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Act of Valor #1 @ the Box Office


FSBELLA

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I think if youre going to make a narrative movie, then make a narrative movie. I hate all the documentary-style movies, in any genre. I don't need to see this one to change my opinion. If you dig the shitty home-video-looking vibe, then there are lots of choices for you. But this is a movie for ENTERTAINMENT, and to shoot live rounds to make it more "real" is just stupid. It's not real. It's a movie. Endagering people as a marketing tool is just wrong.

If you want real, just cut together some real war footage. I'm sure there's lots of it out there. Then call it a documentary, and nobody will go see it.

Robert

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I didn't just see it as entertainment, it was informative and a not so documentary style movie... more of a hybrid of the two (if you saw it you might agree, or not). The film is to show weapons, tactics, and pay honor of our elite soldiers we seldom hear about.... if you're too scared to be a part of a production that is to film live fire training of these scenarios.... then don't, and for that matter don't watch it either. Who knows, a lot of what I saw was mostly not filmed with live fire (effects), however there were a few scenes that could have very well been done with live fire which to me really took me back to what it was like. The only ones making this into a propaganda/partisan debate are those that don't understand the details of why, what, and how they did it. I'm sure they weren't "stupid" enough to be shooting live rounds when it didn't make sense, this might account for the lack of fatalities reported from the making of the film. Maybe someday soon there will be a good insider article explaining this in more detail, for now though just be respectful of it... and to those that did such a great job, safely.

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Jeez. I say one thing and BAM!

The reason I mentioned live rounds is because it's not the norm (I'm assuming here) on most productions. This creates a level of stress and organization in order to make it a safe production. My goal wasn't to say shooting live rounds made this movie more "real" or anything like that, just that it had to be insane for the crew. I don't know which scenes used live rounds and which ones didn't. Again, I think it would be great for Gene and Popper to write an article in Sound and Picture about their experience on this shoot.

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I'm sure the movie-making experience was intense, to say the least. In no way am I knocking the crew here.

But I would imagine that following around a bunch of housewives with a rig strapped to your chest is almost as hard and less rewarding, and I bet those guys wished they had a live round to put in their heads by the end of a day listening to that crap :-)

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D-Fisk,

go check it out. Im pretty sure you will be able to decipher when they used live rounds. don't really know what soda told you, but it wasn't as much as this bacon post started.

RP- your way off man.

I really want to see it, but with 4 small kids, it's really hard to get out these days.

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I asked him about the booming, and he said everyone was on wireless because they were shooting wide and tight all the time with a ton of cameras. I didn't get into a lot of details, though. I wonder if there was a documentary crew shooting a "Making Of" for this movie. I bet a lot of people would really like to see that.

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Mystic- please go see the movie, you will be pleasantly surprised. especially the use of when they used the live rounds. Thank you

Frank, I will.

...for now though just be respectful of it... and to those that did such a great job, safely.

I respect the tradecraft Zack, I don't owe any allegiance to a film just because it's about the military.

Best,

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Let me start off by saying that first and foremost the guys (SEAL's) in this movie deserve the utmost respect. They are not actors, they have never had any acting training but they were chosen for there knowledge, skill and involvement/relate-ability with the events that took place in this film or whatever you want to call it.

The use of live fire was dependent on the scene. The reasoning for doing so was sometimes for visual purpose, but mainly because we would join actual Navy training missions that would be live fire. There were many times when we found ourselves wearing bullet proof vests (1/2 inch plates) and kevlar helmets, but there was NEVER any moment were I felt endangered while shooting this film. The idea was to make a movie that wasn't all CGI but was as realistic as possible.

I'd like to note that this was nowhere near like "following around a bunch of housewives with a rig strapped to your chest" This was the most difficult job I have ever done and yes is was 95% wireless but I am very proud of what myself and what my guys were able to accomplish. I agree with Robert "that no ADR does not equal good sound," and yes there are some instances were I wish they had done ADR (the beach scene) but again remember these are not actors. So imagine what the ADR would have turned out like. The other fact people don't even think of is most of the guys in this movie have been deployed since filming ended.

Stating that we worked off the idea of "stick radio mics on everyone and sort it out later" is a slap in the face. I'm sorry but mixing 8 lav's in a bag is a lot harder than 2 booms and yes my mix was primarily used not the iso tracks. Obviously I would have preferred being on a cart and booming every scene but as we all know we have to do what we can to get the best possible sound. I'm proud we captured useable dialog during gunfire, in C-130's, in submarines, on aircraft carriers and from vehicles driving 50+ mph. It was a hard challenging shoot. There was no, hey can we do this without the helicopter running. There were scenes that we did rely on the Zaxcom transmitters internal recording, but it was for situations like helicopters.

