Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1469942
38 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – SUMMER 2022 That question. Only this time my mind didn't flood with the millions of tiny kittens I'd have to buy. Misty chimed in. "Dude. You have to do it." This wasn't just her third Diet Coke talking. Their sincerity, encouragement, and belief in me was completely overwhelming. From then on it was like I didn't have a choice in the matter. The kittens were out of the bag and this time there was no herding them back in. Not only did I want the challenge, I needed the challenge. I'll never forget that moment and will be forever grateful/totally blame those two. I started workshopping the idea with others whose opinion I really valued. My husband Ted Mayer, Kevin Santy, Tom Williams, Glen Trew, Tom Caton, Chantilly Hensley, Hanna Collins, Forrest Brakeman, Scott Solan, Gunnar Walter, Carrie Sheldon, Michael Reilly, and Scott Farr— all were so supportive. I remember Kevin thoughtfully saying, "I really like this for you." Then I had to rip the band-aid off with Joe Foglia; sixteen years of insane locations and hilariously inappropriate jokes. "I'm going to buy a package." I declared, feeling like I was asking for an unwanted divorce. "Good for you!" he replied. It was definitely the end of an era, but the future was way more exciting than I ever imagined it would be. I honestly didn't even know how much I wanted it until it finally started to happen. So many hours, so much history, so many sets. I was totally ready. I excitedly called my parents up in Santa Barbara. "FINALLY!!!!" My mom, also a former Local 695 member, screamed out. "I'm popping the champagne!" She handed the phone to my dad. I honestly didn't know they cared one way or the other, but turns out they'd both been secretly hoping I'd do this for years. "I'm so happy for you!" my dad exclaimed as the Taittingers burst open in the background. Then he launched into his usual "I should have gotten you into mixing sooner, I could have helped you…" spiel. Nope. I like that I did it my way. My years in post and as a Utility/Boom Op are invaluable to my job and will only make me a better mixer and department head. I know what to fight for and almost more importantly, what not to fight for. I've earned my position through decades of training. As we all know, to truly do this job right, there is no shortcut. Choosing my gear was an absolute no-brainer and my timing could not have been better. A few months later, the shelves at our local sound houses would have been bare. When I'm saying the stars aligned, I mean it was borderline eerie. I'd been curating the perfect package in my mind for years by osmosis, so the money quickly flew out of the bank account. I gave myself six months, but in less than three, I was already off to mix my first feature in Northern Idaho, a horror film called The Outpost, written and directed by Joe LoTruglio from Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Thanks, Kevin Compayre!). I chose the Sound Devices 888 for my recorder with a CL-16 control surface fed via Dante from two Lectrosonics DSQD's which I absolutely adore, thus leaving me all the free XLR and T3 inputs I need for playback and extra receivers. A Sound Devices MixPre-6II provides a true standalone backup, as I feed it directly from the DSQD's XLR outputs. I have a mix of brand-new DBSM transmitters, along with SMWB's and workhorse SMv's when I need a little 250mw. Bulletproof HMas send me the Schoeps Script Supervisor Cori Glazer, Anna Wilborn & Misty Conn, Boom Operator, on a California Almonds commercial.