Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1257029
24 holding the beat. These scenes took days to shoot, three cameras all the time, cranes and Steadicam to boot. On all of the big dance number days, days with big SFX, VFX, and stunts, Video Assist was handled by Local 695's Kya Kheshtenejad. Another enjoyable challenge was recording an actor singing live. My preference is to use a high-quality practical mic, in addition to an overhead boom and a body mic, when a scene calls for singing into a period microphone. The challenge here was to find period mics. Acquiring a circa 1938 mic that looked brand new and sounded well, wasn't feasible, so modern reproductions were called for. A radio broadcast scene, sung by the multi-talented Kerry Bishé, was recorded with an ear trumpet reproduction of the classic "ring" mic, which has a large diaphragm condenser element. Much thanks to Property Master Ross Anderson, who was able to provide it. In a club scene featuring Patti LuPone singing live, a reproduction of the classic Shure 55 was used, though purists will note that the 55 wasn't manufactured until 1939! In scenes where talent was not singing into practical microphones, I prefer using the Schoeps CMIT, as well as an overhead Schoeps CMC6-MK5 in cardioid mode (my favorite microphone of all time…). As in any period piece, production sound had to deal with vintage vehicles, and Penny Dreadful was no exception. Realism is one of John Logan's signature production values. Exterior shots that extended for blocks, with hundreds of background in period hair, makeup, and wardrobe, also demanded practical period vehicles as far as could be seen. Thanks to George Sack and Alex Pena on picture cars, one of the finest Transportation Departments I've ever worked with, production sound never suffered. On large crane shots that revealed several city blocks, many scenes involved more than forty period vehicles, several over ninety years old. The company purchased more than fifteen period cars for the duration of the show, and Alex and his crew replaced all of the ancient ignitions with modern 12V units, and added RF suppression spark plug cables to them. This allowed the AD Department to slot in vehicles on dialog with no ignition interference on my wireless receivers. Driving shots were photographed on the road, and also on stage with a blue screen for the dialog portions. This Sound Department did not complain. The heart of my production cart is a Cooper 206D v.2, feeding a Sound Devices 970 recorder. The eight channels of pre-fader ISO's on a 25-pin D-sub connector use the analog input of the 970. A Lectrosonics DNT BOB88 Dante interface gives me eight balanced line inputs and eight balanced outputs. Two input channels of the BOB88 are fed the A and B buss outputs of the Cooper, two of the outputs of the BOB88 are the A and B returns. A loom is permanently installed on the cart that allows easy hookup of a Cooper 306 to the system, which brings my input channel count to fourteen. The loom terminates in a 25-pin connector that feeds the 306's, ISO's to Dante; six additional radio channels to the 306's inputs, the cable gangs the busses of the two mixers together, including power. This allows me to add the 306 in less than five minutes, when needed. An analog Cooper front end, into the digital domain of Dante—the best of both worlds. I have twelve channels of Lectrosonics in two Venues. The Lectro's are used for all body mics and condenser plants. The Tx gains are all set between eight and ten to avoid limiting at the transmitter. I am using an Audio Ltd A10 Rx with two A10 Tx mounted on booms. All condensers used are Schoeps: CMIT-5U (x3), a MINI CMIT for plants, MK-5 (x3), MK-41 (x2), a MK-4, and a MK-8 for MS. Sanken COS- 11's for body mics and the occasional plant. Two channels of Lectro IFBT4 feed the Village and my crew, and there are two Comtek BST-25 Tx for earwigs. The two IFBT4's and the Audio Ltd A10 Rx are housed in a repurposed Lectro 200 series quad rack. All Rx and Tx connections to the cart are on twenty-five feet of RG-8X, with the antennas on a mast that can be raised seventeen feet. Two Mac Mini's reside on the cart, one is connected to the Dante network, the Lectro radios, and PixNet, along with Wireless Designer, Dante Controller, and a few other nifty production applications. The second Mini is used exclusively for playback. At the expense of six rack units' worth of real estate, a Marshall V-MD171 17" 2K monitor is used for computer display, via HDMI. The Mini's are AC powered by a 300W sine wave inverter. High-speed hubs manage two fast CF readers, SD and micro SD readers. A Remote Audio Speak Easy is the on-cart speaker. A second Speak Easy is on the support cart as a quick, small, battery-operated PB unit. I monitor the cameras on a Blackmagic Duo, with an additional Duo available when shooting three or four cameras. All of this is powered by a PSC Zeus 35-amp supply, the cart draws about 15A, and the entire cart weighs in at about three hundred and ninety pounds. I have a dedicated bag rig with a 788/CL-8, Lectro SRC's, and an Audio Ltd A10 Rx. For insert car work, I use my Cooper 306 feeding a Sound Devices 788T-SSD. Two Anchor/Shure combos are used as Voice of God systems, and when big guns are required, a pair of Crest LQ 15P powered speakers come out. At the wrap party for Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Kris Manning (2nd Boom/Utility) turned to me and said, "You know, this was the job that everybody wants." He was correct; a show where the creator's vision was strong and clearly communicated. It had a worthy cast, every key was hand-picked, a decent budget that allowed realistic scheduling on the part of the AD's, and from the top down, good production sound was a family value. And a couple of days a week, I got to watch Nathan Lane act…