Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/855802
26 who have stepped foot upon it. This Box moment was such a surprise, the whole crew stopped what it was doing and came together. I'm so used to rushing onto set, watching the first scene rehearsal, listening to the director and DP devise our shots, and coming up with a strategy to get my department the best sound in the most efficient manner. Well, none of that happened. Box took at least a half-hour off the top of our day, every day. What a great way to start the day! "Empowered and feeling good, immediately after that, I was thrown into an eight-page scene with six actors, all talking some scripted, some ad-libbing, all moving. I have filmed documentary style before and I quickly went back to that style of booming. Grabbing the most important sound to the story, using all my senses, listening for the key dialog as it was being generated, split-second, off the top of the heads of our actors. We had two to three handheld cameras, danc- ing and circling, creatively composing shots as we went on and on and on. The directors don't always call 'Action' and 'Cut.' Instead, they say, 'Off you go' and 'Thank you.' That took a little getting used to, but again, the edict of this show is to be respectful of all involved, not to yell or get loud, unless safety is an issue. I was inspired and thrilled at how quickly I bonded with our two female camera operators, Ju- lie Kirkwood and Shelly Gurzi, and their assistants, Zoe Van Brunt and Faith Brewer. We were in very tight, cramped quarters often. In one scene, I had to share a small space in a jail cell with six female actors and the camera crew while we shot a long, feminist-messaged ad-lib scene. This was an extraordinary experience and one I hope to repeat in the future. There was a slogan going around set inspired by Madame Gandhi, one of our actors and band members, 'The Future Is Female.' Needless to say. Jill Soloway and Sarah Gubbins are feminists and not afraid to get political. "One special experience that really stuck with me on the show was an impromptu dance party we had shooting at a dusty location called the Skid in Pico Canyon. It was the end of a long, windy day when we moved into a small crowded room in a double-wide trailer. We were about to begin a long scene when our director, Andrea Arnold, instead of waiting for the final cast members to get ready, asked Sam for help. Ted always has a speaker available on set in case the director calls for mood music. He wheeled the speaker into the crowded room, hooked up the iPod and the danc- ing began. This particular night, we had a young cast of art students, no rehearsal, no line readings or stage direction. No UPM breathing down our necks. Only dancing with An- drea leading the pack for twenty minutes. What a fun way to reenergize the cast and crew. After the music stopped, we all geared up and began shooting the scene. We shot straight through and finished up in record time. This was definitely my first experience with a random dance party during the workday, led by the director. We had many female directors, with exception of Jim Frohna, the DP, who was so invested emotionally in the show, it was like having another they on set. I got to the point where I didn't see gender as a primary defining characteristic of my co-workers, as it should be in a workplace. The set of I Love Dick proved to be more than I'd ever hoped to find in Hollywood. The gender equality came from the top down. They talked the talk and walked the walk, which is often rare on a film crew, especially when stress, anxiety and time push the crew to its limits." We use a pretty standard package of Lectrosonics wireless with Sanken COS-11 lavs and Sound Devices recorders. We added some Lectrosonics SSM transmitters to help with pack placement on some of the more tricky and minimal costumes, with the help of our wonderful on-set costumer, Pamela Waggoner. Pamela always worked with Ted to get the best sound even with the most challenging costumes. I have been using a Sennheiser EW 300 stereo IEM system for monitoring. I send all of the wires post-fade to one chan-