#36 Wk26 - Production Audio

Production audio, hands on, boot camp like. Lots of opportunity to run and trip, and learn.

Frank DeAngelis is the instructor. Providing us with real world experience with a run and gun edge. Just another example of the variety of resources the school provides for our benefit.

So relieved, I'm really tapped, energy wise. Not afraid to work at learning, but between stress and tight deadlines I needed to use a different part of my brain. It was like someone knew we needed a breather.

In this module we get practical information about handling equipment, bringing to the set what you need to get the job done and working with what you got (not always the same) to get the job done. Often during class we came up short when we went through the kits. Something was missing, batteries, clips, connectors were bad. The motto of the class was "pack your own parachute" because if you only find out on set that something is missing, it's too late and no one gets the blame but you.

The focus was on using a boom and wireless mics (Sennheiser eW100 G2 wireless) and a mixer (Sound Devices 320) to control the audio from 3 sources going into the camera.

Another mantra was"treat the equipment with respect". As students it's easy to treat any of the equipment as casually as Stretch Armstrong, but you have to remember to develop good habits now, because there’s more important things to do when preparing for a paying gig than cursing yourself for breaking a wire connection or dropping a wireless transmitter, for the fifth time. How often do you expect you'll get rehired.

I don’t mean to sound like your mom, but you know, students are the worst and it gets old faster than finding your roommate's underwear in the freezer, again.

For those of you interested or with enough patience I've added a little detail about how a mixer fits in the production workflow, what it's used for, how it operates. I've tried my best to simplify things, it's still a very involved process.

#7 Wk2 -Camera and Sound

Composing the frame and recording audio

We shot a little video, experimenting with the various controls of the camera and framing techniques. During critiques Greg referred to framing conventions as the Grammar of Cinema. Every shot serves a purpose in advancing the story. The composition of the shot communicates on an unconscious and emotional level, as well as visually. During each critique he would use the rule of thirds to identify the impact of the scene visually.

He referred to a book on cinematic grammar, Shot by Shot. If I get my hands this book I'll write a brief review.

The rule of thirds is a way of composing your scene and arranging the relationship between subjects and subject and the background. It is used in all areas of design. Here's a link to a site that has a good explanation from a photographer's point of view, but applies to cinema as well.

Saturday was the first all day class and it was all about recording audio. We used a number of different microphones and looked at ways to control sound that you don't want to record.

Chapter Titles

• 00:07 This week
• 00:27 PreRoll Checklist
• 00:57 Time Code is tricky
• 01:59 Critique
• 02:40 Rule of thirds
• 04:49 Grammar of cinema
• 05:22 DVX100 complaint
• 06:46 Recording audio
• 07:44 Testing different mics in an interview
• 10:08 Hierarchy of microphones
• 11:14 Controlling sound
• 12:24 Learning highlights
• 13:56 Close

#6 Wk1 - Working with the DVX100

Week 1 Getting familiar with the hardware

The next three weeks the class will be covering how to setup and use essential camera and sound equipment. This week we set up tripods, calibrated the monitor, adjusted the frame rate and set the white balance on the DVX100.

Next week we finish the Preroll checklist and shoot some video.

Here’s a link to a pdf of the manual for the DVX100P.