Mobile phone horror

[Steve House]

... I don't want to hire someone extra just for holding the mikes and monitoring audio, I have a budget to respect. What I could do is setup a backup audio recording setup (using a standalone audio recorder with XLR mikes attached to it) ....

This is exactly like saying "my budget doesn't allow me to hire someone extra just to hold the camera and watch its viewfinder, so I'll lock down the camera on a tripod, set its controls to auto everything, turn it on, walk away and hope it gives me great images." Doesn't make sense with respect to camera, doesn't make sense with respect to sound either. A location mixer / boom operator is far more than a human mic stand. Capturing professional quality images requires constant monitoring and attention to detail during the take from a dedicated pair of eyes, pair of hands, and a brain ... so does professional quality sound recording.

 

[John Willett]

Phones should be OFF or Flight Mode (Flight Mode switches off the phone's transmitter - it can still be used for all the other functions except phone and data).


Blackberry's seem to be the worst offenders, but it can happen with any phone as they can transmit up to 2 or 3 Watts in power when trying to handshake with a cell.

You just need to underline that silent mode is just as bad as being on and that all phones have to be either off or flight mode.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

Thanks for this info.

"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This new generation law enforcement grade, pocket sized unit is all you need to instantly and silently detect the use of cell phone transmissions so your conversations, meetings, and information remain secure with no leaks!"

But I think mobile phones already cause the buzzing on the mikes when they are not sending or receiving calls or text messages, it's the the scanning for network that also causes the buzzing, I think. So transmissions alone aren't the problem. I think.


[/FONT]

A monitor like this should detect the 'find mother ship' signalling that a cell phone uses at any time. You could take a metal detector, and wand your staff... otherwise if the monitor goes off during the shoot, you can cut the take, and find the offending cell phone...

As a note, when I watch the Behind the Scenes material, it seems like everyone in the world is wearing a pair of head phones... I believe there are wireless distributions methods that would allow for untethered head phones, for people who are not listening for absolute sound quality, but could detect the cell phone chirps, airplanes (for locations), or other noises that can fold into the audio.

 

[Gregg Juke]

>>>>Just shows how people just don't get how intense good audio can get at times.<<<<

I still do some live sound jobs, Doc, some of them simple support for an event with podium speakers, meetings, etc., not
always heavy music-oriented things. You wouldn't believe how often people call or leave messages asking for me to "just set-up a mike."

I've been threatening to do that someday-- just set-up a mike on a stand and leave.

GJ

 

[David Jimerson]

usually once the audio works fine it will continue working fine for the rest of the shoot and I don't want to hire someone extra just for holding the mikes and monitoring audio, I have a budget to respect.

In addition to what others have said about the possible mechanical failures you won't detect if you don't monitor, even if nothing goes wrong in the system, your audio will still be crap if the microphone isn't in the right place. Your actors move, don't they? Turn their heads? Stand up? Sit down? Walk around? There's no microphone in the world you can just place and expect it to perform well over the span of a scene, or even two seconds if there's motion. And that's the point of a motion picture, isn't it? For things and people to move?

Your audio guy holding the mic makes sure the mic is in the right place to capture good audio, and monitoring it is essential to this.

 

[maranfilms]

Audio is like fishing, just because you show up in a boat with a fishing pole, the fish ain't gonna just jump in. You have to do your part.

+10

It seems odd to me that the op will take the time, money and effort involved to buy a device to see who on set is not following directions and shutting off their phone. Wouldn't it be easier to have an assistant go around and ask each person to check their phone to make sure it's off? And in a way that won't embarrass, or humiliate them in front of everyone else. Sometimes people really do forget to shut them off. Although I do agree with everyone else, that it's easier to monitor. Have you looked into a nice wireless set of headphones that wont keep you tethered to one area. This way you can put them on and listen while your doing other things.

 

[davefisk]

For wireless headphones for the director, script supervisor, producer, and other people that need to listen to the audio, I've used IFB systems. I'll have a IFB transmitter plugged into an output of my mixer or recorder (depending on the recorder). That transmitter goes to any number of IFB receivers I choose. I think the most I've used at one time is about 12 receivers, but you can really run as many as you want. Someone mentioned "behind the scenes" stuff on dvd's, and seeing people wearing headphones. Those headphones are plugged into an IFB receiver that usually has a belt clip. There are several manufacturers that make them.

 

[Richard Crowley]

It seems ironic that the OP is asking for some device that detects interference when he says he doesn't have the resources to actually monitor the audio signal which is DOING EXACTLY THAT ALREADY with equipment he already has.

 

[janise koestner]

I guess maybe you enter in a area where a cell phone jammer, also named cell phone detector is applied.

 

[Richard Crowley]

A "DETECTOR" and a "JAMMER" are completely different things. Jammers are NOT LEGAL in most civilized parts of the planet.

 

[Paul F]

... Is there some kind of device that can check .....

Rieni

Yes, the device is a set of headphones.

An electronic detector is not effective. You would have to monitor it constantly to be sure that phones are not turned back on or come into the area. Phones are not the only thing that cause interference, so such a device would need to also detect other types of transmitters and random interference such as welders and other random noise generators that can't be detected. Noise interference is random and happen at any time. Monitoring audio is a must.

Even without electronic noise, someone must monitor and really listen to the audio. Not only to be sure it was recorded well, but to be sure something wasn't recorded that is undesireable. You can't direct and listen to the audio at the same time. It just isn't possible. Someone must be doing nothing but listening to the audio to be sure it is good.

 

[Paul F]

Oh.... this is a really old thread.