Production Sound & Video

34 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Spring 2021 the spread sheet. This is quite an eye opener with some departments completely unaware of the frequencies their gear works in. The spreadsheet motivates departments who are inexperienced in radio equipment to, at the very least, get up to speed on the frequencies they require. We then work out which departments are potentially going to have conflicting frequencies with other departments. Then ascertain who is on fixed, and who is on variable frequencies, and ask those using equipment on variable frequencies to compromise by moving into some free space to help the departments on fixed frequencies. A common issue caused by Teradeks is not setting a locked fixed frequency, so it will channel hop whenever they experience a weak signal, causing big issues for all the other equipment in the same bands (often the other equipment the Camera Department is using…). We are finding that the most congested bands are the Wi-Fi frequencies of 2.4ghz and 5ghz, and when the transmit power gets ramped up, they begin to conflict with our radio mics, not to mention control commands with Zaxnet. I delegate the entire frequency issue to my Utility Technician. However, the job is certainly gaining an increasingly heavier workload, and the ability to swing a boom, lav the actors, and deal with frequency issues is now a much larger task. VOG An outgrowth of the COVID-19 protocols is the Sound De- partment's responsibilities of a permanent 'Voice of God' (VOG). This used to be something we'd only encounter on large sets which required the 1st AD's voice to be amplified louder than the output of a loud haler. We are increasingly working with Directors who like to use a VOG at all times. Once the Director is using a VOG, then the 1st AD is go- ing to need one too, so now we are suddenly wrangling handheld mics, receiv- ers, and a large 5kw PA which has to be moved from scene to scene and from set to set. The VOG requirement seems to have grown as a direct result of shooting digitally which has also led to a 'tent culture' where Directors and DP's spend far more time in 'Ezee Up' tents, off the set so they can view large LED monitors in darker conditions that are more favourable for judging the DP's lighting set up. Comteks There was a time when the amount of Comteks we were required to provide on an average-size film or TV show was ten to fifteen sets. It is not uncommon now for me and my team to be expected to provide forty Comteks on a show. This has increased the amount of battery changes we have to do on a daily basis, and the number of receivers we are trying to find at the end of each day. The way my team manages this new phenomenon is treating Comteks the same way as the AD's handle walkie-talkies. We assign a crew member their own unit with their name printed on it using a label maker, and ask them to sign for it. We maintain a record of each crew member's Comtek serial number, so if the unit is lost, we know who lost it, and add it to the L&D report. Each department is responsible for charging their own rechargeable batteries. Some departments are reluctant to take responsibility for a Comtek full time, exclaiming that they only need one once in a while. However, it's guaranteed a Grip or an AD will approach the Mixer or Utility Sound at the last moment needing to hear the dialog for a cue, and we will hear "waiting for sound" from the 1st AD as the Utility scrambles. Visual Effects We are now in an era of advanced VFX technology which has benefitted Boom Operators in getting their microphones closer over the actors. There are different scenarios, from complete blue screen and green screen work which allows our boom mics to be in shot all the time to the more popular, real set pieces in foreground with the deep backgrounds being green screen or blue screen. The challenge for our Boom Operators is the booms cannot cross behind the foreground sets, or the actor, unless the boom poles are green or blue, otherwise they will be needed to be painted out, which is costly. Popularised by Director David Fincher, known unofficially as the 'House of Cards' method, is the booms are allowed to cross into locked-off wide shots to capture dialog, matching the tighter lenses of the other cameras. As long as the wide shot delivers a 'plate' free of booms, the VFX Departments can remove them in post production. The An example of a boom pole using Greensleeves

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