JBond Posted April 25, 2015 Report Posted April 25, 2015 Amazing, I truly forget at times the extent of all the movies,TV shows and documentaries you guys are responsible for. Truly a famous group of soundmen on this site. Who deserve much more credit for all you do. The average person on the street has no idea.
pverrando Posted April 25, 2015 Report Posted April 25, 2015 JBond, the above "Coffey Files" link- http://good4sound.com/downloads/The_Coffey_Files_-_Issue_03_-_2009.pdf contains the hilarious account of John Coffey's onetime experience with a Nagra- Run n' Gun style. I'd been looking for the article to share on the "Nagra Stories" thread, but Courtney found the needle in the haystack for me. Check it out! -pete verrando
JBond Posted April 26, 2015 Report Posted April 26, 2015 I got to the part where he is posing with all the girls and completely forgot what I was looking for? I had to come back and reread. Man you guys have it made with all the scenery everyday, I can only imagine. Just sitting there everyday taking everything in over and over again and recording it all. Yup, you guys got it rough.
pverrando Posted April 26, 2015 Report Posted April 26, 2015 Well, I speak for myself, but production can be the most utterly tedious process imaginable. Extreme hours, within a 12 hour day(minimum), one may actually "work" less than half the time, the rest of the time spent waiting to work. Other days are techno-slams. So, one's engagement often switches away from the actual craft, and more to the social dynamics of a traveling band of heroes and misfits. Of course, these days, crews spend less time being social and more time tapping smartphones. It is often a fireman's job, going from boring, rudimentary tasks, to suddenly faced with baffling problems involving things like sweaty people, jewelry, paper bags, radio propagation, flaming egos, dirt, animal shit or microelectronics, all while the "grownups" breathe down your neck as you solve them. Set-life can be very much like junior high school- rampant insecurity, arrogance, hierarchal selection, misplaced wealth or privilege, ego, mind games, and an all-time major dedication to Looking Good, Being Right, and Staying In Control. Entertainment industry divorce rate is among the highest of any profession. Many voluntarily leave the film business. Stay too long, and the film business leaves you. What did Hunter S Thompson say about the TV business? The above being said, as a mixer without anywhere near the credentials of these Hollywood sound giants that lurk here, I do love the job. I embrace the insanity, every day is like visiting a circus/asylum, and I get to go home to my fams at the end of most days.
John Blankenship Posted April 26, 2015 Report Posted April 26, 2015 ... What did Hunter S Thompson say about the TV business? ... "The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason. Which is more or less true. For the most part, they are dirty little animals with huge brains and no pulse." According to a researcher, the popularly-known tagline, "There's also a negative side," was added by someone else at another time.
JBond Posted April 26, 2015 Report Posted April 26, 2015 Pverrando, Pretty understanding the way you said it. Thanks
dfisk Posted April 8, 2016 Report Posted April 8, 2016 Someone just posted about this on the freelance FB page and then I found this conversation here. I'm really curious how in the world these even got made. For those that worked on this, did you know what you were getting into a head of time?
Christopher Mills Posted April 8, 2016 Report Posted April 8, 2016 I worked with Tippi in the early 1990's and while she was willing to discuss Shangri La, her rescue camp for big cats, she did not mention the film at all. She did say that she was glad to have some TV acting to help her financially recover and not just abandon the animals back home, as they could not be re-introduced to the wild.
Laurence Posted April 9, 2016 Report Posted April 9, 2016 David, when I went to Noel's nice big house in Franklin Canyon for the job interview, no predator cats were present and I don't remember him saying anything about working with 110 untrained lions and tigers and 1 certifiable madman.
old school Posted April 9, 2016 Author Report Posted April 9, 2016 It sounded like a love fest when Chuck the PM interviewed me for the gig. The reality was far from the come on. I lasted 2 weeks before my green wannabe ass was overruled by my brain seeing what was going on. Truly a great book if anyone ever wrote it. CrewC
ptalsky Posted April 12, 2016 Report Posted April 12, 2016 I love hearing these stories. I'm actually at Shambala (the former location of the movie) once a month or so. Tippi turned from the craziness to rescuing abused big cats. I sponsor one of the lions there, and the new mountain lion cub they just got from Fish and Game. It is now an amazing place to be - and the irony is that it is now a completely hands off facility. The handlers are no longer allowed to interact with the cats without a very strong fence in between. And, yes, I've seen Roar (bought a copy of the DVD many years ago) and it is a terrible movie. :-) Here's a short clip (forgive the camera work...)
Laurence Posted April 13, 2016 Report Posted April 13, 2016 Everyone wonders how anybody on the crew could go back to work the next next day and face the craziness of that movie... and many crew people did not. On the inside of the Camera Room door they kept a list of departed (but still living) camera crew and it went from the top of the door all the way to the floor and then started another column. Must have been more than 50 who quit... and that was just the camera crew. But ptalsky, you go back there month after month so you understand. It's fun to tell stories about how absurd the production was but it was truly an amazing experience to spend so much time so close to those animals. While booming shots I had them literally pawing at my jeans (cubs, I'll admit) and that's something you just never forget. Many of us lived at the ranch in trailers for part of the time and when we were off work we could just wander around and watch the cats whenever we wanted... and each night we'd fall asleep to their sounds mixed in with those of the elephants and the wild coyotes off in the hills. Yeah, it was crazy... but it was pretty cool, too.
jrd456 Posted April 13, 2016 Report Posted April 13, 2016 When I went to interview for "Roar", they made me walk across a lion compound full of mama's and cubs.The cubs bit at my shoe laces with the mama's watching.I concentrated not to step on a cubs paw.Tipi and Noel where at the furthest part of the compound away from the entrance. I decided it was like a weird cult that day and decided not to work on the film. J. Dehr
Izen Ears Posted April 16, 2016 Report Posted April 16, 2016 Mr Lawrence - what a wonderful set of memories you must have! This thread has made me inadvertently exclaim "wow!" so many times. (It stands alone in that respect.) Thanks so much for sharing everybody. Someone shoulda taken a picture of that list of names. Watching the movie nowadays makes me think of Grizzly Man... Making it scary AND exciting! I was on a show called Zoo last year, and I mentioned the tiger-painted-black that was in Beastmaster to our animal guy. He told me that movie inspired many of the film-animal laws. He said that tiger DIED a few weeks after shooting due to poisoning from the black paint. He knew of Roar, and just shook his head when I brought it up. Dan Izen
ptalsky Posted September 30, 2016 Report Posted September 30, 2016 Laurence, the best now is that there is a KOA campground next door to Shambala. I hear that some of the employees there don't warn the campers about Shambala, and they get a bunch of freaked out people at 2am when the lions all start roaring. :-)
Dutch Posted February 15, 2017 Report Posted February 15, 2017 Love these stories! Never a day goes by that I'm not in awe of the amazingly talented engineers on this forum. Thank you for setting the bar high and sharing the wisdom of your experiences.
Dutch Posted June 25, 2017 Report Posted June 25, 2017 Finally got to see the making of "Roar" as it was just on Animal Planet. Cool footage, great interviews, and pure insanity of a film idea. Hard to believe Mr. Goodin made it out without a scratch! Fenced in sound cart maybe? Hats off to Tippi for taking responsibility for the animals and establishing Shambala. I'll certainly visit on my next trip out and donate to the refuge.
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