S Harber

On TV shows lately, I've found when working directly for networks like Fox or ABC that there are strict dictates for what a "standard sound package" rents for while the lesser subsidiaries like FX and A&E treat mixers with more understanding in regards to gear rental. Presently, I'm on an ABC show where we have to limit what we use to what's included in the "standard package" and then bill for extra gear when needed. A problem arises as I am not an approved vendor for ABC so we have to work out a situation to pass through the billing of those items. I carry loads of items that aren't included in the "standard package" on the show that get rented as needed as long as I get a green light from the UPM. Otherwise it stays on the trailer. Not really my problem and production understands how they are getting pinched from above from the network policies. This seems to stem from folks from accounting moving into decision making rolls overseeing our shows. My first episode on our show had an impulsive creative decision made to do two sides of a phone call in a single shot across a large concert hall. We had to sort out a cueing system which turned into a couple of earwigs. Not a big deal technically. The real issue was standing my ground and not just throwing in the gear for nothing to appease my new bosses. It worked out. They figured out the "sub rental", got the shot, saved a bunch of money, and I earned their respect for not bending over. We had 50+ folks on OT and to do both sides of the shot would have cost many times what my little addition rented for. If we played by the hard and fast network policies of "no additional rentals without prior approval", it would have cost more and been a much less compelling version of the scene. And don't even get me started on the old 3 competitive bids bizarreness. The sad reality is that these network policies partially stem from greedy mixers who have ripped them off. And yes, some of our sound brethren are just as greedy and short sighted as the producers I hear complained about incessantly on this site. And sad as it may be, the fast and loose days are over and the pendulum has swung into a very cheap nasty phase where we can often feel like we're not trusted to make decisions as a department head. This coincides with a larger vibe of corporations being run by simplistic accountants rather than real decision makers. Grounds for a lot of potential resentment but how do we engage this? I'm for sunlight and transparency. On my ABC show I get $2k/wk for a gear package that does NOT include slates. ABC owns our show's slates but that's another long story. My last FX show was $2400/wk for sound/slates/clockits. My last on Fox was $1950/wk w/slates and clockits. Now posting these numbers may be bad form, but I think in the long run an open discussion about it all is best rather than talking in vagaries and hypotheticals. Feel free to undercut me and make me feel bad. Scott Harber

We bought in with a 4kW array in 2008 when there was a newly started incentive via DWP in LA. At the time, you had to go through one of their approved contractors who were on the expensive side, but we ended getting a little more than half of the cost rebated along with the tax incentives that came later. So easy, non-intrusive, and I feel like I'm helping this useful technology get implemented rather than standing buy the sidelines doing math and figuring out the break even point of my investment. Newer panels are cheaper, more efficient and generally better but I've been not polluting or paying much of anything for electricity for a good while now. One of the best decisions, other than marrying my wife, that I've ever made. Scott,

What doesn't seem to work in this splits mix scenario with the boom on one track and mixed wires on the other is that if the boom sounds good then most of us would NOT mix in the wires. So there would be nothing on the wire mix track for this. The iso's would still be there to use if needed but this wouldn't seem to me to be any faster. Then say on another setup I mix the wires and a boom for a shot. The folks down the line still have no mono mix of the scene unless they sum the 2 mix tracks together which adds an extra step. Cumbersome, and more likely than not the dailies would have a hard pan of boom on one side and wire mix on the other. I've never understood how the split mix helps more than a mix and iso's version ever could. No one has ever illustrated how it works better to me other than to say this is how I like it dating back to the DAT or beta cam era. But... if that's what they want, that's what they get. Fortunately I haven't been asked to see something like this through so far. Scott

Any word on the Beachteks? I'm about to put in an order for a show and haven't heard much about them yet. I've used the iPower's for years and love them. It's saved a crazy amount of $ in expendables cost, airline baggage costs, and landfill space. How great is that? I really don't get the folks that haven't bought into rechargeables in this day and age. I'd just love to have a rechargeable 9V that will get me to lunch every day. Scott

Flipping the phase will fix the Octava when fed to wireless. Not sure how that's stayed under the radar for so long or why they keep making them that way but it has always resolved that issue. Odd but true.

