MattinSTL or Jeremy Ordan / MOST Important things you've learned

L

luqchu

New member
You guys seem the most knowledgeable about audio. Could you please post the most important things you've ever learned about film audio. NOT equipment tech related please.

YES to
- The closer the mic the better
- Shotgun for outdoor / Hypercardioid for indoor

NO to
- Oktava MK012 is the best mic for $200...

Sound is the most important in film. This post will help a lot of people out.
 
No, timthefoolman, I've taken classes on audio in film school, read textbooks, spoke with people at ProSound in nyc. I want it to come from them.
 
Not to slight the two you mentioned but there are more than two folks on this board with a LOT of experience. It sounds like your mostly talking about production rather than post so I wouldn't be one making me free to say that you should not alienate the rest of the experienced pros who post.

Also you might take a look at the stickies because there are a number that pretty much cover what your asking.

Cheers
SK
 
Yeah... to be honest with you I don't like being called out like that in a thread title. Only because I do NOT deserve to be singled out from a large group of very knowledgeable (in many cases MORE knowledgeable and MORE experienced) sound professionals. A couple that come to mind are Rippie, and ptalsky... and man... a lot more.

If anything, I'd say my biggest strength as it relates to audio talk on this board... is knowing when to speak (or not) and what to say (or not). There are some pros that can't relate to a newbie very well... or read between the lines well enough to realize that when a guy asks for the best mic, but indicates through the rest of his post that he either A) has very little money or B) virtually NO experience... then the "professional" needs to qualify his advice based on the OPs actual needs, budget, or experience. Sooo... I think I handle that side of things pretty well... but I can tell you there are guys on here that have an insane kit... again, think Rippie... as well as CONSTANTLY building industry experience.

Hey I'm just saying... at least to THOSE guys... my hat is off to YOU... and everybody appreciates your contributions to the forum, including me.

Okay... so anyway... to the OP... honestly, the most important thing I can tell you about running field audio is:

1) Know your kit inside and out before you get to location... meaning know what you have in it, make sure it's all there, and know what you'll use for a given circumstance ahead of time... you will NEVER... EVER... get the time you WANT to set up audio... NEVER!

2) Establish your audio PLAN... ASAP... talking to the DP (or camera op) so you know your boom-line, or necessary plan of attack for getting good sound. This plan includes CONSTANT ATTENTION to the lighting set-up as it's happening... because 9 times out of 10, they will want to key from the spot you already determined to be the ideal place to boom from.

Jeez... you know what? I'm realizing that I'm well on my way to typing a BOOK here... I thought I had about 5 things to say were the most important... but as I'm typing I'm only thinking of more... and more... and more.

Experience will teach you a lot... but if you want to hear an overly simplistic "what's most important answer"... and this is honestly BRUTAL TRUTH here... it's this:

Try to be likable to everybody on set, even if there's somebody there you don't like... you better be sure he/she likes YOU... and don't screw up.

"Don't screw up" means that if there's a situation that will prevent you from getting good sound be sure that the important people on set KNOW about it... that you've made it clear that the traffic, AC noise, or whatever... can't be eliminated... and whatever you decide to implement for audio... does NOT fail, based on the choices YOU made. There's a difference between doing the best you can with a bad situation vs. screwing up... and that's the most important thing to continue working in the industry.

Simply put, be likable... and don't screw up.
 
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MattinSTL said:
Simply put, be likable... and don't screw up.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's about it!

I remember many years ago training an assistant engineer in a music studio and telling him that even if someone were the greatest, most gifted audio engineer in the history of the trade, 50% of their success will depend how much other people like being around them. In large part because those people are going to be around him/her *a lot*. Like every day, all day for months on end. I have personally seen people with truly extraordinary talent and ability get fired *after one day* because they didn't get that point. Those people might do just great on their own, or in an environment under their own control, but in a team setting (like all film sets and most recording sessions), getting along well - *really well* actually is absolutely a make/break thing.

Regarding Matt's second bullet point, I recently heard a quote attributed to a musician friend of mine from way back, an incredibly brilliant professional guitarist/producer named David Spinozza (wanna see a smokin' discography? click below)

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jpfixqygld0e~T40G

When asked what the key to success is, David replied: "Don't suck!". David has a wicked sense of humor, so it has to be understood in that light, but nonetheless it's the same idea as Matt's above. And every bit as on the money.

Humor aside, it loosely translates to "preparation is everything" or the like...
 
Just by browsing the forum I thought you guys displayed a lot of knowledge on important subjects. Any of the audio experts can chime in, no need to be modest.
 
"Simply put, be likable... and don't screw up."
Amazing how that works for most situations, on and off the set!
Cheers
SK
 
Great advice! (which I'm learning first hand at the moment)

Though, how do you handle it when you do screw up?
And any real life stories would be awesome!
 
In addition to the above, I think Matt said it very well (hey Matt, how's it going?) - know your kit inside and out. I had a situation recently where I was using the headphone out on my HD-P2 to feed my wireless feed to a RED (I was recording everything double system) and when I popped my headphones out of the jack, the little metal tip broke off inside the jack, rendering it useless. So, this is one of those situations where you have to tap-dance quickly. This was on a commercial shoot, and we were fighting the rain, so time was critical. (The feed to the RED was for dailies/scratch track, they were going to synch my recordings for the final project). So I pulled out my trusty Octava, mounted it to the RED directly and wired in a G2 for a wireless camera return so I could monitor on occasion just to make sure it was still working. This all happened in less than 5 minutes.

What I'm really trying to point out (and yes, I know that using the headphone out isn't the greatest solution, but for the kit I had with me that day it was the best option available) is that because I know what I have, and because I always have EVERYTHING with me, regardless of what the client has paid for, I could fix things very quickly and we moved on. And, obviously, because the equipment failure was "my fault" I didn't even attempt to charge the client for the additional equipment. And, the client didn't even realize that there was a problem, because I kept my cool, stayed professional and kluged it together in a way that the client got what they wanted.

Phil
 
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