Zax to the Maxx

On Februry 16th, Zaxcom is having a shindig (read: seminar)  at Coffey Sound in L.A. :

NeverClipA live demonstration of NeverClip with a detailed explanation of all it's benefits to production.

ZFR bodypack recording with wireless QC audio and time code transmissionA major step into the future of production audio, this new software release enables multiple ZFR100, ZFR200 and ZFR300 bodypack recorders to wirelessly transmit timecode for syncing and audio for quality-control monitoring. The update enables a new, low cost, time code referenced method of recording high quality sync sound for production without the use of traditional wireless microphones and bag-based audio systems.

MaxxThe Maxx is a new class of mixer / recorder / transmitter. We'll demonstrate its many capabilities and how it can improve bag-based production audio.

The seminar is free of charge and will begin at 10:00AM PST. Everything should be wrapped up by around 11:30. Lunch will be served immediately following the event. 

Link.

Time To Make the Doughnuts

Here's a nice little BTS clip about a cam op/mixer team on Bravo's Top Chef:

Ty One On

(Yeah, the title isn't my best work, but this is happening pre-coffee, people...)

+Ty Ford recently sat down to chat with +Jon Tatooles from +sounddevices about the 664:

Bag 'Em and Tag 'Em

Tom Craca over at Gotham Sound has posted a field report on the Petrol PS617 Deca Lightweight Audio Bag. Many mixers have been eagerly awaiting an offering from Petrol that fits the Sound Devices 664's longer form factor, and methinks he liked it:

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the new PS617 bag designed for the Sound Devices 664. The bag is thoughtfully designed to securely hold the mixer and/or CL-6 and multiple wireless units and it certainly can be used with any other combination of mixers and/or recorders. I appreciate how its design does not force you into one configuration and Petrol clearly did that on purpose.

Link. 

Nope

Buenos tardes, sports fans. 

Sound mixers are a techie group, by definition. Our jobs only exist due to audio technology.  We bury ourselves in acoustics and electronics, we learn to perceive the world a decibel at a time. We hold fuzzy sticks aloft.

We must also be business people. As most of us are freelance, we become our own employers. Business acumen may come more easily to some than others, and it can become a trial by fire, lurching from one awkward negotiation to the next, until we get our sea legs and can converse as easily about invoice terms as we can about hypercardioid pickup patterns.

Where am I supposed to point the fiery end?

Part of those growing pains is transitioning from being eagerly available and saying yes to anyone who calls to becoming more discerning, and saying no when it's appropriate. There may be any number of reasons to say no: unrealistic client demands; low pay; you're feeling bloated and gassy and a heavy gear bag pressing on your abdomen isn't going to do anyone any favors.

But the most important reason is you. As your own boss, it's up to you to make sure you're adequately compensated and treated fairly. Occasionally this means saying no to available work, which at first feels completely at odds with freelancing, but over time contributes to your overall professionalism. When you do show up on a set, you're prepared and confident.

This is what I got when I entered "confident" on google image search.

The blog Work Made For Hire has a great post about learning how to say no. I had to learn myself, and while there were a scary couple of months (I swear I opened my checkbook one day and a tumbleweed rolled out), it was worth it. Yes, I work fewer days, but those days pay better, and are more on my terms, where I feel comfortable:

“No” is one of the best tools a freelancer has to protect herself and make sure she’s in control of her career.
“No” to a low paying job is “Yes” to your value as an artist or freelancer.
“No” to a client’s outrageous demand is “Yes” to your professionalism and self-respect.
“No” to a volunteer project you honestly don’t have time for is “Yes” to time necessary to relax and rejuvenate so you have the mental and physical energy to do all the other things you’ve said, “Yes” to.
“No” can help you avoid getting distracted by gigs that don’t serve your goals or that make you feel trapped.
Every time you say “No” to a request, you are saying, “Yes” to something else.

Remember, sometimes you just have to vote nope:

Link.

Wardrobe Malfunction

(Anyone who happened to land here looking for compromising photos of celebrities, begone with ye; ye have been misled, Apple Maps-style, by a side effect of the Google search algorithm.)

Everyone else: welcome to another installment of “I’ve Had Too Much Coffee, and Now Must Broadcast My Grumpiness Across the Internets, Veiled In the Finery of an Op-Ed.” This episode has to do with the “unsolicited assist”, wherein a well-meaning member of Wardrobe “fixes” a lav mic for us, without, as mentioned, being asked to do so.