This is basically my one criteria for bringing a sound issue to the attention of the director. That is, viewers will be asking what was said and there goes the message and the momentum of the story. People/audiences are very forgiving of the context of quality but if the message is lost it's a total waste of time to all involved and you will turn the watchers against the show very quickly. A show I did last year started the first episode with it's 5.1 patched wrong somewhere in the chain so the sub was routed down the to the center speaker. Wow did it sound horrible and I got a lot of folks asking what was wrong with the show. It was the season opener and the EP figured they lost a lot of business as viewers went elsewhere. I always seem to get mumblers next to stage actors playing to the cheap seats. Crazy dynamics and beyond ridiculous. Scott Harber

I've been on Mavericks with BR 8.3 for a few months now and it's been running very well. Scott

The whole eminent domain aspect to this debate reminds me of what keeps production and investments out of Mexico as well as 3rd world countries. I remember doing the math on how to pull off a career between the US and Venezuela in the 90's and even as a complete lefty, see the devastation to infrastructure and economy that happens when states pursue nationalization/absorbing corporate assets. Good luck with that Maryland. The whole incentive debacle is so ripe for political regime revision and politicians posing as the big guy and "standing up to Hollywood" that I'd honestly be surprised if studios really invested much. Keeping nimble, renting offices and warehouses as stages isn't really a big investment of capital seems to be where they are now. Some are actually starting to plant roots but I'd be surprised to see much movement from the top there. No execs want to live in Atlanta so they'll keep the mothership somewhere else and play the states against each other from a distance without risking losses. Scott

Some folks on our show showed me this IOS app a while ago called Rehearsal. It's $20. You can highlight sides from PDFs, scroll, record lines and do tons of things that you don't need but it could fill the bill for what you are trying to accomplish. http://www.rehearsaltheapp.com Hope this helps. Scott

iStumbler for Mac computers works great but that requires at least a laptop. It's free. Scott

I use the 4071s and use the hard plastic concealers all the time. They work well. That LMC rig looks like a better designed RM11 which could be nice but I haven't used it with the 4071. I'm sure it would great in most situations. I'm going to buy some and try them out in our next expendables order. They are different tools and really have their trade offs. We have a sound trainee/utility who is noticing that we can use the same rig, same outfit on a different day and sometimes requires it different tools to work best. Go figure. Scott

Yes. What is that about? It didn't go into any detail as to what got things there other than bring up trusteeship. Does that mean it is presently in trusteeship as of today? Scott

I used to cut the microdot connectors out of line as they were problematic on a regular basis even after we tried tread lock, shrink-wrap and other solutions. Avoid them as they are definitely a weak link and will fail. Now I buy my DPAs pigtailed and solder them myself. Now failure free. Scott

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/midnight-rider-crew-member-killed-in-georgia-train-accident-1201114468/

I'm not here defending Fincher as much as saying that a lot of folks seem to want to jump on the bandwagon of demonization and blaming him for many of the things that are wrong with our industry. There are much worse examples as well as better. There just seems to be a lot of misplaced anger about things beyond our direct control and a general frustration with how things are done. I hate that game and find it fosters resentment and bad feelings. Welcome to the working world. Best of luck out there.

Don't wire the steady cam as balance and weight trump everything in that setup. Otherwise, Velcro the IFB on the camera in a position that the AC can accept. Don't put the rig on another part of the dolly unless you want it pulled off and dragged like a small dog. I don't put anything on the camera unless it is expressly needed by someone. Generally it isn't as we are double system without playback on TV or have a video assist setup for playback on features and commercials. Scott

That so many people so readily accept this blog that readily omits quotes and paraphrases as something to substantiate demonizing a director who only 1 person who has posted here has worked with says a lot about the mental state of the nation these days. Many folks I know like working for Fincher and the types who have clarity, respect good work, and don't suffer fools. And yes, there's a lot of fools doing what we do. Fincher's quotes aren't nearly as offensive as a lot of the false bravado and posturing I read on posts here at JW on a regular basis. No surprise to anyone, the days can be long. It has always been that way. Network TV shows run up to 14 hrs but generally hover around 12's here in the US. Commercials and usually the last day of a pilot seem the most egregious for length of day but that's more or less part time/short run work. Features vary widely but the lower budgeted in general seem to be the worst in length of day as there isn't a fulcrum of costing much more when days get longer. Honestly, nothing will shorten the shooting until it costs the productions more money via wages or insurance costs. That's the language the Viacoms and Universals of the world speak. I'd suggest banking or real estate if you want nice hours but then if you get very good at any career you will see that the days more often than not run toward the 12+ hour mark. Scott

I've always heard to stay in the narrow band. My microears are tuned to 0/8 which are compatible with the village set that's usually tuned to 6/0. Do you have anything else going to another Comtek channel that may be inter modulating more when it is being fed an audio signal while rolling that wasn't there doing the walk test? There's always a high noise floor when nothing feeding the transmitter. Like a highly compressed signal. That's just the nature of the beast so far as I can tell. Scott

