This is an interesting story, but also a lesson is being prepared when working on a job. In 1972, Warner Brothers was gearing up to make a film and live album for Aretha Franklin. The album came out and became the biggest selling gospel album of all times. But what about the film? Why did…
My Gear or Theirs?
A constant source of debate when taking a job is wether to use my own equipment or a provided package. Most productions do not provide equipment, and will rent yours, which is the purpose for owning your own equipment; for the rental. However, some productions will want you to use their sound package, and sometimes…
Production Sound as a Career?
I get asked fairly often from people visiting my site about how to get into the Production Sound game, but few people ask me the kinds of questions that I myself did not ask when I was starting out as well. To be honest, I didn’t know what questions to ask, but I also had…
Microphone Shootout (studio series)
A friend of mine began putting together a project studio after suddenly getting really into songwriting. I lent him my AKG Perception 200 large diaphragm condenser microphone. I’ve had that microphone for over ten years and probably only ever used it a couple times after I purchased it, so I knew it wouldn’t be missed.…
A Little Joy of a Bungalow
A few years ago I had a friend ask me to help her with a project. She was doing a one-woman show, but with a live band. We needed to do the live sound, record it, and film it. She had hired a couple of people with cameras, but asked if I knew any more.…
Practical Power
Battery Distro Systems (BDS) For The Bag For another exciting yet informative read, I’ve decided to write about Battery Distribution Systems, mostly because I recently made a major switch, but also because I’ve tried a few and have an opinion about them. I’ll also touch upon batteries, since they are also important to this scenario.…
Shockmounts pt. 2
Never being fully happy with any shock mount, I found myself with broken parts of a couple of Cinela OSIX 9’s donated to me by a colleague, and a couple of Rycote INV shockmounts that I don’t use. I don’t really like the Lyre system, specifically how rigid they are when taking my mic in…
Shockmounts pt. 1
I’ve tried a number of shockmounts over the years, and some are good for somethings, and others are good for… Others. One thing I have found that they all have in common is weak points. So as an especially dry treat for the reader, I have a two-part series in shockmount tampering in store…
Being a Pro Negotiator
One of the best weapons one has to win a negotiation battle, is to picture oneself as a worrier. A knight, a samurai, whatever. A skilled worrier judges his opponent on what he seen before the battle, not the battle within itself. An experienced worrier knows what to expect from his opponent. Blind courage is…
Why my Sound Equipment Rental is NOT a Kit or Box
Many people think that because I rent equipment to production for my department to use, that it does not count as a rental in the same way that a grip truck or camera package does. This is an entirely false assumption. My department rents our own equipment to production because of a tradition in the…