Rakesh Anderson Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Late last night while working on a low budget movie, the Director/main actor had a scene where he gets into a heated argument with another character. I had a transmitter strapped to his ankle which came loose during the action. As he walked off screen he threw a tantrum and kicked his leg over and over until the connector broke and the transmitter flung into the wall. Then he walked past me and said "Fucking sound, you only have one job to do!" I've encountered plenty of asshole talent, but personally never experienced destroying of equipment. I wanted to take a walk right then and there. I did demand that the transmitter and mic be replaced by today, or he doesn't get wired. Just wondering what would you do in that situation? Any advice would be appreciated. Rakesh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordi Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Get it replaced and in your hands, THEN walk. That is unprofessional and you shouldn't have to put up with that kind of abuse from anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Kersten Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Yeah get it replaced asap (costs are for your producer) and have a word with your director/main actor to get it sorted out and make clear (in a friendly way) that this is unacceptable. And then make a beautiful film together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPSharman Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Properly securing a pack to an actor in that sort of scene is critical. We have to remember that their job is acting, which requires pretending to be someone else, somewhere else, and to somehow ignore the surroundings. This becomes progressively more difficult as the day marches on. Worrying about a loose pack adds yet another thing to ignore. He ought to apologize for his outburst. Your equipment should be replaced, and you should both move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakesh Anderson Posted March 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 I appreciate the replies. Moving on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afewmoreyears Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 "low budget movie" Goes with the territory.... First, get your gear replaced by being professional as can be.... Then, My outburst would of dwarfed his... I personally would of absolutely blown the bridge out of the water.... Verbally reducing him to a small pile of Goo... I have no patience for assholes like that.... First for the destruction of equipment, then for the comment directed at me... When expensive gear is placed on someone, that someone should treat the situation like they have expensive gear on... It was NOT expected that this asshole started kicking his leg almost to try to dislodge the pack from his ankle... That was ALL on the asshole/ actor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 RA: " I've encountered plenty of asshole talent, " without even reading more, you are being extremely gracious in describing this wanna-bee as "talent". This situation (equipment loss/damage) is particularly worrisome on "low budget" POS projects, as I suspect this one is; I have always said that our gear takes at least as much of a beating on low $$ projects as on the big budget shows, and thus charge appropriate rentals, plus require the production carry insurance, and provide a COI. This a-hole may think he is handling multiple jobs, but he is actually probably doing none of them properly, or well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrider Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Getting production to fix your gear is a given. This must happen immediately. Then it is time to have a three way dance with you, the offender and a producer. If in a calm moment, he apologizes for getting all worked up, then move forward. If he still has an attitude when he isn't all worked up for his role, then walk. Or it will happen again, to you or someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 All good advice so far.. I'd add that you create plan B. Like not handing in todays work until you get paid in full for the broken gear. Also, have you and the crew been paid so far? If that doesn't work, go to plan C. CrewC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 I've had this kind of thing happen when I wasn't informed of what the action would be--so then big bowwow with director since the flying TX had to be roto-ed out of the scene etc. I didn't feel like keeping us all out in the cold and rain any longer than necessary that evening by making a scene so I just gathered up the gear and basically never wired that talent again--we decided he was due for some ADR time. We didn't make any sort of deal about it all--my TX was ok--but I know that actor noticed that other people in his scenes were getting wires and he wasn't after that. It sounds like the OP has handled things well--no real point in getting into it with angry tired actors. If you have to continue to work with this guy you might make a gesture of apologizing about interrupting his flow with the loose rig--if he's a pro and a mensch he'll accept the apology and maybe agree to let you know when he feels his rig isn't working. If he's a dick about the apology then you and everyone else will know about him, and I'd say he too was due for some ADR time. If your gear is damaged then production has to step up--no question--the damage was deliberate. I don't get to destroy a wide-angle lens that catches my boom mic, he doesn't get to destroy a TX that annoys him. When I've had deliberate damage to wireless stuff by actors (stomped, thrown, flushed down moho toilets etc) then it was politely made clear that no further recorded audio would be turned in until the damage was compensated for. philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Late last night while working on a low budget movie, the Director/main actor had a scene where he gets into a heated argument with another character. I had a transmitter strapped to his ankle which came loose during the action. As he walked off screen he threw a tantrum and kicked his leg over and over until the connector broke and the transmitter flung into the wall. Then he walked past me and said "Fucking sound, you only have one job to do!" I'd have to restrain myself not to say, "yes, but at least I do my job well!" I would be sorely tempted to start packing up if that happened to me. I generally have a long fuse, but when it goes, I'm done. (God help me if the actor had then put a cup of coffee on the sound cart...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Ear Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 IMO, there isn't much you can (or should) do about it. Production replaces your damaged gear, and you move on with life. I don't have the energy to care about assholes like that. He will always make himself look bad acting out, you can only make yourself look bad if you engage in his same type of behavior, no matter how satisfying at the time. Handle it well, and the good people around will probably notice. Put it in the PR, tell the producers, get your gear replaced, go home and drink a good beer knowing you are not that guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Last Rites Films Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 You handled it as well as could be imagined. Certainly better than I would. The actor's outburst "F***ing sound!"really does say it all about how we are treated these days. I find that attitude constantly in production lately, especially in narrative films (often on shorts, for some reason). It may not be with so much anger, but there's this attitude that we are this inconvenience that makes the day so difficult. It's never the 45 min it takes the camera dept. to light. No, it's that 30 seconds we need to make an adjustment that somehow can't be tolerated. Or in this case, a piece of equipment came lose. It would have taken one minute to fix and start shooting. But the fact that he thought this was the best way to react makes me wonder what kind of "director" he really is. Rakesh, your ability to keep cool when you could have exploded will hopefully make an impression on the crew, where you next job usually comes from. Get reimbursed, get paid, and then start looking for another gig pronto! