Are you an artist or a technician?

[Jeff Wexler]

My basic rule is to always consider how best to record things so that certain decisions in terms of equalization, level, etc., can be made later by the rest of the people who will be contributing to the completion of the soundtrack.

Replying to my own comment, I am reminded of working on "As Good As It Gets" with Jim Brooks directing. We shot a bunch of scenes in the restaurant that Helen Hunt works in and Jim had really wanted that set to be in a real restaurant in New York (where we did shoot for 4 weeks). The restaurant set was in fact built in an abandoned building on Broadway in downtown L.A. Jim was very specific about all the restaurant patrons, the background players, and picked lots of native New Yorkers to populate the restaurant. When we got into doing many of those scenes, Jim wanted the background to chatter (all those great New York accents) continuously during the dialog scenes, rather than the typical pantomime. I pointed out that this could cause some difficulty in editing and I was resoundingly put in what Jim considered to be my place, telling me that I should just record the sound and he and Ritchie (Ritchie Marks, his long time editor) would worry about the editing. We wound up doing a few scenes in that set where they would not be seeing the background, and so to save money there were no background actors there. In the finished movie, these scenes of course, played with a good background walla we had recorded with all the great New Yorkers. One curious thing, however, is that for dramatic effect and device, at one point in one of these scenes there is a slow push in on Jack where the background voices disappear --- this is to show how the Jack Nicholson character is alone, isolated, even in an active restaurant full of people. Had Jim been able to film this scene on one of the days when he had the background all yapping at full voice, he would not have been able to accomplish this without bringing Jack in for ADR and finding a good background wild track or loop group to play and then disappear at the appropriate moment.

This just illustrates the number of things we must consider, in production and on the day, that goes beyond just recording good clean tracks. To do our jobs creatively, artistically, we must keep the whole movie in mind, what it is we are trying to achieve to affect our audience with the finished product. These are things, certainly with regard to the soundtrack, that cannot be left entirely up to the artists in post.

[Guest BobD]

This thread reminds me of sitting in an industrial building, looking up at all the pipes carrying this and that and wondering..... " Wow, there are so many creative bends in that pipe to get all that stuff from one place to another"  "That pipe bender did a really nice job.... it looks really well done...."

Now, not always did the pipe HAVE to go this way or that.... There is code to follow, but a great deal is left to the bender him or herself....

Art?    No, just a pipe bender....

[RPSharman]

Being a "technician" is not a bad thing, and in my quote I stated that I did not want to be viewed as "merely" a technician.  Perhaps I should have used the word "only", but that might also have a negative feeling.  What I was trying to convey is that I see myself as a technician with an artistic contribution.

I wholeheartedly agree with what Jeff is writing here.  We are collaborators and artists.  We make artistic decisions about what sound we are going for.  We could all stick a lav on everyone, or shove a shotgun mic down every actor's throat and clearly hear the words "clean" as some folks have expressed as their desire.  That's just not me.  We are location sound mixers.  We are there to capture the performance, and in my book, that involves a little bit of how the room sounds, how it FEELS.  Sure, we might get remixed in post or overruled on set by directors, but that's part of the collaboration.

It seems that some folks here are content to be recordists and to collect their checks.  That's great.  That's a choice.  If they are happy with that choice, then who am I to criticize.  The topic here is "Are you an artist or a technician?"  I choose to be an artist.  That's what makes me happy.  And I truly believe my artistic choices make a difference to final product.  Perhaps not always, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try.

Robert

[Jeff Wexler]

Now, not always did the pipe HAVE to go this way or that.... There is code to follow, but a great deal is left to the bender him or herself....

Art?    No, just a pipe bender....

Bad analogy. The pipe bender is, by the job description itself,  a skilled laborer, a technician, who is bound to execute the plan in an exacting and precise manner --- there is no room for creativity, innovation, improvisation or individual decision --- to do so would jeopardize the very nature of the job of pipe bending. Whether we are artists or technicians, or both, whatever, the job of production sound mixing bears little resemblance to the job of pipe bending.

-  Jeff Wexler

[dfisk]

This is why I put the title of "Supreme Ruler of Space, Time, and Dimension" after my name.

But seriously. When I've been approached with this attitude, I usually say "my family doesn't care if I am an artist or technician. They only care if there is a roof over our heads and food on the table. The only way that happens is if I get paid for my time."

