Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1525020
32 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Fall 2024 well as receive the SDI video feed. Video assist was in the front side of the same follow van, so we provided a hardwired feed to them, with a close range IFB feed to the director and producers who were also in the van with us. This was something of a double-edged sword. We never needed to de-rig from the MTV tow rig and then re-rig right back to the follow van for the pod-driven shot. When we would hurriedly swap over to the pod-driven version of the picture cars, we were only a few plant mic tweaks and bag-drop rig position swap away from being ready to roll. On the other hand, this meant that when we were filming coverage using the MTV rig, we were much further away. Instead of being just twenty-five feet away from the picture car with my receiving log periodic shark fin antennas, I was more like two hundred feet away with the tractor/trailer length, plus the speed space distance from the picture car. Production would favor the pod coverage often because it was much faster and nimbler. The real treat of the pod-car coverage was it was fairly close to our follow van and without the giant wall of metal that was the MTV rig. For Patrick and Brian specifically, this meant planting doubles of our plant mic arms, doubles of our mic hangers, doubles of our digital wireless transmitters (when possible), doubles of our XLR patch cables and doubles of our rooftop-mounted transmitter antennas and corresponding transmitter antenna cables. Even though the pod cars were typically very close to us, they would occasionally be used in such a way that allowed for free-driving greater distances from the follow van; but with these special instances, I was glad to have such a fast, flexible, and hardworking crew working with me, as well as some of the extra special tools I will describe below. OK, a few things that I think bear some detailed explanation: our plant mics and what we used, our rooftop transmitter antennas (which were to my surprise, the first layer of the "secret sauce" that really made achieving all of this possible), and then my bag-drop rig which performed well above my wildest dreams! So much that it deserves its own section. But first, the microphones and transmitters. I'm a little bit old school, so I favored the use of my Schoeps CMC6/MK41 mics. The transmitters for these plant mics were all digital Lectrosonics DPR-A plug-on transmitters with phantom power. For the majority of our practical driving work, I really needed the reach and isolation that the What is a pod-driven picture car? Otherwise known as pod cars, they are modified cars used in production. Typically, a driving pod is mounted on top of the vehicle and a series of cables connect the controls with the drive train, steering, and brakes. As I'm sure this voids the car's warranty, saying it'll be driven by a stunt driver probably accomplishes the same. These pod-driven vehicles allow for the actors to sit in the car without being burdened with the dangerous task of driving and acting at the same time. It also allows for more complex maneuvers at faster speeds that aren't always possible on a camera car rig that tows the picture car. We did still in fact utilize camera car tow rigs. We had a bespoke vehicle called the "MTV Rig," which was a camera car with a Pro Cam- provided Technocrane mounted on it. This rig would tow the picture car and perform dynamic crane shots of the cast while moving. This rig had the traditional sound mixer spot up front in the passenger shotgun seat. However, with all the camera assistants, lighting programmer, assistant director, crane operators, and special effects technicians; there was not enough room for both Brad Ralston (our Video Assist Operator) and myself, plus all of our gear to conformably operate on this rig. The possibility of finding a spot for me on the rig without being near video assist posed major director monitoring challenges and made it difficult to provide a robust audio feed to Brad for clip review and playback. So, we were constantly stretching the wireless range of our audio equipment to its fullest capacity. On top of those challenges, the plan, as mentioned earlier, was to have the ability to "block shoot." This meant we would be set up in one particular character's picture vehicle that was being towed by the MTV rig and then set up in a double of the same character's picture vehicle outfitted as the free-driving pod car. For us, this meant it made way more sense to ride in the follow van alongside video assist. I set myself up with a miniature sound cart in the back end of the follow van. This was nice because I was able to keep everything built, including a PSC EuroLiFe power system, a large video monitor, and my heftier bag rig that consisted of an Aaton Cantar Mini, five Lectrosonics DCR822's, an antenna distribution unit by Audio Wireless, and two Lectrosonics IFB T4's; all bound together in a custom-made Protogear bag and a custom-made Sound Guys Solutions shelf bracket. The video monitor allowed me to both interface with my Lectrosonics receivers using Wireless Designer, as Twisters Video Assist Operator Brad Ralston