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2000 miles of beach and they pick this one!


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Talk about tripping over dollars to save pennies- Just did a shoot today.

 

Between the Mexican border and Canadian border there is 2000 miles of beach on the United States west coast to choose from. 

 

I get the call sheet and notice that they have picked Dockweiler Beach Los Angeles for their location. It must be because there is something visually specific to the shoot I think to myself, as I prepare for a a challenging day, because no one in their right mind would want to do audio on a beach that is right underneath the take off paths of LAX airport which has 73 aircraft movements every hour would they?

 

Talk to the line producer- why this beach? Answer- Oh because it's the cheapest beach in LA to get a permit to film on!!!  Really! I wonder why it's so cheap to film here. Idiots!

 

Guess they can use the money saved on the location as a down payment on their audio post production!

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I like The Senator's line, when the producer asks, "will those jet planes be a problem for sound?"

 

His answer: "Not a problem for me!"

 

My answer is probably more sarcastic: "No -- we can capture the jets with crystal clarity! It'll be great reference tracks for ADR!"

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Just had a similar one the other week, in an inner city park with a freeway on one side, a main arterial road on another and a little circuit road not more than 50 metres away running through the park. At least you couldn't hear the planes for the tree loppers. Oh and this was a period piece... caveman period. Smile.. nod.. do your job and politely point out the issues. Director seriously thought this location would be fine. We have to shoot more of these scenes later in the year, strangely they are no longer going to be anywhere near the city.

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I like The Senator's line, when the producer asks, "will those jet planes be a problem for sound?"

 

His answer: "Not a problem for me!"

 

My answer is probably more sarcastic: "No -- we can capture the jets with crystal clarity! It'll be great reference tracks for ADR!"

With a cheeky grin "What's your ADR budget again".

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My favorite is when the production has rented a $10 million house, and half the exterior sound is ruined because all the other ritzy houses in the neighborhood have gardeners working 10 hours a day trimming trees, mowing lawns, and blowing leaves around.

Hahahahaha, no kidding.

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It's a given these days in NYC for me that we're shooting next to some kind of construction. It better yet, I just did a piece with a chef whose urban farm was right next to the FDR drive, a giant construction site and a heliport. It was brilliant and I recorded it all with complete clarity. No time to wait, of course!

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My favorite is when the production has rented a $10 million house, and half the exterior sound is ruined because all the other ritzy houses in the neighborhood have gardeners working 10 hours a day trimming trees, mowing lawns, and blowing leaves around.

There are indeed some things that feel idiosyncratically LA. Filming at La Campeon Ranch yesterday in the Hidden Valley area of the Santa Monica mountains. I kept getting an intermittent generator that was bathing the entire ranch, accounted for everything we had, the stables had, and still kept hearing it. Finally found the grounds keeper and asked what is that?

"Oh thats (A-list actor) next door pumping water up into his water tank, his well is dry and hes trucking in 100,000 gallons a week, he's got an avocado orchard."

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I did a short period piece western a while back.  The location they chose was maybe 1/8 of a mile from a major Highway.  After going on the location scout (nice to be invited) I told them it definitely would not work for exteriors.  Did they listen? No.  They got it into their heads that there would be no traffic after dark when they wanted to shoot the scenes.  When they finally realized that it wasn't going to work they wanted to wait until 2am to shoot the scenes on the hopes that there wouldn't be any traffic then.  I told them there was no way I was going to do a 18 hour day just to get them an ADR guide track.  They relented, kept to schedule and I recorded them a stunning guide track with lots of Semis in it.

 

Matt

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Yeah it's always nice to be invited on the location scout, but I often wonder they bother. Usually they've already picked their location based on look / availability / price (not necessarily in that order). Then the producer asks- 'Will that construction site / airport / other noisy environment,  be a problem for sound?

 

My standard reply is 'If you hear it then the mic's gonna hear it' 99% of the time it never changes their decision to shoot there anyway.

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I totally agree Martin.  It's nice to be invited but, especially on indie shorts, once locations have been picked they most likely won't be changed.  I'm fine with that as long as they know the ramifications of their decision which I will tell them about.

 

I say the exact same thing that you say when ever someone brings up noise issues.  

 

I also recently had a director ask me to turn up the gain on the mic so the speaker would drown out the background noise.  That was pretty funny.

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I'm sure Dean will have a good time mixing that episode. :)

Almost as fun as mixing SOA that's close to the Van Nuys airport, and a metal workshop next door.

Haha! I bet he loved the many scenes shot in our "annex" stage, with 2 huge transformers, sharing a wall with the "Justified" mill. Not to mention the basic roll-up doors facing a classic car restoration shop. And our "park exteriors" which are always in front of our stage, across from various industrial buildings. This show has zero consideration for sound. Your colleagues do a nice job, considering how much our EP hates ambiance of any kind. Gotta love our silent jazz club, silent restaurants, and silent theme park (new for this season).

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I just did a doco shoot in a sports museum, the camera crew decide the shoot will take place right under the noisiest air con I've ever heard.

Not only that he insisted I boom above so it's in the path of the aircon.

I then get filthy looks when I tell them that it sounds like shite.

Luckily the lav was more usable.

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" Yeah it's always nice to be invited on the location scout, but I often wonder they bother. "

fair question ...

the answer:  fore warned is fore armed.. On scouts you can really see (and hear) what you have in store "on the days", and discuss with others on the scout what can be done to mitigate issues that seem likely, and based on the scout, and the discussions do your best to be prepared (stuff like extra carpets may be indicated, etc)

 

 

" that sound report has 5 takes of 22, and just a few of 22A, B, and C. Do you remember if that was 5 takes of the master? "

that is what is says, pretty clearly...

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I tend to think of the location scout being different to the tech scout. On the tech scout I'm going to detail the location and make a plan to deal with issues, because then the location is pretty much fixed. I am pretty much always invited to the tech scout.

 

On the location scout I get to raise objections or concerns if that particular location is going to be big problem for me- I don't often get invited to the location scout, and when I do, I find that 99% of the time my concerns are noted and then ignored.

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Hey Robert, that sound report has 5 takes of 22, and just a few of 22A, B, and C. Do you remember if that was 5 takes of the master?

No. 22 was wider over through passenger window (open to the freeway). On-camera windows closed . We got extra takes for performance and noise. 22a tighter. b reverse though less noisy window. c tighter. d was "master" two-shot through the front window with side windows closed. We shot the POV from inside yesterday, at the "real" location, which was lovely and quiet. But scheduling prevented shooting the whole scene there. Not enough to work fill the day at the freeway location, and not enough time to shoot it at the quiet location.

On the day, pre-calls had the car mostly lit upon my arrival. Since the whole thing was a cheat anyway, I should have had them flip the car for the first set-up so the open window faced the less noisy freeway. Then flip it back for the reverse. At least noise would have matched a bit better on both sides.

Sound is not considered over scheduling issues on this show. But they're pretty good about other stuff (wide and tights, etc.)

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