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Interesting Quote from Variety Article


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Low budget film writer and Producer Daryl Wein was interviewed by Peter Caranicas in Variety yesterday and had a telling quote when asked how he was able to produce a feature film for $15,000.

"We had other crew members also working for free," Wein said. "Alex's girlfriend at the time assisted camera … we got two people off Craigslist who worked for the love of film, and our actors all worked for the lowest possible SAG rate of $120 a day." Thesps included legit vets Peter Friedman, Andrea Martin and Julie White. So where did the $15,000 go? "Toward food, and to our sound mixer," Wein said. "It's really tough to get a good sound mixer."

Read the full article here:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118018343.html?categoryid=3683&cs=1

----Courtney

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I read that article a few days ago, and immediately thought, "I have to send this to all the inexperienced producers I argue with every month."

My take is always, "a good sound mixer will save you money in the long run by helping you avoid the expense of ADR and getting you usable tracks." And as Frank Scibella says, "when it sounds good, it looks better."

So far, the argument seems to work maybe about 50% of the time.  sigh.gif

--Marc W.

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This is funny and true. You can shoot your labor of love film on a 5D, Red, Arri, or Panaflex, but if the sound is bad all that effort will come off as amateurish. My son just mixed one of these films and he was the only one who was paid $$$ so maybe this is becoming understood by some.

CrewC

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Great quote!

Now someone just needs to explain to the producers that, in addition to hiring a good sound mixer, you also have be willing to make concessions for sound on set.

I've worked quite a few gigs where I'm pretty much the only person on set who's being paid, but still find myself working in locations that are terrible for sound, or having to work around noisy lighting gear or squeaky dollies or other ridiculous things that ruin sound, but could be fixed with a bit of time and effort.

I figure, if I'm the only person on set with a paycheck, it SHOULD mean that the production cares about sound, yet they refuse to take ten minutes to figure out which circuit breaker will kill the obnoxious rattling and clanking of the house AC and go on to claim they'll "fix it in post."

Then I feel kind of like a jackass for taking their money and then delivering a sub-par product, even though it's usually outside of my control.

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Marco, welcome and join the gang. IF we think of it, WE can make our own films man, produce them, direct them, shoot them and edit them. Maybe it's time for such ventures to happen. I am sure sound people can write better stories than most of the stuff we have to bear with on the sets and otherwise.

Having said this, until such ventures begin, and/or directors (who are the kings on the sets) who will see reason as to why that STUPID AC should be turned off are the truly sensible people.

I am sure there are a few. Well, very few maybe, but definitely a few! Until your

path crosses theirs, it's gonna be a bitchy ride. Hear it from me bro - i come from a country with a film industry that largely thinks sound is a paste that can be applied to a film after it is completed, and even more so in the digital era. And dont get me started about tv in India, ok?

-vin

PS: The "Who am I" thread beckon to you. Fill in when you can...

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Having said this, until such ventures begin, and/or directors (who are the king on the set) who will see reason as to why that STUPID AC should be turned off are the truly sensible people.

I had to fight on one location to get a grip to unplug the kitchen refrigerator on every take! The guy was ready to kill me after about the tenth request. During a meal break, I handed him a Comtek and let him hear it for himself. No more protests.

--Marc W.

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