This has happened to me more than once: mic talent, give the AD a thumbs up, we roll, I monitor boom. Midway through the take, I dip into the iso’s to check on the wire, only to hear the muffled crunch of a buried mic capsule (not entirely dissimilar to what it must sound like to be wrapped in a burlap sack and dragged across a gravel road). I assume my rig failed, and prepare to hold everything up before we move on to take two. Cut is called, and wardrobe only then approaches to tell me that they had to move the mic because “they could see it”.

This, dear readers, is wrong-a-rino. It doesn’t matter if we can see it. It only matters if it reads. If it reads, they (meaning the director, DP, producer, or any other of the gaggle of folks with eyes glued to the primary monitor) will let the Sound Department know, since it’s our responsibility, not anyone else’s.

While this shouldn’t have to be said, we make a living based upon an illusion. Every single medium that utilizes motion pictures, from the simplest talking head corporate interview to the biggest multi-camera feature film, involves a slight of hand, or, for the fancy-panted amongst you, trompe l’oeil. 

Say it out loud; you'll get it.

For even the most basic image capture process, it’s all a trick: we assemble a series of still pictures and display them in a specific way to convince the viewer of motion. We use numerous techniques, but most only work from a single perspective, that of the final intended viewer. Get too close, and the magic breaks down: sets and (non-hero) props don’t hold up; seams, both in clothing and poorly-done plastic surgery, begin to show.

But that’s just fine. We’re not making it for us. We’re making it for them: the intended audience. That isn’t to say that we phone it in; the unforgiving nature of HD formats coupled with larger modern screens means that the bar is high; something that may pass on stage, or would have once upon a time in standard def on a 27” inch TV, won’t cut it. Details must be finer, the illusion more thorough.

That said, there are some things that we let play in plain sight. We know that the viewer’s attention will be elsewhere in the frame. Even if they’re looking right at it, they won’t know that the little black dot in the shadow of a man’s tie knot is actually a microphone. The audience isn’t actually out to “catch” us. They want the illusion to work as well. It’s a tacit agreement between creators and consumers: “We’ll make this stuff, with lights and music and whatnot, and you’ll watch it and let your brain pretend that it’s ‘real’ enough to engage you once a week.”

We, as sound mixers, are not out to foul that up. When we’re charged with micing talent, we employ many spy-level mounts and rigs to conceal a microphone, preamp, RF transmitter, and power supply on a person that produces good sound, while still allowing freedom of movement and a low visual profile. Sometimes, due to a starched shirt, a hirsute actor, or vigorous action, we need to let the mic live out in the open a little bit. Since most of the common professional lav mics these days have capsules smaller than a match head, this will be just fine. 

Yup. That small.

Yes, you can see it. So can I. And so can anyone that knows what a lav mic capsule looks like. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it will read on camera. Lighting, lenses and viewing angle all come into play, as well as the basic notion that anyone who ever looks at another human being will first look at the eyes. This is how we connect, by trying to “read” the other person (and also why ACs pull focus to the eye, and not the chest or chin. Focus anywhere but the eye isn’t in focus, unless that’s the artistic intent). As a viewer of award-winning TV shows, I can tell you that I have seen many, many mics right out in the open. Numerous people involved felt like it wouldn’t detract from the show, or turn viewers away. They were absolutely right.

Finally, it isn’t your job. There will be at least three people scanning every pixel of the frame on a professional monitor. Trust me: if anything is even slightly amiss, they will let us know tout suite. When they do, they won’t say, “Hey, Wardrobe, we can see the mic.” They’ll say, “Hey, Sound, we can see the mic.” It will be up to us, the Sound Department, to make any adjustments. Should we encounter difficulty, we will, as always, consult and collaborate with Wardrobe in order to find a solution. We all need to work together to make our day. But Sound, and only Sound, should be the ones to adjust the mics. If the shoe was literally on the other foot, you wouldn’t want us trying to dress talent in a presentable manner. That would only end in wrinkles and tears.

Alllllmost this bad. But not quite.

Mount Up

Today's tidbit come to us courtesy of Tyler Faison, the Texas Sound Guy.  Recently he writes about a mounting technique for a Lockit or SB-T box on the Canon C300:

I own several Denecke SB-T units, and my solution was some industrial strength velcro onto the back of the monitor. I always keep some in my Pelican for these kinds of things. The SB-T is about the same size as the LCD screen so it makes sense.

My own preference is to hand over the slate and box and let camera suss it out. Typically they'll have their own preferences (and every time I try to be "helpful", I usually end up starting at least one small fire), but this ia a good idea to keep in your pocket should an AC/DP ask for a suggestion.

Link.