06
Jul
A Tale of Two Productions, Part 1
by Trew Audio
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For the next couple of weeks I’m going to discuss two recent “field trips” I took to a film production and world famous production facility. Though intensely different on the surface, each project and company you work for has important similarities. Audio gear will change, but signal flow never does.
My first trip was deep into the hills of Middle Tennessee. For those of you outside the Volunteer State, Tennesseans claim 3 subsections of the state. West Tennessee is the lowlands from the Mississippi to approximately the Tennessee River. Middle Tennessee surrounds Nashville west to the Tennessee River, east to the Cumberland Plateau and south to Monteagle (just north of Chattanooga). East Tennessee is everything else until you hit North Carolina. Now that you’ve had your geography lesson, I am happy to report, the shoot was only a quick 40 mile trip from my home. On a rather large horse farm, I walked up to Glen Trew, boom op Mark Zimbicki, and 3rd Kevin Cerchiai. The all important Hannah Montana: The Movie, visitor’s pass was thrown around my neck and I proceeded to get in the way for the next 5 hours or so.
Hannah Montana: The Movie, Sound Crew
From Left: Glen Trew, Mark Zimbicki, and Kevin Cerchiai
Since the majority of my time is spent behind a computer, on the phone with you, or in our showroom I always like to get out to a set whenever I can. Mostly I observe, taking notes on work flow situations, the inventive ways gear is used, and what gear is most important to keeping the production moving forward. Many of you have heard from Glen for years, as he enjoys sharing his insights as a retailer and mixer. But on this particular production, I was mostly impressed with the two other audio staffers. Mark Zimbicki has boomed with Glen on numerous productions, and they work well together. Mark also boomed for southern filmed blockbuster Walk the Line and has credits as an audio utility on O’ Brother, Where Art Thou? As many of you know, the art of booming is not something any production assistant can do, but more and more productions provide less and less budget for a quality experienced boom op such as Mark. He seemed to always be a step ahead of the rest of the production crew, thinking about the logistics of the next shot, adjusting, and setting himself, while the rest of the crew was seemingly only worried about aesthetics of the shot. In one particular situation Mark was booming a non-dialog shot in a chicken coop. As Mark skillfully collected clucks and the sighs of the only human subject, Glen, Kevin, and I were going nuts, trying to find the on set idiot who was walking near the shot. After the take, Glen questioned Mark. His response, “Its just chickens Glen, just chickens.” I observed a valuable lessen in that exchange. Quite often the boom op isn’t just the ears of the production, he/she is the eyes to an otherwise blind sound cart around the corner. Mark tried 2 different mounts on the boom giving the new Rycote Invision a little AB with the old standard PSC small shockmount. Both preformed very well, but the Rycote did win the handling noise competition. Thanks for the AudioFlow fodder on that one Mark.
In addition to Mark, Kevin Cerchiai has also boomed for much of his career. A laundry list of action blockbusters, such as Transformers, National Treasure, and The Island (among numerous others) credit Kevin for his boom and audio utility work. His past experiences helped him stay with both Glen and Mark’s needs. I’ve never seen a harder working or quicker thinking person on set. Batteries are constantly fresh and the director’s Comtek was ready first thing in the morning. He was constantly listening, ready to hush a grip or craft services conversation, remount a lav, or create a new lav mount, like some sort of audio MacGyver. For instance try covering your Sanken Rubber Mount (RM-11) with black moleskin and a Tram Cable Holder (BCH). This creates a wonderful little vampire style under the shirt black mic clip for Sankens. Something customers have asked me to help them with on many occasions. Sorry Kevin, no royalties for that one. Having these experienced professionals on set working together as a real team was a treat to watch. The subject matter was simple dialog and the occasional chicken cluck. No miracles, just three professionals honing their trade, working together. It was great for me to get out of the office and I thank Glen for the invite.
In my past, I mixed live college baseball in a production truck and boomed the cattle shoot in a rodeo, both of which are very one chance audio situations. I’ve always had an incorrect underlying opinion that you can get it on the next take with film. I understood time was money, but the pressure is not about money. Watching film production first hand makes me realize how important every moment becomes. Capturing the perfect take is always a challenge. My observation as a mixer and as a spectator is one of assumption. The rest of the production will assume the audio department is always “getting it,” that is until they have their idea of the perfect take. That’s when they will want to confirm your work.
In part two I’ll take you through my short but extremely eye opening trip to an unassuming production studio near downtown Chicago. Their summer project? Turning Oprah HD.
2243 N Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505
(323) 876-7525
17 Carlaw Ave #4, Toronto, ON M4M 2R6, Canada
(866) 778-8739
(416) 778-0656
1706 Defoor Pl NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 947-2160
3737 Napier Street Burnaby, BC V5C 3E4, Canada
(604) 299-9122
220 Great Circle Rd #116, Nashville, TN 37228
(800) 241-8994
(615) 256-3542
Due to manufacturer restrictions, we may not be able to ship some or all of these products outside of North America. At checkout, all shipping prices are calculated from the US. Orders to Canadian addresses may be shipped from our Toronto or Vancouver stores, with shipping costs adjusted (usually lower). For exact shipping cost to Canada please contact our Toronto or Vancouver offices.
Thank you.
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