Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1487667
18 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Winter 2023 were acceptable. She was dressed in a chic outfit with a smart fur- trimmed jacket, mind you, she must have been seventy at the time. I asked if she was going to carry her small, lovely purse onto the set, "Of course, dahlink." Then I made a most unexpected inquiry, "May I put the transmitter inside your purse and run the microphone wire up the sleeve of your jacket? I'll hide the mic in a good spot, and no one will be the wiser. "Except you and me, dahlink." And so, it was. RGR, you would have liked that one. Do you have a favorite bit of television audio folklore? If I didn't, I probably wouldn't have asked that question. For years, Gene Weed was the director of The Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast. Mark King was, and still is, the A1. Gene liked to give audio notes, even during a live show. He frequently asked for more audience response in the mix. One year, Mark set up a speaker with a volume pot at the director's position in the truck, giving Gene the ability to raise the level of the audience mics to his taste. It was a success and continued every year thereafter. Of course, he was only controlling that speaker, but I truly believe Gene was convinced for the rest of his life that he was mixing the level of audience response on the broadcast. Do you have gig envy? No. I've had way more than my share. Unless you count gigs that predated my career. It would have been fun to work on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. That's about it. How about a favorite location? Anywhere I am working with friends. Especially Telluride. You must have had many opportunities to ask for autographs. I've asked for three. Jerry Lewis signed his book, Dean and Me, while we were at the telethon. Questlove signed Something to Food About at the train station Oscars (I have a small collection of autographed food and cookbooks). The third autograph Ric Rambles Today the ramble becomes an interview. In 1979, when I began working at KTLA, twenty-five engineers had worked there for twenty-five years or more, some since the '40s when television was new in Los Angeles. Working with those experienced pioneers was a terrific beginning. It was interesting and educational. A few years later, I met and worked with Ed Greene, Val Valentin, Doug Nelson, Ron Estes, and other mixers who led the way in entertainment television. At first, I was just trying not to be a spuddler. As time passed, I was fortunate to work with the core group of freelance entertainment A2's. So, I'm going to take some questions … from myself. Most of these things are true. When are you going to retire? I'm often asked that question. If the phone don't ring, you'll know it's me. In your career, what has been the most important technology change? Nearly everything has changed except the XLR (L for latching and R for a version surrounding the female contacts with a synthetic rubber polychloroprene (neoprene) insulation, and the Shure SM 58 which dates back to 1966. When I began, we recorded on tape, and audio connections were made with analog cables. Now it's nearly all digital. Without a doubt, the one thing that has most directly affected my career is the switch to fiber-optic cable. The old copper 27-pair and 56-pair mult cables were very heavy. I'm glad those long runs between the stage and the production truck are now done with fiber. What is the most unusual experience you've had while putting a lav mic on someone? In the '80s, Merv Griffin produced a show called Dance Fever. It was an amateur dance contest with a host, contestants, and celebri- ty guest judges wearing Vega VHF lavs. One day, I went to mic the three celebs and in the number one position was Zsa Zsa Gabor who told me, "No, dahlink, I don't wear those." I offered several possibilities, none by Ric Teller Telluride crew