I read it again and I didn't see him saying that safety was something he was willing forgo. Workplace safety is the job of production and the AD dept is paid to engage those concerns. If they don't reel that director in, then it's on them. The AD's are the point person for safety concerns both legally and in planning out the day. The director is going to do everything they can to achieve what he wants. Hopefully in a reasonable way. The AD's and production have to weigh cost, what's doable, safety and all that other crap they have to think about. From all accounts I've heard, Fincher is an intense, focused and highly engaged director. His job shouldn't revolve around people being tired unless his returns are diminishing and he basically says as much. I don't see him saying anything about blue ray trumping safety concerns but folks seem to want to run with that statement that I don't see. Scott

Nothing in there really struck me as unusual and I kind of welcomed his forthright statements. Fincher may come across as arrogant but that's the demeanor of directors and it's their vision and project. It's part of getting what they need done and if every department needs to have a say on every nuanced change then they are in the wrong business. Most of those changes seem to get missed by folks on their phones between takes from where I sit. Yes, everyone gets tired and all but he doesn't stand out to me as a particularly over demanding taskmaster doing things that aren't potentially useful in order to exert his power or control. We can't presume to know what they are going for or what may work when the scene gets into the edit room or how it all fits together in the overall cadence of the project.. It's easy to second guess why we shoot things many times but i really try to avoid that territory as it will ruin my day with resentment and grumbling. And I like and relate to the stance of us facilitating the performance rather than the other way around. Nowadays, for better or worse, we are having to deal with changes and differences from take to take. Buzzed shots, shadows and the like happen. We're all human. Lighten up. We're all out here trying our best and let's keep moving forward without throwing anyone under the bus. I can't figure out why this got everyone's panties all bunched up. Scott Harber

What I'm wondering is why Zaxcom has stuck to using the 3V dc bias when the rest of the world seems to be using a different and more commonly usable bias voltage scheme. So now everyone who uses the Zax wires has to buy an even more obscure version of mics that are somewhat obscure to begin with. And I say this as a DPA lav devotee. Is there no way for the Zaxcom wireless to output a voltage other what they presently do? That would seem to resolve much of the issue that warranted 182 posts and all the consternation so far. This is probably something that is beyond a firmware solution on existing units but Zaxcom may want to look at this for future compatibility. Maybe a software selected bias voltage selection in the future? Scott

After all the security issues that have been dancing around the news of late I started to look into software that manages passwords. There's just no real way for me to remember passwords that are truly secure and varied so I wanted to see what folks were using. I'd love to have an integration of the many computers, tablets and phones that we all use and to see if there's a fairly seamless yet secure piece of software out there. 1 Password looks good according to CNET but I thought I'd see if anyone here was using something that they liked. https://agilebits.com/onepassword/mac Thanks, Scott

I'd have to say my highlight of 2013 was getting through 225 days of shooting and keeping my sanity and staying married. That's not much of a highlight though. My true highlight was having my son become a National Merit Scholar. He worked his tail off and I can't express (cheesy yes) how proud I am to see my young buck develop a work ethic and seeing the fruit of his labor. My present goal is to get my kids through college without incurring too much debt, thus the imbalance of too many working days worked for 2013. Otherwise, I love what I do and those I do it with. Constant highlight reel.

Props will hate you for working in the Hollywood chairs as they are a PITA to move more than one at a time, but they are fantastic. The folks on our show are using tall metal chairs like these: http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Heavy-Aluminum-Directors-Chair/dp/B0026T0LB6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_etk_hg_fd__4 Personally I'd opt for the shorter camp chairs that are cheap, everywhere, and quiet. Scott

I was audited twice. 1994 and 95 for similar issues surrounding travel/dive gear/food/ entertainment etc. At the time my work was all over the US and beyond and I was literally on the road about 180 days a year so I had to spend a lot on cold weather gear, food and the like. We were doing a sizable Schedule C at the time as I had yet to incorporate. Both times it went as a No Change after having my accountant go in to represent me. An important facet to this is that you need to give your accountant power of attorney so they can represent you without you being there at the audit. If you go to the audit then the IRS can then start asking questions about any part of your entire return. If there is someone there representing you, then they can only ask about the specific area in question and not deviate from that area. The first time I was very freaked out and fortunately my accountant wisely looked at me and said, "the worst thing that can happen is that you owe them some money." It's scary but not a big problem. Build your paper trail and show up with more than you wrote off just in case some of the write offs are disallowed. Best of luck. Scott Harber