Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1433345
Winter 2022 – LOCAL695.ORG 31 While at home, what a better time to focus on incorporating the CL-16 into my main cart; go back to the bench to make a few new cables, trips to a machine shop to make some custom parts, gain some CL-16 flight hours to increase confidence, and speed navigating the new features and menus. Having worked with the CL-12 until then, the transition came with ease. We returned to New Mexico in September with the new health and safety COVID-19 protocols in place. It was a fresh start with a new schedule, revised script notes, and making sure our needs had not changed during our long break. Pretty much of our plan of action was the same, with the sole exception that our saloon live music recordings were now changed to prerecorded tracks for playback, due to COVID-19 safety protocols. Mood music during setups and rehearsals was an essential part on most days for Jeymes. Nick and I worked on putting together a system that would allow Jeymes to play music tracks from his cellphone that we could independently feed to his headsets, giving him the ability to play any track during a setup or rehearsal that could assist with the tone, rhythm, movement, or choreography of a scene. A long-range stereo Bluetooth receiver was our choice for this setup, (S.M.S.L. B1 stereo CSR 4.2 receiver) connected to a 2-channel portable mixer. The left output fed the on-set battery-powered speaker, which usually stayed on Jeymes' video cart, that our Video Playback Operator, Scott Wetzel, very kindly helped to integrate. The right output went to a Lectrosonics SMV transmitter, with that signal coming to my cart, and also fed to a Lectrosonics T1 IFB transmitter, giving Jeymes control of the volume on both the speaker and his Lectrosonics R1 IFB receiver and headset. When scripted music playback was needed, we took over the task, with Pro Tools being our DAW of choice. The setup got more complex when speakers with wireless feeds were needed. For example, in a scene were Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield) walk across town to meet with Wiley Escoe (Deon Cole); we had speakers set up all around town, plus a wireless feed to a battery-operated speaker (Behringer Europort MPA40BT) on a Grip Trix camera cart a few feet away from our actors. Jeymes wanted the actors' steps to be in sync with the tempo of the music, keeping it consistent on all camera setups, angles, and takes. We also put together an additional public address sound cart system that served as a "VOG" that could also double as an external playback system allowing us to, as Jeymes liked to say, "blast the town." The idea of having this cart was that we could roll it off the truck and be ready to go, with at least one functioning battery-powered speaker until AC power was available. The cart was made up of an Alto TX208-powered speaker, a Behringer BN1200D-Pro Eurolive active subwoofer, an EV ZLX12P-powered speaker, a battery-operated Behringer Europort MPA40BT portable speaker, and another EV ZLX12P speaker as a satellite deployment unit. A Sound Devices 442 gave us input control on the music source, and two "VOG" mics were Sennheiser E835 dynamic handhelds, with thumb switches, HMa transmitters and Lectrosonics LR, and 411 receivers. From top, (L-R): Zazie Beetz as Mary Fields, Jonathan Majors as Nat Love; Regina King, Idris Elba as Rufus Buck, LaKeith Stanfield as Cherokee Bill. Photos by David Lee/Netflix ©2021; Boom Operator Douglas Shamburger overlooking "Douglastown" and Stagecoach Mary's Saloon.