Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1122919
31 isn't obvious: EQUIPMENT WHAT I DON'T HAVE IN COMMON WITH OTHER MIXERS when they can spare the time. Still, attend this if you can. Make friends with the Teamsters early on. When they come around to get used batteries for their kids' toys, give them a box of new ones instead. Then, if you need the genny moved farther away, they will be more cooperative, especially if you tell them as soon as you get to the set. Make friends with the electricians early on. When they come around to get used batteries for their kids' toys, give them a box of new ones instead. Then, if you need the genny moved farther away, they will be more cooperative in stringing the additional cable, especially if you tell them as soon as you get to the set. Make friends with the grips early on. When they come around to get used batteries for their kids' toys, give them a box of new ones instead. Then, when you need a ladder for your boom op, or a courtesy flag to shade your sound cart… Ditto for props, wardrobe, and all the other departments. Many mixers require their equipment to "earn its keep." They won't buy a piece of gear that they may never (or seldom) use. I have a different philosophy: if there is a gadget that will do something that nothing else I have will do, that is reason enough to acquire it. (And one element of my godlike reputation.) Some examples: 1. I have several bi-directional (Figure-8) boom mikes and lavaliers, even though they are not commonly used in production dialog recording (except for M-S, which itself is rarely needed). But their direction of minimum sensitivity (at 90º off- axis) has a much deeper notch than cardioids, super-/ hyper-cardioid, or shotguns. On just two occasions in over half a century, they have allowed me to get "good enough" sound under seemingly impossible conditions. The US Postmaster General was standing on the loading dock of the Los Angeles Main Post Office while surrounded by swarming trucks and forklifts and shouting employees, which completely drowned out his voice on the omni lav. I replaced it with a Countryman Isomax bi-directional lavalier, oriented with the lobes pointing up and down. This aimed the null between them horizontally 360° and reduced the vehicle noise to the correct proportion to match the visuals. Since we didn't see his feet, I was able to have him stand on a pile of sound blankets to help deaden the pickup from the rear, downward- facing lobe. (Of course, afterward, the director asked, "Why don't you use that mike all the time?" Then I had to explain about all types of directional mikes' sensitivity to clothing and handling noise and wind.) 2. I also have a small, battery-operated noise gate. While not suitable for use during production recording because the adjustment of the multiple parameters requires repeated trials, it has enabled me to make "field-expedient" modifications to an already-recorded track. I cleaned up a Q-track so a foreign actor wouldn't be distracted by boom- box music and birds in the background while he looped it on location before flying back to his home country. I removed some low-level traffic that was disturbing a "know-nothing, worry-wort" client on a commercial shoot and earned the undying gratitude of the director, who knew that it wasn't a problem but couldn't convince the client. (I also was able to close-mike some birds in the back yard and add them to cover the "dead air" between the words.) 3. Every time I find bulk mike cable in a color I don't already have, I buy 50 feet and make up a 3-pin XLR cable. This allows me to hide them "in plain sight" by snaking them through grass (various shades of green), or running them along the side of a house where the wall meets the ground (various shades of brown for dirt and fifty shades of gray for concrete or asphalt). Wireless links have all but eliminated the need for cables, but in the rare case where they are needed… I read many trade magazines, and investigate any new piece of gear to see what it will do. I offer to beta-test equipment, like the Zaxcom Deva I or the Lightwave Cuemaster. I soon bought production models of both of them, and still use the Deva I (upgraded to a Deva II) for playback of music and the prerecorded side of telephone conversations. I had Rabbit Audio upgrade my Cuemaster, too. Boom op Cindy Gess used the beta on Babylon 5: The Gathering, where a walk-and-talk in a narrow aisle