This week we focus on using the wireless mic and placing the mic so that it is hidden. How to work with people so you can do your job efficiently and professionally.
The big shoot in Thursday's class involved running multiple mics through separate mixers to 3 cameras. It was a real pressure cooker. Impressions were mixed, but I think we learned a great deal about our deficiencies in this area.
Begin prepared and displaying confidence are key assets of sound production people. There's a lot to think about and nothing can be overlooked.
Showing posts with label mixer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mixer. Show all posts
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
#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.
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.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
#8 Wk3 - Camera and Sound
The Sound and the Frustration
This is the last week for the Camera and Sound module. The class broke up into 2 teams of 5 and continued to use the boom mic and lavalier mic. Tuesday we recorded an interview and a narrative short on Thursday. I spend a few moments explaining the advantages of a Boom over a lav mic.
We’re also using a sound mixer which provides greater control than is available through the camera alone. I explain why it is both simple and hard
We experienced difficulties working with the audio that put us under a lot of pressure to meet our end of class deadline. The big lesson is that no matter what the source of your equipment, it makes sense and can really save your butt if you check the working status before you begin setting up the shot.
Of course all the preparation in the world won't save you if you don't pay attention to details. Despite my best efforts to avoid problems, by coming into class an hour early to prep the equipment, I still managed to miss the fact that the video gain was turned on through our entire shoot.
“Wakey, wakey” as a friend used to say.
We worked up a short story that we would shoot as an in-camera edit, where each scene is shot in one take, as it occurs in the story. Each shot is filmed so that the end and beginning fit in with the next and previous shot. No extra footage because you aren't editing it in the computer, it's all in the camera. It took a lot of planning and discussion to shoot, but it was fun and it worked out rather well. It helped that it was a simple story and it was short, only 3 minutes long.
On the last day of the class we’re introduced to optical stabilization, which makes shooting hand held practical. We didn’t get a chance to use it this week, so I’ll talk about it in a future episode.
I also discuss the need to develop a process for double checking, not only the working status of equipment, but also the settings on the equipment.
Howard Phillips, the associate director of the Film program, will be teaching the next module on lighting, which begins next week.
Chapter times
This is the last week for the Camera and Sound module. The class broke up into 2 teams of 5 and continued to use the boom mic and lavalier mic. Tuesday we recorded an interview and a narrative short on Thursday. I spend a few moments explaining the advantages of a Boom over a lav mic.
We’re also using a sound mixer which provides greater control than is available through the camera alone. I explain why it is both simple and hard
We experienced difficulties working with the audio that put us under a lot of pressure to meet our end of class deadline. The big lesson is that no matter what the source of your equipment, it makes sense and can really save your butt if you check the working status before you begin setting up the shot.
Of course all the preparation in the world won't save you if you don't pay attention to details. Despite my best efforts to avoid problems, by coming into class an hour early to prep the equipment, I still managed to miss the fact that the video gain was turned on through our entire shoot.
“Wakey, wakey” as a friend used to say.
We worked up a short story that we would shoot as an in-camera edit, where each scene is shot in one take, as it occurs in the story. Each shot is filmed so that the end and beginning fit in with the next and previous shot. No extra footage because you aren't editing it in the computer, it's all in the camera. It took a lot of planning and discussion to shoot, but it was fun and it worked out rather well. It helped that it was a simple story and it was short, only 3 minutes long.
On the last day of the class we’re introduced to optical stabilization, which makes shooting hand held practical. We didn’t get a chance to use it this week, so I’ll talk about it in a future episode.
I also discuss the need to develop a process for double checking, not only the working status of equipment, but also the settings on the equipment.
Howard Phillips, the associate director of the Film program, will be teaching the next module on lighting, which begins next week.
Chapter times
- 00:07 Last week recap
- 00:54 This week
- 01:19 Boom vs Lav mic
- 03:24 Reel to reel memories
- 04:20 Mixer revealed
- 05:18 Production problems
- 07:08 Shooting In-Camera edit
- 07:52 Deciding on a story
- 08:26 The other team's story
- 09:21 Our shoot
- 10:17 Critique of video
- 11:16 Optical stabilization
- 12:06 Composition concerns
- 12:46 Checklists
- 13:40 Editorial: Order order
- 15:30 Close
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