How does this crazy setup sound? at DVinfo.net

Marco Leavitt · May 14th, 2008, 11:24 AM

Over the weekend I had a tough set-up in which I had two women talking next to a sink. They were close together and so I figure I can boom it. Nope. Camera is directly behind them and no way can I get the mic in there because of the window directly in front of them, which is capturing the whole room. I don't know how the camera wasn't visible, but the whole crew had to kneel down out of frame. The director hates wireless, and anyway they were wearing rather tight Indian wrap dresses (forget what they're called) with exposed midriffs and one of them had lots of translucent fabric. Even if I could find a way to hide the cable, the only way I could think of to hide the transmitters would be to tape them to the inside of their thighs, which, call me shy, I was really squeamish about. The actresses were a former beauty queen and the other was a very dignified older woman. Uh, no, especially with the amount of time I had left after finding out that I couldn't boom it. Anyway, they embrace each other at the end of the scene which would have created a rumble and no way to put the mics in their hair without a dedicated makeup person able to hide the wire under a piece of latex or something on the neck.

So, I put a Cub 1 at the far edge of the sink in front of them and hid the wire behind the faucet. Then I boomed from below, pushing the mic as far between them as I could get, which turned out to not be far enough. Anyway, the Cub 1 just didn't work. Way, way too much echo, but the boom (Schoeps MK41) sounded better than I thought it would (it was just for safety), but because I couldn't get the mic far forward enough, it sounded a little muffled for much of the scene. So, I'm thinking, this is total crap -- I'm screwed. But somehow when I listened to both tracks summed to mono, it sounded amazing. The Cub 1 comes through with most of the top end (the actresses were facing away from the camera and occasionally turning towards each other throughout the scene) and the Schoeps came through with the base. I'm thinking about recommending to the director that he filter out a good portion of the base end of the spectrum from the Cub 1 (this should help with the echo, I think) and add what's left to the boom track. Anyone else ever have occasion to work this way? Would my suggestion work?

Allan Black · May 14th, 2008, 06:09 PM

Can't tell without hearing it of course. Always a good idea to clue mixers in, it becomes their idea and they maybe work a little harder for you on other areas.

No you can't screw around wiring half naked women anywhere, it's embarrassing and if it goes belly up everyone remembers it.

Good boundary layer mics are good things to carry, they sit on tables, sinks, lots of places. And a few sound blankets can help, check those out.

Also chocolates for makeup and wardrobe, changing shirts etc at the start of the show saves lives.
Cheers.

Marco Leavitt · May 14th, 2008, 06:16 PM

Yeah, for me hanging blankets seems to rarely be an option. There's just no room, and I always worry about the reversals matching. Wish I could do it more.

Allan Black · May 14th, 2008, 06:30 PM

It's amazing just what a couple of those acoustic panels can do, even behind furniture. It's worth checking out, try them at home to learn what they can do, you might be able to rent some.
Cheers.

May 14th, 2008, 11:24 AM	#1
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	How does this crazy setup sound? Over the weekend I had a tough set-up in which I had two women talking next to a sink. They were close together and so I figure I can boom it. Nope. Camera is directly behind them and no way can I get the mic in there because of the window directly in front of them, which is capturing the whole room. I don't know how the camera wasn't visible, but the whole crew had to kneel down out of frame. The director hates wireless, and anyway they were wearing rather tight Indian wrap dresses (forget what they're called) with exposed midriffs and one of them had lots of translucent fabric. Even if I could find a way to hide the cable, the only way I could think of to hide the transmitters would be to tape them to the inside of their thighs, which, call me shy, I was really squeamish about. The actresses were a former beauty queen and the other was a very dignified older woman. Uh, no, especially with the amount of time I had left after finding out that I couldn't boom it. Anyway, they embrace each other at the end of the scene which would have created a rumble and no way to put the mics in their hair without a dedicated makeup person able to hide the wire under a piece of latex or something on the neck. So, I put a Cub 1 at the far edge of the sink in front of them and hid the wire behind the faucet. Then I boomed from below, pushing the mic as far between them as I could get, which turned out to not be far enough. Anyway, the Cub 1 just didn't work. Way, way too much echo, but the boom (Schoeps MK41) sounded better than I thought it would (it was just for safety), but because I couldn't get the mic far forward enough, it sounded a little muffled for much of the scene. So, I'm thinking, this is total crap -- I'm screwed. But somehow when I listened to both tracks summed to mono, it sounded amazing. The Cub 1 comes through with most of the top end (the actresses were facing away from the camera and occasionally turning towards each other throughout the scene) and the Schoeps came through with the base. I'm thinking about recommending to the director that he filter out a good portion of the base end of the spectrum from the Cub 1 (this should help with the echo, I think) and add what's left to the boom track. Anyone else ever have occasion to work this way? Would my suggestion work? Last edited by Marco Leavitt; May 14th, 2008 at 03:18 PM.

May 14th, 2008, 06:09 PM	#2
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,887	Can't tell without hearing it of course. Always a good idea to clue mixers in, it becomes their idea and they maybe work a little harder for you on other areas. No you can't screw around wiring half naked women anywhere, it's embarrassing and if it goes belly up everyone remembers it. Good boundary layer mics are good things to carry, they sit on tables, sinks, lots of places. And a few sound blankets can help, check those out. Also chocolates for makeup and wardrobe, changing shirts etc at the start of the show saves lives. Cheers.

May 14th, 2008, 06:16 PM	#3
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	Yeah, for me hanging blankets seems to rarely be an option. There's just no room, and I always worry about the reversals matching. Wish I could do it more.

May 14th, 2008, 06:30 PM	#4
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,887	It's amazing just what a couple of those acoustic panels can do, even behind furniture. It's worth checking out, try them at home to learn what they can do, you might be able to rent some. Cheers.