Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1057439
74 F A L L 2 0 1 8 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y CART-TO-CAR (OR MOTORCYCLE) The inspiration for this article was my personal experience in doing this type of work on Mayans M.C. for FX Network. We employed every single one of these methods to pull it off. While filming the first of two pilots, we employed the Shot Maker rig more often than not. I then dropped a bag a few times in the back of a moving van or Jeep. I outfitted the actors with Lectrosonics PDR pocket recorders. Most of all, we as a company ended up perfecting the follow van method, as this seemed to be the most effective and efficient approach for my department, the camera department, and the producers. Fortunately, most of our cast members were riding motorcycles instead of riding in cars, thus minimizing RF issues relative to a car's body. The range on my wireless was never an issue with this scenario, though we did pad ourselves to tip the odds in our favor. My utility sound technician extraordinaire, Tanya Peel (who did Seasons 5-8 of Sons of Anarchy), knew better ways to wire the kuttes (the cutoff biker-type vests) to sound good. She also rigged the transmitters high up in the kuttes, providing me with more ideal RF efficiency in transmission. Often, we did dialogue while in motion that would then transition into scenes on the side of the road. Instead of pulling all of the company's trucks up and transforming into a conventional production footprint, we more often stayed mobile working off of the follow van as the village. CONCLUSION My assessment after doing this type of work more frequently in a condensed period of time than I ever have before is this: I feel, assuming the production company doesn't want to use a Shot Maker but still allows us to protect our product, we should do a combination of the luxurious follow van setup in conjunction with a bag drop or recording wireless (whichever you have at your disposal). Reason being, it's likely you could successfully pull off the tasks at hand with the follow van as your vessel, but in the event of a crowded RF environment or unexpected excessive distance, you also have a timecode-striped alternative to the audio. Additionally, you can offer a decent monitor mix if the RF is holding. There's also a vice versa scenario where you drop a bag and use its RF outputs to monitor the sound yourself. Then you distribute that mix to the occupants of the follow van. Dealer's choice, I think! When more complex and comprehensive video transmitting equipment is used (like microwave technology), a bag drop can be very useful when you are recording the talent with nearby wireless reception. You can feed the camera's SDI signal path with an audio track, allowing for embedded audio to be carried over the microwave transmission to a client follow van. There are so many ways to do it and they are all challenging. I am open to any ideas people have considering what we're up against. Despite the challenges, this is what we do and what we take pride in. It's a combination of rolling with the unfortunate punches and also having a hand in manipulating how it's done. If only it could always be Cart-to-Car! • Kevin Compayre with his entire cart rigged inside a Ford Transit van. Shawn Holden CAS is an avid practitioner of loading her entire cart onto the deck of the Shot Maker rig while doing process trailer work.