What I REALLY love is the "but it's a great project and everyone working on it loves it and is willing to work for free". The proper response to this is "Well, that's great and all, but I've never run across someone that said that everyone working on their project hates it and it's crappy. Everyone believes their project is great".

Audio work is very technical, but creative at the same time. It's not like all we do is push buttons and move knobs and faders. We put out fires, come up with creative solutions for problems, and in the case of post, actually do mostly creative work.

[Guest BobD]

Bad analogy. The pipe bender is, by the job description itself,  a skilled laborer, a technician, who is bound to execute the plan in an exacting and precise manner --- there is no room for creativity, innovation, improvisation or individual decision --- to do so would jeopardize the very nature of the job of pipe bending. Whether we are artists or technicians, or both, whatever, the job of production sound mixing bears little resemblance to the job of pipe bending.

-  Jeff Wexler

Pipe Bender....Plenty of room for improvisation...  Have you seen their work, I mean really taken a look...  Very artful at times...

  Your correct....That's what we are, skilled laborers and technicians... exactly...

  Listen, do I try to "be artful"  of course, do I try my best to deliver the best quality product and more... of course....  Do I hope that all around me work in an artful collaborative way?  Sure....  Do I use my gear in ways that scream for imagination and creativity...  you bet... do I care... Absolutely...

We too are "bound to execute the plan in an exacting and precise manner"...  Don't you think so?

Am I an artist....  Give me a break.....  I for one do not need a moniker, just the respect from those I work with, and for, that I in fact do a damn good job....    Someone else can be an "artist" ....  They can wear the hat too, I'll stick with my baseball cap!! The kind a Pipe bender wears....

I do like your points Jeff, you know that.....

[Mick]

Jackson Pollock tossed a bunch of different paint colors on a canvas and rode a bike over it. Some discerning art critics called it art and it eventually sold for $50 million. Compared to that ANYTHING we do is art!

[RPSharman]

To be fair, I was really answering the question "artist or technician".  Given the choice of the two, I prefer artist.  In general, however, I really like the term used by many others here, which is "craftsman".  We use tools of the trade to create a product with some personal artistry included.  While an architect (director) might design a custom house (movie), they employ craftsmen (mixers, DPs, costumers, etc.) with varying degrees of artistic contribution to complete the project.

Robert

[Jim Gilchrist]

Jackson Pollock tossed a bunch of different paint colors on a canvas and rode a bike over it. Some discerning art critics called it art and it eventually sold for $50 million. Compared to that ANYTHING we do is art!

Preaching to the choir, Mick. My wife has an MFA in painting - perhaps the least useful of all terminal degrees!

I consider myself either as an artisan or craftsman. I do a job which requires considerable technical skill along with a consideration for the art being made and the process.

Best regards,

Jim

[Mick]

I know that what I used to do for a living and now do for fun, writing, recording and mixing music, is art. there is some of that in what I do for a living now, but not as much. Mixing several wires and a couple of booms in a dramatic piece so that it all gels with the picture is definitely artistic. Recording a talking head talking about the half life of mollusks in the sub Arctic.....well,not so much.

Mick

[Peter Mega]

I guess this depends on what you do. If you work in TV, say reality, all the production wants is the dialog from the contestants and hosts. I worked on a show which can be best described as a poor mans "Survivor". I asked the post producer if he wanted more atmos tracks etc. The reply I got was "thats just more tape to fast forward through".

So ofcourse, all we concentrated on was dialogue.

I'm currently working on a show which has 24 contestants and two hosts. We have 26 radio mics running and then on other days we have 4 more guest judges, so yes thats 30 radio mics and 6 IFB's, aarrgghhh!!

Anyway, I've been co-ordinating frequencies and hard drive set ups etc and thats where the technician part comes in.

There is an art to wiring people but wiring 30 people with production on your back telling you to be as quick as you can is not really an art.

If you work in film or commercial's, maybe there is more room for artistry but in reality TV, forget it. Its hard enough getting clean dialogue let alone sound FX, atmos or buzz tracks.

I'm not going to attempt the answer the question in the the subject field.

Its all about perspective.

Cheers

Peter Mega

[studiomprd]

OK,  let's consider:

what do our jobs require?? Skill or Talent??

SENATOR Mike Michaels, PSA

[RPSharman]

OK,  let's consider:

what do our jobs require?? Skill or Talent??

Skill is required to do the job.  Talent is required to do it well.

[RPSharman]

you can survive without talent , look there are thousands who do it :-)

Agreed!