Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1380878
22 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Summer 2021 end, I was very happy with the build I created and the cart worked in so many different locations and scenarios. The bag rig could easily be pulled off the cart, which in turn, also took most of the weight, making the cart easily carried up, say, a long flight of uneven stairs that led to the opening of a cave, with equally uneven floors. I think we made that particular climb in and out every day for a week. Then there was the hike into a park to shoot at various waterfalls, the boat ride to yet another cave, and the various beaches and jungles. Having the ability to hike in with my bag made so many locations easier to access. I had my regular follow cart with me, loaded into a cube truck in Hawai'i and a passenger van with the seats removed in Thailand. We also needed a mobile, rough-terrain-friendly solution for the gear in that cart. Orca makes an amazing bag called the OR-26, which we christened the "mobile follow cart." Loaded up, it could fit all the basic items found in my cart—from wires to slates. For everything else, especially bulkier items like cable and our mobile VOG speaker, we had a foldable wagon. Because hand-carrying everything you own isn't enough fun on its own, let's not forget we were doing this in insanely hot and humid weather. And did I mention the not-infrequent downpours of rain in both Hawai'i and Thailand? The mud we had to wade through was epic in proportion. Production actually had to schedule staggered pre-calls in Hawai'i during our last week so that each department could use a rented power washer to clean carts, cables, etc. My crew put up with many uncomfortable locations, but always performed with the utmost professionalism. For Hawai'i, I brought Boom Operator and fellow Local 695 member Mitchell Gebhard with me from LA, and we worked with local Sound Utility Nohealani NihipaliDay. There were so many challenges involving scenes or shots where we would be beyond the range of wireless reception: recording dialog for two kids racing through Kualoa Valley on ATV's, filming boat-to-boat out on the ocean, and my personal favorite, four kids biking full speed for about a mile along the East River in one of the most notoriously terrible RF environments in NYC. Those scenes jumped out at me when I was prepping and reading the script, so I brought with me several Lectrosonics PDR's. Those have become a staple of my kit in recent years, as it gets harder and harder to find clear wireless frequencies, and for shots that simply defy the range of wireless even in perfectly clear environments. Easily jammed with timecode, and with the ability to record and stop with the LectroRM app, the peace of mind that comes from knowing I have good, clean, usable audio on each actor's wire is just fantastic. Mitchell Gebhard booming in Hawaii