

"Oh well I slept with the sound guy..."

"Why would you sleep with the sound guy?"

"Well everyones always walking around saying F sound! F sound! F sound!"

I have seen aluminum stands similar to Tom Soda's that were fabricated by guys in the metal shop on some bigger shows. The dimensions  of the top and bottom plates are roughly 12"x12" with a 36" tall 4" aluminum tube between the two and also some hooks on the side for cables and a foot rest with a padded cushion on the top. The weight of the aluminum made it fairly stable, though not too heavy to lug around on set.

Doesn't take up too much real estate, easy to carry and find a place for it in the truck. I'm looking into having one made for myself.

I hardly even check it anymore, even when I'm sent a link about a post. Last I was there, there was so much spam it was hard to sift through to find anything by way of a real post...good reason why I always stop here first!

Mike Ford

I've seen these at trew audio. Don't know the brand name though...

<img src="http://www.trewaudio.com/i/store/d_775.jpg">

Chris Kellet has been using this setup for a few months now without any quirks. I am sure he will chime in on this...