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An Inspirational anecdote of your life that completely changed your outlook towards recording sound


soundwiz

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Hi All

 

I was just wondering if each of you have any inspirational anecdote from your  life to share  that completely changed your outlook towards  how you did Sound Mixing/Designing 

 

I am sure there would be many

 

looking forward

 

best regards

 

Hari

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Hi Jeff

 

Good to hear your response

 

this  is actually a question someone asked me to share with a group of filmmakers while attending a film screening

 

where else but on this forum would I get to hear and share such gems

 

I thought this was profound so I shared it

 

why don't we start with you and expect  others to chime in too

 

good day

 

best

Hari

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Hardly inspirational, more luck really. I met Jeff Wexler early in my career and he asked me to work with him & Don. That changed the way I thought and worked at recording production sound for picture.

CrewC

We were all lucky at that time to have met up and worked together. You must realize also that I learned so much from you and Don, I wouldn't be the person I am today were it not for these relationships that thankfully have carried on to this day, this hour.

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For me, it was the call I got after my second feature. I had made a few mistakes on my first movie (non-union). I was questioning my choices, and my experience. I had learned a lot of things from a handful of mixers, and adopted my own "style", for lack of a better word.

The line producer, who is still a good friend, called me to tell me that when everyone was on the Sony mix stage (a team led by Paul Ottosson), someone turned to them and said, "If more production mixers were like this guy, half of us would be out of a job." It made me realize I was on the right track.

I still make mistakes, and make choices I wish I hadn't, but I always think back to that and know that I am mostly doing the right thing. It keeps me inspired.

Robert

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Very inspiring thoughts and experiences from all of you

 

as John asked,its my topic so I should add my few words,the one advice I remember was from my Professsor at the Film School who told me if you want to achieve something in my job and excel at it, then be at it for a good period of time and don't give up

 

Old School, Jeff,Jay, Robert,studiomprd,John thanks

 

I hope others too join in here

 

enjoyed reading this

 

Hari

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The first real feature I recorded in 1980 was "Smash Palace" for Roger Donaldson.

 

When he took the film to Australia he was asked if he had spent a lot of money on dialogue replacement.

 

His answer was "that was the sound that Mike recorded"!

 

From that I new I was on the right track (no pun intended as I was using a mono Nagra 4.2)

 

mike

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The first real feature I recorded in 1980 was "Smash Palace" for Roger Donaldson.

 

When he took the film to Australia he was asked if he had spent a lot of money on dialogue replacement.

 

His answer was "that was the sound that Mike recorded"!

 

From that I new I was on the right track (no pun intended as I was using a mono Nagra 4.2)

 

mike

I dig that.

CrewC

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Great thread, Hari!

 

It's a tough question to answer, as we're all constantly learning. Every situation is different and presents us with unique challenges that may require us to bend our perspective. It'd be difficult for anyone I think to pinpoint a single epiphany moment where he/she suddenly realizes, "Hey! It works better if I do it this way!" because, come the next gig, that way won't work as well, and he/she will have to find a new way of doing things.

 

But for the sake of the thread, I can offer a few milestone moments from my personal path:

 

1.) On the first film set I ever worked on I was a Sound Utility under a guy named Nick Ray Harris. There were several opportunities throughout the day to get creative with plant mics, and he let me set up all of them and even give suggestions of where and how to place them (some were good suggestions, others weren't the best). Mic placement was fun, challenging, and fascinating to me, and I think that may be why I gravitated toward boom operation.

 

2.) About a year into my career post-college, I got a call (I still don't know who referred me or how they got my name) to boom op on an LA indie feature that was coming to Austin. Up to that point I had almost exclusively worked as boom op for my twin brother, Erik, who is the mixer of the family. Working with a new mixer (in this case, a lovely lady by the name of Jessie Marek) was an incredible learning experience. She had been a boom operator for many years and taught me some great tricks, but I also soaked in everything I could about mixing so I could go home and relay my experiences to Erik so he could grow as a mixer too.

