If your a beginning sound mixer or just need to add an extra wireless to your kit but cannot afford the $3000.00 for a new Lectrosonics 411 System or $1800.00 for a used Lectrosonics 211 system then a Senneheiser Evolution G2 system may be right for you at a price point of $500.00 for the standard system or $600.00 for a system that also includes a plug on transmitter they are the best wireless under $1000.00 without question I used them for 2 years before I could afford my Letrosonics systems and still use them today on larger jobs. They also are great for sending timecode to a smart slate and for monitoring a headphone feed as well. The units are very well built as well I have had them dropped many times and abused by talent with no issues. They are ready to use right out of the box the only thing that needs to be changed is a better lav microphone should be purchased as the provided lav isn’t very good. I would recommend a Countryman EMW for $180.00 and a spare 1/8in mini to xlr cable Different Lav choices were discussed in a earlier blog post. But you can get a pair of these units with Countryman EMW for under $1500.00 which is a great value. The units also have great battery life each unit takes 2 AA batteries which last about ten hours. I have nothing but positive things to say for about these units I also rent mine often to local film makers who find them easy to use and comment on how good they sound for the price. If anyone would like to rent mine for a few days to try them out let me know.
The Red Camera “A New Obstacle to getting good sound”
For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet there is a new camera on the market called “The Red Camera” http://www.red.com/cameras. It is suppose to allow you to shoot film like quality directly to a Compact Flash card with the camera package being Less than $20,000 however for the location sound mixer this camera is a nightmare. It has been released before all the bugs has been worked out. Below is what Scott Farr a camera op and location sound mixer had to say about it :
“Camera at this stage WILL NOT record audio.
Camera at this stage has TIMECODE drift problems
Camera at this stage only records to CF cards and biggest RED card is 8GB which is about 8 minutes of record time.
Camera at this stage doesnt record in full 4K, it uses the RED ONE software to uprez.
Camera at this stage will only work with RED ONE post software which is still in beta and crashes, only runs on windows.
ALL of the RED ONE brand cables (audio, timecode, USB, power, etc.) are 3X the price they need to be. Buyer beware.
AUDIO IN to the Red One is four TA3 female connectors
TIMECODE I/O is a standard LEMO 5pin
AUDIO OUT is a single TA5 female connector
Current firmware does not unlock the AUDIO and the TIMECODE is unstable. When activated, the AUDIO should record at 24bit, 48Khz on each of the four tracks.
this camera will leave you RED in the face.”
On the Jeff Wexler Discussion Group Jwsound.net a mixer who is shooting with this camera asked for advice about using timecode with this camera and the general response was use a dummy slate and don’t use the camera timecode until they fix all the problems here was my response.
“Yes if the timecode is known to drift and be inaccurate and since no one has any experience with the camera. I won’t mess with it at all with a dummy slate and syncing to the clap you know things will work. Since the camera is so new I bet the camera crew has no or very limited experience with the camera since it just started shipping last week. I would prefer to stay away from the camera and camera crew as much as possible so that they can figure out all the problems I am sure they will have. Unless you can run some extensive tests before you shot including the post production work flow just follow KISS. Keep it simple until the camera has all the bugs worked out of it .”
Fellow Mixers Beware of this camera and make sure you run extensive tests before your production starts.
Which Boompole is right for me?
If your a beginning sound mixer choosing a boompole can be a confusing since there are countless brands and types. The most commonly found boompoles in a professional sound are K-tek and VDB internally cabled poles. There are many different models but for someone on a tight budget the K-tek KE89CC that is 2.5ft-7.5ft in length and sells for under $200.00 is a good choice . It is a great boompole for most work except for very wide film shots where more extension is needed. I have owned the KE89cc for many years and it has never failed me. For film work and shoots I know I will need to have more reach I use what I consider to be the BMW or Porsche of boompoles the K-tek K-202CCR side exit carbon fiber boompole which retails for about $800.00 it extends to 16 feet giving the reach I sometimes need. It is also much lighter weight than the Ke89cc however it is really a luxury but I love having it in my kit. I also own a K-56cc which is the smallest boompole K-tek makes it is only 1ft 4in collapsed and extends to 4ft 11in. It fits inside 1560 pelican case and can be easily put into most carry on bags. For travel jobs where I will be using mostly wireless lav’s I will bring this pole because it is easy to travel with and easy to carry around. However its limited reach does not make it an ideal boompole for all situations. So for most situation 7-9 feet of reach is plenty however having the ability to extend up to 16 feet is sometimes a must.
Five Tips for First Time Reality Tv Mixers
Here are my basic tips if you have never mixed on a Reality Tv Show before:
1. If you have to make sure the Lav Microphone doesn’t move use a Vampire Clip
2. For all other Lav situations use either Moleskin or 3m Transpore tape to secure the lav to the inside of the talents shirt
3. If your working on an equipment provided job talk to the head mixer or sound supervisor ahead of time and read all the manuals for the equipment you will be using ask questions if you don’t know something.
4. Make sure you have spare items with you especially a spare coiled boom jumper and a breakaway snake if your using a wireless camera hop. Also have plenty of batteries
5. Have a water bottle pouch either on your sound bag or buy a Cine Tools bottle pouch to put on your belt. Drinking plenty of water will make your job easier
The Reality of Sound Mixing for Reality TV
I went to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and graduated with a Degree in Sound Design in 2005. Overall I received a good education and I only have one major compliant. When I learned about Location Sound Mixing and Recording we were taught everything as if we would be always working on high budget films. We were told we always must use a sound cart, have a boom operator, a cable utility person, must always have a video feed and should only use wireless microphones as a last resort when all else fails. So upon my graduation this is how I thought all sound was done well I quickly learned this was not the case for reality tv and most low budget films. The biggest downfall of my education was the lack of wireless microphone theory and practical lav usage. Upon getting hired on my 1st Reality tv shoot I show up and I am the only sound person with 3 camera filming and the first words out of the producers mouth was, ” You can leave your Boom with the rest of the gear you won’t be using it”. This is when I knew I would be learning via “Trial by Fire”. After surviving this shoot I thought maybe this shoot was unusual but after I few more I realized that it was Reality Tv and it was a completely different type of mixing with a completely different approach. Now after doing so many reality tv shows when I do the occasional film I sometimes forget for a second that we can do multiple takes and if something isn’t 100 percent perfect we can keep trying till we get it right. But doing reality tv has made me a better sound mixer because there are no retakes and it has to be perfect every time. It has also made me think on my feet faster and taught me some creative boom operating methods it still amazes me that I can boom operate effectively while mixing 5 wireless but I do it all the time. I enjoy doing Reality Tv Sound but hope in the next 5 years I am able to get back into doing more films where I can actually try to work towards perfect sound instead of just trying to get good sound in any situation.
Pro Location Sound LLC 