This film may not be for everyone and maybe shouldn't have done as well as it has, but it gave me once in a life time opportunities that I'm glad I was a part of.

Gene Martin

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Let me start off by saying that first and foremost the guys (SEAL's) in this movie deserve the utmost respect. They are not actors, they have never had any acting training but they were chosen for there knowledge, skill and evolvement/relate-ability with the events that took place in this film or whatever you want to call it.

The use of live fire was dependent on the scene. The reasoning for doing so was sometimes for visual purpose, but mainly because we would join actual Navy training missions that would be live fire. There were many times when we found ourselves wearing bullet proof vests (1/2 inch plates) and kevlar helmets, but there was NEVER any moment were I felt endangered while shooting this film. The idea was to make a movie that wasn't all CGI but was as realistic as possible.

I'd like to note that this was nowhere near like "following around a bunch of housewives with a rig strapped to your chest" This was the most difficult job I have ever done and yes is was 95% wireless but I am very proud of what myself and what my guys were able to accomplish. I agree with Robert "that no ADR does not equal good sound," and yes there are some instances were I wish they had done ADR (the beach scene) but again remember these are not actors. So imagine what the ADR would have turned out like. The other fact people don't even think of is most of the guys in this movie have been deployed sense filming ended.

Stating that we worked off the idea of "stick radio mics on everyone and sort it out later" is a slap in the face. I'm sorry but mixing 8 lav's in a bag is a lot harder than 2 booms and yes my mix was primarily used not the iso tracks. Obviously I would have preferred being on a cart and booming every scene but as we all know we have to do what we can to get the best possible sound. I'm proud we captured useable dialog during gunfire, in C-130's, in submarines, on aircraft carriers and from vehicles driving 50+ mph. It was hard challenging shoot. There was no, hey can we do this without the helicopter running. There were scenes that we did rely on the Zaxcom transmitters internal recording, but it was for situations like helicopters.

This film may not be for everyone and maybe shouldn't have done as well as it has, but it gave me once in a life time opportunities that I'm glade I was a part of.

Gene Martin

Amen Gene, thank you for your input! I really enjoyed the film, and the hard work from everyone involved!

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This film may not be for everyone and maybe shouldn't have done as well as it has, but it gave me once in a life time opportunities that I'm glade I was a part of.

Gene Martin

Awesome! What an opportunity, and serious props for overcoming all the difficulties involved in the task.

...this might account for the lack of fatalities reported from the making of the film.

;D

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... I'd like to note that this was nowhere near like "following around a bunch of housewives with a rig strapped to your chest" ...

Gene Martin

You didn't get them drunk enough, except that house wives can generally hold their liquor better. I've done my share of carrying SEALs out of bars under their own power or not, even the really big / heavy ones. I'm amazed that there is a group of individuals who can trump "stupid Marine tricks" with "stupid SEAL tricks".

Given that I haven't seen the movie and have been commenting on it, I now feel obligated to see it. I can tell you, that if I hear rock and roll music playing during a firefight, I'm going to be highly offended, but that's just me. From a technician's standpoint, Gene, I look up to the work you do and am glad to have the opportunity to "hang" out with the most experienced people in the community, which I am a thankful junior member of.

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Gene,

I wasn't criticizing your results or your method in any way. I am criticizing the fact that these types of "narrative" films have bled into the mainstream by making lav sound acceptable for all circumstances.

And the housewives crack was just that, a joke.

I have done some pretty crazy shoots, and found them to be far more fun and rewarding than the mundane. My joke was pointing out how awful it must be carrying a heavy bag while listening to "The Housewives of wherever'. Your job, no matter how tough, must have been a LOT more fun.

Congrats on the success of the movie,

Robert

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http://www.hurlbutvi...e-action-genre/

Apparently some of it was film.

But yikes..

"Andy Fisher, armed with only a swimsuit, a water noodle and a 5D AquaTech shallow water housing. He captured some of the most immersive angles while bullets literally flew over his head and hot shells rained down."

Heh ;) (from comments)

"Amazing work by you and your crew. But there was someone that you left out in all the patting on the back above. I saw several still images of your sound mixer/recordist. You didn’t mention him or the boom op. Who was it and what did he record to. The only shot of the sound bag I saw was a limited angle. Maybe a Sound Devices 788T with 4 Lectrosonics SR units and a boom.

What, no love for your soundies?"

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I'm going to finally watch this movie today just so I can hear what a great job Gene did. I agree with Tom Visser in that I'm going to be a bit irritated if the violence is glorified. I support Gene and that's why I'm going to see this flick. He is a stand-up guy and has always treated me very well when I visit his shop. I think if anything I'm going to learn that I have no right to complain the next time an airplane/helicopter ruins one of my takes. I'm sure the location sound on this film was 100x's more difficult then anything I've ever done.

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