Jump to content

The recordist and talent privacy


Ron Scelza

Recommended Posts

There is no doubt in my mind actors are capable of tapping into

a breadth of human dynamics most of us will never understand.

I've lived with them, worked with them and rode the rollercoaster  as a scripted character is brought to life.

The issue at hand is who has the duty to enforce discipline on an individual failing to grasp who they really are and where they are … (out of touch with the present).

Out of touch project members in any department are a threat to our safety and our future...  These folks need to be disciplined.  Friendships and politics sometimes keep that from happening.   If you've worked on sets with drunks, drug addicts or people under the care of doctors and shrinks, you get the point...

 The most ethical professional production sound mixer in the course of a days work dutifully doing his/her job has absolutely no control over what was said and where it might go.

We are directed by a Director…  Production sound mixers/ recordists are  without choice of when we start or stop a recording...  We do our jobs and respect the wishes of the Director.

Our professional choices are limited to maintaining the quality of the recorded sound for the project... Not the words -- that's it, that’s all we do!

I've winked at a Director to cut a scene because of noise and then  been upbraided by that director when he verbally instructed camera and sound to cut because of noise.. We don't make the sounds we just record them...

If we observe that a director is incapable of creating an environment conducive to getting usable sound safely. — What to do? If you walk --your professionalism might be commented on by some... Your personal integrity is to yourself…

One very controversal professional operating standard that I adhere to religiously when it comes to personal talent privacy:

Show the talent the on-off switch on their RF mic; explain the nature of open mics, off stage RF receivers, scanners and other possible privacy compromising technology that could be present.

Instruct them to turn off their own mic at anytime, anywhere on stage or off when speaking of personal matters that they would prefer to  keep private.  Instruct them on how to take it off if they are still unsure.

It is the personal responsibility of that individual wearing your RF mic to ascertain their own privacy...

it has nothing to do with you!

Sincerely

Ron Scelza

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dear Crew,

Thank you,   I doubt that any thought or word I've ever had or spoken is original. In the spirit of "good will" my plagiarism & juxtaposing of others words and thoughts might be helpful to someone here.

As with you, we made it through simpler times in a post-fade mono world without disclaimers other then "Directors Choice".

Sincerely

Ron Scelza CAS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And this opens a new can of worms... most of us are recording pre-fader iso tracks.

About a year ago I was recording a scene with several actors on radio mics.  During the coverage I worked the boom only, and at some point we were picking up the scene after a particular actor had exited.  This all happened rather suddenly.  I didn't even know the actor was gone.  This was a RED shoot, so the editor was there and dragging in files as we went.  During lunch, I watched over the shoulder to check out some of the playback.  He had dropped in my audio, but all tracks were armed in his FCP.  I could hear the absent actor talking by craft services the entire time we were shooting the shot.  Fortunately there was nothing of a personal nature being said, but it sure makes you think.

Since then, I have paid better attention, and if I notice an actor is not on set once the Boom Recorder is rolling, I'll unplug the feed or gain it all the way down to avoid it being sent to the pre-fade tracks.  But I always wonder what I might have missed, and what things have been recorded but never listened to...YET!

Robert

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought a Oono Transmitta a couple of years back to use as confidence monitoring when going wireless to camera. It transmits Digital on the 2.4GHz band with 16 channels. You can use one transmitter & several receivers at any given time. When I first got it I tested it indoors and worked fine going from my computer upstairs to my stereo system downstairs. My Mac recognizes it as  USB audio interface & can playback audio as such. In the field it didn't do so well since camera movement seemed to affect audio signal but since is just a monitor I didn't care much. I mounted it with velcro to the side of my Lectro camera-hop and fed audio from the headphones jack. It has internal battery but runs low in about four hours, but can be recharged with an Energizer AA battery USB adaptor during lunch brake.

I would like to see a heavy duty version of this with a more powerful transmitter & better battery performance. Other thing it lack is volume control, since it can only be set at the transmitter side...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Over at RAMPS the Bale Rant thread is stating that a producer in Europe is already insisting that talent RF mics be encrypted (eg Zaxcom), and suggesting that that become the new norm.  The speculation is that a paparazzi could have captured the Bale Lectrosonics transmission.

Well, this insistence is pure idiocy. This is the same kind of save-the-world-from-itself, knee-jerk reactionary thinking that pads playground equipment (so no child scrapes a knee), bans smoking/drinking in bars, bans peanuts from schools and protects $ssholes from being #ssholes. I'm with Ron on this one... let act-ors be responsible for their own act-ions.

Sincerely,

Brent Lestage

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Ken Mantlo

Well, this insistence is pure idiocy. This is the same kind of save-the-world-from-itself, knee-jerk reactionary thinking that pads playground equipment (so no child scrapes a knee), bans smoking/drinking in bars, bans peanuts from schools and protects $ssholes from being #ssholes. I'm with Ron on this one... let act-ors be responsible for their own act-ions.

