Jump to content

The Most important Post Sound equipment: The Chair


Tim M

Recommended Posts

So when I do post audio I usually find that what chair I sit in is usually more important than probably what program I'm using. If I don't feel comfortable and in the right posture then I find that I'm getting up more and taking more breaks and can barely hop back in the seat. I'm 6'7 so for me I'd probably need an orthotics and chiropractor examine my work space to fit it for me...luckily I don't do as much post these days. One of my first jobs I was in the saddle for several hours every day and realized that the padded fold out chair I'd been sitting on was actually brusing my lower ribs. It was such a weird feeling I thought I had kidney failure or something, but low and behold once I changed the chair out from curiosity my pain went away. One library I went into used these breathable mesh office chairs, man those felt wonderous. Anyway what chairs do you guys swear by? I'm sure some location cart guys can chime in as well.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

View chairs like shoes; it's gotta fit you. A guy I know runs the UC Berkeley/UCSF Ergonomics Program. They do research ranging from microbiology to epidemiology. Also see patients, consult, and all that. Anyway, a few years ago when I was looking for a new chair, he suggested I talk to the people at Humanscale and check out their Freedom chairs:

 

http://www.humanscale.com/products/category_detail.cfm?category=seating

 

Humanscale has an office in LA, but that may be aimed at corporate sales:

http://www.humanscale.com/about/locations.cfm

 

Their chairs are available at a lot of places...but even more than recommendations from colleagues, you need to find a place with enough expertise to fit you to the chair best for you. Mail order is probably not optimal for chairs:

http://shop.humanscale.com/about/stores.cfm

 

Don't know what retailer in LA to suggest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I gave up on chairs and went Walter Murch, setting up a "stand up" work station for editing. I still have to be conscious of ergonomics and posture, but my upper body feels much better after long days.

Best,

Steven

My studio is set up for standing as well but I do have my Dad's old drafting chair, (he was a draftsman) for when I do want to sit. 

BTW, a chair is a very important part of production mixing as well.

CrewC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good points Steven and Crew. I alternate between a standing and sitting desk (different tasks on different desks). But if you're looking for a single desk, I think an adjustable desk is the way to go.  Martin & Ziegler make nice heavy-duty stuff (nice people, too):

 

http://www.martinandziegler.com/

 

I don't have one of their desks, but some friends do. There are of course other options.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Herman Miller Aeron chair.

+1,000,000,000

 

That is the chair I have now, and that is the chair I have always requested in every place I've worked. It makes me sound like a needy person, but honestly, if I'm setting for 12 hours working on someone's project, I need to be comfortable. I had a chair that I used for a few days that absolutely killed my lower back. I ditched it and got the Herman Miller and I've never looked back. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Herman Miller Aeron chair.

 

 

If your sitting down all day, spend the money. Or use a standing desk!  It does wonders for your posture and back.  Use a bar mat if your having problems with your feet.  Or use both and switch it up all day.  Standing desks encourage you to walk away when you need to and do push-ups during renders!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is the chair I have now, and that is the chair I have always requested in every place I've worked. It makes me sound like a needy person, but honestly, if I'm setting for 12 hours working on someone's project, I need to be comfortable. I had a chair that I used for a few days that absolutely killed my lower back. I ditched it and got the Herman Miller and I've never looked back. 

 

I used the Aeron chair for several years, but it wound up exacerbating nerve problems in my left leg. The hard edge of the chair cuts into my leg and hurts like hell over time.

 

When I'm writing or editing, I wound up using a super cheap, piece-of-crap $79 padded office chair from Office Max, and it's actually quite comfortable. There are ergonomic alternatives to the Aeron chair that do have soft edges, and those can be comfortable once you figure out the right settings, chair height, tilt angle, and so on. For production, we're at the mercy of available cargo space and portability. For my cart, I probably need something halfway between a tall director's chair and a regular director's chair, and I haven't found one yet. The stock chair gets me by.

 

I can and do stand up for certain periods of time, just to relieve stress in my wrists and stretch a little bit. Otherwise, my carpal tunnel starts complaining like hell, along with my aching fingers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guys, the Herman Miller Aeron chairs are good for some people, but don't go all reduser.net. No single chair best serves all people (as Marc points out above). And lots of ergo design advancements have been made since the Aeron debuted in the mid 90s. 

 

Humanscale is reportedly a bit ahead of the curve. But really, the best thing to do is to find someone who can find and fit the best chair--hell, the best workstation environment--for you. 

 

Marc, have you seen anyone about your carpal tunnel issues? I've spoken with a number of people (including several close friends and former colleagues) who had to change careers because of such issues. Would hate for that to happen to you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

its not only the chair but distance to mouse, keyboard and monitors. it is a domino effect of sorts if one of those things is wrong. although when it comes to chairs Herman Miller, Steelcase make fitted chairs to help find the prefect fit.