 

3.) Just this year I visited Los Angeles for the first time. Going in, I was almost certain I was going to hate it. I'd heard more bad reviews of the city than good ones, and many accounts suggested to me that LA would differ from Austin in some of the most important ways: authenticity, friendliness of the people, etc.. But to my surprise, I fell in love with the city almost immediately, and my love for it only grew as I began to dip my toes into the Production Sound community there. I visited Coffee Sound, and Glen Trew happened to be there that day. Erik and I were curious about cardioid and hyper-cardioid mics to use indoors in lieu of the not-always-perfect-for-the-job MKH-416. Glen proceeded to get out a bunch of mics and lead a mic comparison for us right there in the store! The rental manager there, Ryan, was also incredibly friendly and helpful. We ended up running into him again about a week later when we went to the Parade of Sound Carts. He pointed out Mark Ulano to us (we didn't know what Mark looked like), which was pretty crazy because we hadn't seen his name on the list of expected guests and he's been somewhat of an idol of mine and Erik's for some time. Getting to meet Mark and to meet Jeff W. in person and all the other guys there was pretty surreal, and it changed something in me. It gave me a sense of proximity to the big leagues, so to speak. I no longer felt like the LA circle of soundies that work on the big shows were in a separate, exclusive circle from my own. We're all in the same circle, and it took being there in person and shaking hands with Mark Ulano and chatting casually with Ryan Coomer to realize that.

 

I will certainly be visiting LA much more often from now on. Hoping to go in mid July for Outfest - the first feature Erik and I ever worked on is finally having its USA premier there after years of being stuck in post.

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Interesting post Joseph. I think a lot of people get an idea or picture in there mind about a place that doesn't correspond to the reality. Back in the mid 80's I thought I knew what NYC was and I didn't think I could ever like such a place. I was so wrong about the city and people. These days I try to keep an open mind about all things but it is an easy trap to fall into. I think every place has good and bad aspects to them, but most share a common positive, the locals.

CrewC

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Great stories everyone! Its so awesome to hear about and think back on these kinds of pivotal moments in our careers.

 

I have a few moments like this, as I'm sure we all do, but first and foremost interning at Pro-Sound in NYC was a complete eye-opener. I had been working freebie craigslist jobs to gain experience (with a friend's gear consisting of an FR2 and some G3s) and essentially reinventing the wheel about how to do location sound! Being around all the experienced pros who come in and out of Pro-Sound, as well as the super knowledgable PSS crew changed my perspective entirely and made me realize the "right" way of doing a lot of things!

 

My second moment was the first film I boomed, under a great boom op named Guillermo Pena Tapia, himself a boom op who went union immediately after the film wrapped. I thought I knew how to boom, and Guillermo kicked my ass and disabused me of that notion to put it mildly! After almost every take he would shake his head and tell me he heard handling noise, or I was off axis, or missing lines. He really had to hold my hand through basic booming technique, and after the film wrapped I continued to grow as a boom op because I knew what I needed to work on and had developed the ears to hear correct booming! So from a purely technical standpoint, I am the soundie I am today because of his patience and instruction.

 

He taught me something even more important than booming technique though, which was a sense of my own limitations and humility. I thought I knew what I was doing when we first started working together, and I had an attitude about his criticisms because I thought he didn't know what he was talking about. But as the shoot progressed, I started listening, respecting what he was saying, and really trying. I started out arrogant and slow, and he kicked that right out of me! Taught me to hustle, to respect the hierarchy, and so so much more about narrative film sets. The last scene of the film was very tough for me, and involved I believe 5 actors and a dolly move. Needless to say I did NOT nail it and he told me after it was over that, FYI, that was a very easy scene to boom. Obviously that's pretty discouraging to hear, but I needed to hear it to know what to aspire to!

 

Fast forward, Guillermo hooked me up with my first low-low-budget feature, and got my started on the narrative path. When I got my first feature that actually let me bring on a (fairly green) boom op, I was able to direct him because of what I learned through my experiences being put through the wringer. A few years later, that boom op is absolutely killer, and always my first call. He has also told me multiple times that I am the pickiest/most exacting mixer he works with :-)

 

Sorry for the long story, but you really can't overstate how much a guiding hand helps out young guys and gals at the beginning of their careers! I never worked with Guillermo again, but I'm forever grateful for the ass kicking he delivered to me on that movie!

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Years ago...while taking production courses a night

Mind you this when I had to assemble edit Gunsmoke on 3/4 and slice and splice sound on 1/4" tape

Anyway my instructor told me 3 things

Your sound is only as good as your weakest link in the chain

If you want to get better at something hang with people better than you

Never stop learning

Today it all still applies

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Like many here, my career altering moments usually involve teaching/learning moments with a mentor. My three most notable were Dan Newman, Larry Sullivan, and Vilmars Zile. With that in mind, I encourage all to teach whenever you can. Aside from passing your knowledge to someone else, being the teacher makes you better at what you're teaching. It's always helpful and appreciated, but it's hard to say if it's the teacher or the student who benefits the most.

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