Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1152338
33 reverberant exterior, the mike's distance can usually be altered about 3:1 without noticeably affecting the perspective of the dialog while giving almost a 20-dB dialog gain change. Since the distance to the source(s) of the background noise will not be changed significantly, the ambience will not change either, as long as the mike's orientation with respect to the source of the ambience is not changed while it is being moved closer or farther from the actor. While I just said my ultimate loyalty is to the picture—in typical Hollywood fashion that's a lie. My first loyalty is to myself, my life, and limb. During car stunts, I always mix standing up, with my chair out of the way, and have located all the escape routes in advance. However, on one show, this wasn't enough. Working on the TBS back lot, there was a scene where a tractor-trailer careens around a corner and takes out a curb mailbox. With my physics background, I set up the cart in a safe place should the truck skid off the street. Then the 1st AD told me that it was the worst place to be, and insisted I move to a location he selected. I knew better than to try teaching him Physics 101 about centrifugal "force," and did as he said. On the first take, the truck lost control and headed directly for me, or rather where I had just been standing. Unfortunately, the escape path I had chosen was also picked by a lot of the crew, and we were all jammed together and stuck there. Fortunately, the driver got the vehicle stopped in time. Unfortunately, it also came up just short of the sound cart. (It was WB Studio equipment.) On a night shoot, we had completely blocked off a street with barricades, flashing red lights, and had police traffic control. A speeding drunk driver plowed though all the barriers, and only that he then T-boned a police car parked crosswise in the street kept many of us from being killed or maimed. You are never absolutely safe anywhere, but especially on a movie set. Fire can spread amazingly fast. Safety chains on effects shots can snap. Remember that when you are tempted to "get a good view" of something being blown up. Even on an "ordinary" shoot, you need to maintain cautious work habits, but more importantly, be aware of your surroundings. Coming back from lunch, I was in a line of people entering the stage, but was I the only one to get a faint whiff of natural gas? Apparently so. I immediately notified the 1st AD, who was not overjoyed at the news, but (properly) followed me outside to verify it, evacuated the building, and called the gas company. When they arrived, they found a cracked meter, and replaced it. But because I don't trust anyone (including myself), the next morning I went straight to the meter and … still smelled gas, even more strongly. The AD didn't even bother to check, just got everyone out and called the company back. The main gas line had split from the stress after it was re-attached and checked for leaks. Even when the director or AD wants you or your crew to "hurry"—don't run. Not only are you more likely to trip or have an accident, but they will eventually expect you to move that fast all the time. Save the running for a real need, like losing the light on a magic-hour shot. Whatever you may have heard about grips' "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll" mentality, I have found most of them to be very knowledgeable about safety, and trust their judgement. (The pix shows me only part-way rigged: a pad for my left knee and more safety straps were added before leaving with the police escort.) Finally, there is a very real possibility that you may have to choose between your job and your life. I was working a nonunion feature in a small town in another state. Yesterday had been 18 hours, and I had already worked 10 today when the producer showed up and said that at wrap, some 2 or 3 hours hence, the company will have 3 hours to pack up and check out of the hotel, and then drive our own cars another 2 hours, at night on unlit mountain roads, to the next town on the schedule. When we Traveling in style thanks to Local 80