 

Try before you buy. i have two Allseating custom Fluid chairs. they are ok but not as comfortable as the Aeron or Mira chairs and have POS build quality. i would not recommend and Allseating products at all!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Marc, have you seen anyone about your carpal tunnel issues? I've spoken with a number of people (including several close friends and former colleagues) who had to change careers because of such issues. Would hate for that to happen to you. 

 

I saw a hand specialist, who told me that years of sitting at post consoles and twiddling knobs had just stressed-out my wrists and nerves over a long period of time. I figured out a few temporary solutions, but after a few years, I realized my hands were going numb. Went back to the specialist, who said, "you gotta get the carpal tunnel release operation," which involved a 2" incision in the palm of my hand and about 2 weeks of a sling. I put it off for about six months, but went back to the doc, who reminded me, "BTW, you should do this soon, because eventually... your hand stops working!"

 

Needless to say, I got the operation and the symptoms went away by about 90%. I don't have as much strength in my hands as I did 20 years ago, but I can get by OK, even at the gym, and certainly can handle a 12-14-hour day at a mixing console OK. The key is to keep the forearms and hands straight, and avoid bending them for long periods of time (which was probably my mistake in the 1980s and 1990s). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of my job is a regular reality show. Everyday we work in a new house. The chair provided by the company is very bad.
So the first thing I do is to find a comfortable chair in the house ! Then I begin to scan for clean frequencies...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Needless to say, I got the operation and the symptoms went away by about 90%. I don't have as much strength in my hands as I did 20 years ago, but I can get by OK, even at the gym, and certainly can handle a 12-14-hour day at a mixing console OK. The key is to keep the forearms and hands straight, and avoid bending them for long periods of time (which was probably my mistake in the 1980s and 1990s). 

 

Phew. Glad things are mostly OK. As I age, 90% is something I'll gladly take for most things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I developed a problem in my lower back because I was constantly crossing my legs under my desk. A couple weeks on an properly sized (and $10) exercise ball (à la mayor of Portlandia) did the trick. I'm lucky though, my special lady is a physio so the treatment was, to some degree, properly supervised. 

 

I've had my eye on the Herman Miller Setu after trying it out; I always found Aerons just didn't fit me right.

 

On a side note about the "Post" chair - does anyone else have trouble with headphone cords getting snagged around the armrests of certain chairs or is it just the bad Staples chairs we have in my office? I'm constantly cursing myself when I try to get up to adjust something and suffer whiplash. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I dont really do post but I guess this is related seeing as I now do research at a university and i sit at desks writing for very very long periods.

 

I now write with a pressure sleeve on my right forearm because of RSI, and I highly recommend you get onto an ergonomic chair quickly, I highly recommend the Raynor Ergohuman, saved my bum quite literally.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For European folks, I can highly recommend products by Be-Ge from Sweden. They make driver seats for vehicles and special chairs for use in "24h" environments such as surveillance centers and air traffic control towers. I've had one for more than 20 years now and it has seen tens of thousands of hours of use. I've only had to replace the arm rests once and the wheels once. I've had zero issues with back pain or RSI symptoms even though I've always used a regular mouse and a keyboard. I think that this chair has literally saved me from burn out, not to speak of early retirement! And I agree, a chair has to fit like a shoe.. once you find a perfect one, you wonder how you ever managed without one like that.

 

http://kob.be-ge.se/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=3&Itemid=120&TreeId=2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I've always preferred wooden chairs, but understand a comfortable chair for sitting in for 12 hours a day. My philosophy with wooden chairs has been that after a few hours I have to get up and walk around, so it forces a nice break, and I never get comfortable enough to slack off and "enjoy myself" doing something else. I get the work done and leave the computer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I developed a problem in my lower back because I was constantly crossing my legs under my desk. A couple weeks on an properly sized (and $10) exercise ball (à la mayor of Portlandia) did the trick. I'm lucky though, my special lady is a physio so the treatment was, to some degree, properly supervised. I've had my eye on the Herman Miller Setu after trying it out; I always found Aerons just didn't fit me right. On a side note about the "Post" chair - does anyone else have trouble with headphone cords getting snagged around the armrests of certain chairs or is it just the bad Staples chairs we have in my office? I'm constantly cursing myself when I try to get up to adjust something and suffer whiplash.

You don't fit in any of the three sizes H-Miller offers for the Aeron? Headphone cable is easy. I'm right headed so I let it hang to the left. Never really gets in the way.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guys, the Herman Miller Aeron chairs are good for some people, but don't go all reduser.net. No single chair best serves all people (as Marc points out above). . 

Totally agree. The Aeron works great for me because I need the lower back support it provides or I get backaches, and the mesh means I don't sweat as much when working. Another hint is, if you are not going to stand up, make sure your chair is higher than the desk, you do not want your wrists resting directly on the sharp edge of the desk. You want the blood flowing freely down into your hands, and no pinched nerves. It takes some getting used it having your chair higher than your desk but it works wonders.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...