Tag: Location Sound Mixer jacksonville florida

Tips When using a Zaxcom Wireless Camera Link

whitneyince

I think wireless camera links are the best advance in technology to happen to the location sound mixer because it gives you the freedom to do your job the best way you can, I have rarely had an issue with my zaxcom system but here is a list of things to do before shooting and a list of possible problems you may run into:

SETUP:

1. Make sure your camera man is always listening to the wireless feed via his camera headphone jack since you have no way of knowing what it sounds like.

2. Make sure all attennas and power cables are secure to the unit. The only issues I have ever had it a lose power cable or attenna.

3. Make sure the unit is secure in a saddle bag or BEC box. I have mine wrapped in velcro, which keeps them extra tight in the saddle bag or BEC box.

4. Have extra cables and attennas in case something breaks.

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS:

1. Unit will not power on: Check power cables are tight by removing them and reinserting them. Check batteries if your using them. Check Power Switch.

2. Unit is on but Camera Op hears no audio: Check headphone volume knob on camera, check transmitter in your audio bag, make sure camera is set up to recieve audio correctly.

3. Poor Range: Check to make sure tx and rx attennas are tight and secure, Make sure they are in good condition. Scan for new clear frequency.

With these simple tips and tricks your Zaxcom should preform well for you and make your job much easier.

Countryman B6 Lav you can hide it in plain sight

whitneyince

The Countryman B6 has always amazed me with the quality of audio it can provide for such a small microphone. It has become a life saver as an example. My go to lav microphone is usually a Countryman EMW because I usually fond it the easiest to hide and the best sounding. When I need to avoid noisy clothing or have a women wearing something very sheer I will use a Sanken Cos-11 since it is is a top element lav I can just peak it out the top of wardrobe. But for impossible wardrobe and noisy mens dress shirts I use the countryman B6 I just peak it out a button hole and bam you can hide it in plain site. It also has a variety of different color caps so you can match the cap to the shirt color. So everyone should have atleast 1.

Sound Devices Wave Agent A great program

whitneyince

As someone who does only Location Sound for a living. I normally don’t deal with files much except for when I need to FTP a transcript or a last minute voice over to a client. I have a small protools system which is more for me to just play around with and do my own personal work with. Occasionally I will do some simple editing on a low budget film or something but thats it. The other day I recorded some polyphonic wave files for a client, which I then burned to DVD for them for post. Well I get a call that they are having issues opening them (Trying to import them into a older version of AVID) and all they really wanted was the best channel of audio. I told them that even though the talent was wired the boom sounded good for the whole shoot. So I used Wave agent to quickly batch and exact track 1 of all my poly wave files. It worked quickly and allowed me to upload the files to my client within minutes. For a free download it is a great Mac and PC based program so check it out it may help you one day soon.

Spare and backup equipment always important

whitneyince

I wanted to say welcome to all the Fullsail students/ graduates who have emailed me directly. I thank you for reading.  A reader emailed me and asked me how much spare equipment I bring with me when working. Well it is sort of a loaded question. I own alot of gear, I only use all of it a few times a year so I own at least 2 spare of everything. When I am working most of the time I am using for 4 channel package, which consists of 3 wireless, wireless camera link, comtek IFB and sound devices 442 mixer. But when using this package I always have my 302 3 channel package with me which consists of my 302 3 channel mixer, (2) 201 wireless, BDS power system and cables for wireless camera link. I usually only use this package now as a 2nd package which I rent when I am on a show that needs a second package, as back up or if I am doing a show that requires me to have a small equipment bag like Cops or something that requires me to move faster and be more compact since the 302 package is about 8lbs while the 442 package is 22lbs 😦 . In addition to these two full packages I also have a PSC 4 channel mixer and 2 Sennheiser G2 wireless (which is what I started my career with) I also have a spare 210D Lectro system as well. When I was starting out and had no money at all. I made sure I had spare cables, spare lav microphones and a soldering iron with me and it served me well. That being said I have never had anything but an XLR cable break on me while shooting but I would never chance not having spare parts with me at all times. I also have a rule of never selling anything when I buy something better. Sound gear holds its value very very well so don’t shoot yourself int he foot by selling stupidly. So in closing (So I can go to the beach) start with just spare cables and lav microphones then move on from there