Sincerely,

Brent Lestage

Hear, Hear!  Coddling these spoiled, over grown children is what has ruined them in the first place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although I ask actors/talent to let me know if they need to go off set while wired, I always show them how to turn off the tx and how to unplug the mic if necessary.  I also tell them that there is no privacy when they are mic'd.  Seems they would assume the mic is always live.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actors need to assume some responsibility for being miked....  They are professionals, and usually adults....  It is our responsibility to kill the faders when we are not shooting...  Simple enough....

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Worked with a wonderful Australian actress recently - what a honey!!

She had done a lot of stage work.

Always switched the transmitter off herself and kept her finger on the on switch

till she was back on set to remind to turn it back on!

What a pro!!!!

mike

www.mikewestgatesound.co.nz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although I ask actors/talent to let me know if they need to go off set while wired, I always show them how to turn off the tx and how to unplug the mic if necessary.  I also tell them that there is no privacy when they are mic'd.  Seems they would assume the mic is always live.

Actors need to assume some responsibility for being miked....  They are professionals, and usually adults....  It is our responsibility to kill the faders when we are not shooting...  Simple enough....

  

Both of these resonses are it! This is what I have done for yars and will continue to do. I love working with the pros. It makes the job just a bit easier sometimes.

But there are those times when I am working with non-proffesionals and then I have to take that extra step to explain everything about the wireless mic and transmitter. And of course that includes answering the stupid question about using the bathroom and if I listen.

CHRIST!!!!! Why would anyone want to listen??!!!??? Then we go over how to turn the transmitter off, again... Better yet, just come get me and I'll take off the pack before it ends up in the water.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had some mixed experiences of wireless micing actors on my recent feature shoot, one of the actors was a sweet pro who always said she would switch of the mic when she doesnt want me to hear some unpleasant sounds when off the set and would promptly put the mic on before the rehearsals

but we had a nightmare when one of the actors was shooting of his mouth abt the director, line producer and craft services when ofscreen without knowing that the mic was live

i have always made it a point to turn them off to avoid unpleasant surprises in post

love reading abt such experiences

Hari

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This talent privacy thing applies not just to the open mic.  When we wire up actors we invade their space, touch them in awkward ways, undress them even.  Only the vanities have closer contact with the actors, so I feel actors need to know that they can trust me as a professional doing a job, and not some doofus trying to cop a feel or show them in a bad light.  Inexperienced actors are most put off by our invasion of their space, so I talk to them ... tell them precisely what I need to do ... and tell them to let me know if they are uncomfortable with anything at all.  I make friends with wardrobe and show them how to run a wire, or remove a wire ... just in case. 

I know they are actors, and they do have to expect some lack of privacy to do their jobs, but I always try to find out what they are comfortable with before I just start running wires in their costumes.  I try to visit wardrobe and see what the costumes are like well before production starts.  I pre-wire outfits if I can, and wire actors in their dressing rooms if they prefer it and it doesn't slow down production.  It's much easier to get someone to trust us when they believe we are working in their best interest.  After all, we are ALL working toward the same goal, which is to get the best performances and make the best show possible.

my $.02

brian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So Radio Shack can come up with a device that can pick up ANY wireless signal, but we can't use different Lectro models together, without changing modes. Interesting. I understand why, but it doesn't seem like we HAVE to! I have to imagine the sound quality(not really important to those eavesdropping) is pretty poor!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So Radio Shack can come up with a device that can pick up ANY wireless signal, but we can't use different Lectro models together, without changing modes. Interesting. I understand why, but it doesn't seem like we HAVE to! I have to imagine the sound quality(not really important to those eavesdropping) is pretty poor!

"Poor" is a relative term. It's as least as good as a landline telephone, think walkie-talkie.

Eric

Link to comment
Share on other sites

" So Radio Shack can come up with a device that can pick up ANY wireless signal, "

the shack buys these from factories overseas. Radio companies like Yaesu, iCom and Kenwood manufacture entire lines...

digital signals are generally not decoded by these scanners, and some digital signals, like Lectro's are securely encrypted, but analog signals are all "hearable" though they may not sound anywhere near the quality we insist on. A companded signal picked up by a scanner, and not processed will sound strange, heavily processed, squashed, limited, over compressed, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the reference may have been to the Lectrosonics 700 model which is their digital system.

-  Jeff Wexler

I have noticed that Lectro had these 700 series for several years. They seem to promote/develop the 400/sm series much more, and thusly, the 700 series doesn't seem to get used by "us". Has anyone used them in the field? Pros, cons?

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...