Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1515068
28 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Spring 2024 live. I brought in Jeff Zimmerman, one of my go-to playback guys, to help out with music. In addition to live vocals, all of the performances were captured in a church filled with background actors. Director Jake Schreier had a strong desire for the musical performances to appear organic to the audience, aiming to capture reactions as though they were genuinely experiencing a live show. I always have a strong preference to record clean vocals with no music bleed, and while we had IEMs for the band, I only got one take of clean vocals for each performance. Ultimately, vocals and pre-recorded instruments were pumped through the PA speakers which meant I needed to isolate as much of the vocals as possible. Although I would have loved to be given more control over my sonic environment, the Lectrosonics HHa transmitter with a Shure beta 87a capsule did a fantastic job of isolating the vocals for me. The decision to blend live vocals with pre-recorded music brought an energy and authenticity that would have been impossible to achieve otherwise. One standout moment came from our lead actor, the amazingly talented Steven Yeun, who continued to perform for the background actors even when he was off camera and could have opted to use a pre-recorded vocal track. This was especially significant because he was having issues with losing his voice throughout production. Yeun's dedication ensured that the magic we captured was as authentic for the background actors as it was for him during his own coverage of the scene. Steven Yeun's second performance was a cover of "Drive" by Incubus played on an acoustic guitar. This single shot scene used a Technocrane with a telescoping arm that started extremely wide and then moved into a close-up. Boom Operator Chris Thueson grabbed camera perspective until we could fit him in the frame, and our radio mic did the heavy lifting for vocals at the top of the take. We were covered for vocals but the guitar was still out of reach. I tried putting a wireless transmitter inside the body of the acoustic guitar with a DPA 6060 sticking out of the soundhole next to the bridge. While the sound was good, it was a bit too present, and we wanted a sound that captured the performance and still felt as though you were in a church surrounded by people. Chris decided to plant a MKH 50 on a flex arm about three feet away from Steven pointing up toward the guitar from the floor. He collaborated with the AD department to place a background actor in front of the rig (with very specific instructions not to move) and was able to hide it in plain sight by doing so. I mixed both guitar mics together and convinced our first AD to give us one solid take without the camera moving so the editorial team had a boom mic that sounded consistent. In the end, we were able to capture the sound we needed without additional coverage. Collaboration is even more critical in a tight production shoot. In episode nine, three of our cast members wore large rubber Dick Cheney masks throughout much of the episode. Thankfully, our wardrobe department gave us the masks to test out in advance. Utility Kendra Bates and I tried a few different techniques, and we found the best mic placement was the old puppeteering technique where the actor wears a headband with DPA 6060 attached to it. This technique allowed the actors to more easily take the mask off between takes, avoiding any use of tape on their faces with an added bonus of not sweating off. We focused on managing the aspects within our control and tried not to let the things we couldn't change overwhelm us. I'm genuinely pleased with the show's outcome and deeply thankful for the unwavering support of our crew, without whom none of this would have been achievable. Now onto the gear! Keeping up with the latest technology is important in order to stay relevant in this constantly changing field, but I'm also a firm believer in working with the equipment that works best for you. Our end goal is to produce a great sounding show, and equipment is just one factor in accomplishing that. I use a Sound Devices Scorpio with the CL16 control surface for my primary recorder. The interface is very user-friendly, the recorder is robust, and I often use the Dante port to integrate multiple systems, making it easier to expand the functionality of my cart. My favorite microphone to date is the classic Sennheiser MKH 50. No microphone is perfect but the MKH 50 will always have a spot in my mic drawer if it's not already connected to the boom pole. One of my more unusual pieces of gear is the Holophone H2 5.1 surround sound microphone. If I'm recording in a sonically interesting environment, such as a football stadium full of fans, I like to capture that environment in surround sound. We only use the Holophone if we have extra time or if production agrees to bring Chris booming in a tiny bathroom.