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxie Mendonca Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Audio is taken for granted every where and We should blame ourselves for it Because we usually never fight back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikefilosa Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Just wondering what would you do in that situation? Any advice would be appreciated. Rakesh Absolutely not to be tolerated. I'm curious what other department on your little movie might endure such treatment? ANY? And I'm sure you are probably either working alone or, at best, with a boom op - 2 person team, and multiple cameras too, right. Very simple fix - Inform mgt they will need to find another mixer for the rest of the film. Then quietly finish the day, while calling all the usual friends / fellow mixers / suspects that might get "the call", informing them of the situation. At day's end, they get no sound files until we settle up for all labor and equipment rentals and equipment repair. A Check - right now - from a local bank - I will bring you files when the check gets cashed after 8am or whenever the bank opens. Hopefully they'll be shut down for a day. And the best part - you don't have to worry about getting paid. This is the only way super-prick will ever "get it"... the only way. And do you really need to finish a film with this assclown? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Broad Posted April 27, 2014 Report Share Posted April 27, 2014 I would almost welcome such a highly visible destruction of equipment. I'm one week in to my 2nd show on which the AD's/PA's are completely untrainable in terms of routing rf wired talent past the sound department before they're released from set. This sets up the relentless chase and discovery of yanked off and tossed aside lav.s and lectros..Who knows when the wear and tear will catch up with them and how to get a producer to pay for hard to demonstrate wear and tear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylormadeaudio Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 this: Absolutely not to be tolerated. I'm curious what other department on your little movie might endure such treatment? ANY? And I'm sure you are probably either working alone or, at best, with a boom op - 2 person team, and multiple cameras too, right. Very simple fix - Inform mgt they will need to find another mixer for the rest of the film. Then quietly finish the day, while calling all the usual friends / fellow mixers / suspects that might get "the call", informing them of the situation. At day's end, they get no sound files until we settle up for all labor and equipment rentals and equipment repair. A Check - right now - from a local bank - I will bring you files when the check gets cashed after 8am or whenever the bank opens. Hopefully they'll be shut down for a day. And the best part - you don't have to worry about getting paid. This is the only way super-prick will ever "get it"... the only way. And do you really need to finish a film with this assclown? ...best advice here. Be cool about it, but send a message -- let him (and others) know that behavior like that is intolerable. You only live once... unless he personally apologizes profusely - then go get a beer and laugh about it. ~tt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 I would almost welcome such a highly visible destruction of equipment. I'm one week in to my 2nd show on which the AD's/PA's are completely untrainable in terms of routing rf wired talent past the sound department before they're released from set. This sets up the relentless chase and discovery of yanked off and tossed aside lav.s and lectros..Who knows when the wear and tear will catch up with them and how to get a producer to pay for hard to demonstrate wear and tear? I understand this situation very well. I would suggest that you have a short chat with the producer about how much time this chase crap is costing, how it is breaking the actor's flow etc (use terms that emphasize the hassle for others, not the sound dept) and the the damage to your gear is going to be an issue shortly, when they need to replace maltreated mics etc.. Most ADs have some obsession with order….appeal to it. philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirror Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Why no follow up from the OP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Mega Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 He's too busy picking up the pieces from his smashed transmitters!! Just kidding, terrible thing to have to put up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakesh Anderson Posted April 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Things worked out. After the incident, I told the producer what happened and that I would need the replacement waiting or the offender wouldn't be getting a mic. There was a replacement transmitter and mic waiting for me the next morning. As mad as I was, I'm glad I didn't let loose there and then. The next day the Actor/Director made a public apology to me in a meeting with the crew, and according to the producer, paid for the new mic and transmitter. It was just myself and a boom operator for sound department, and my boom operator refused to mic the guy after that. I had the damaged stuff replaced by production, and I was able to solder a new connection on the busted mic and sent the broken transmitter for repair. Now I have another spare transmitter and one more mic, so although unpleasant, it was made right promptly. Live to fight another day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWilson Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Well handled, and a good outcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Audio Broad: " the wear and tear will catch up with them and how to get a producer to pay for hard to demonstrate wear and tear? " they do pay for wear and tear, it is called "equipment rental" RA: " according to the producer, paid for the new mic and transmitter. " just my guess that the star/director is paying for everything on this POS production, but bottom line is a proper outcome for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Anderson Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Audio Broad: " the wear and tear will catch up with them and how to get a producer to pay for hard to demonstrate wear and tear? " they do pay for wear and tear, it is called "equipment rental" Yes, designating a damage as wear and tear will most likely not lead to production covering the cost of repair. But if there's a certain incident that caused the damage, it will usually be covered.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 OP: Well played. philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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