modLab

Finishing

April 11th, 2013

I have a hard time finishing.

Paint Frame 1

There, I said it… I don’t have any problem starting something… well, lets put it this way, if I get around to starting something, if I don’t have a deadline, its hard for me to finish.

For instance, a year ago I shot some footage for an advertisement that was supposed to be for a film festival I guest produce. In my contract for the festival I’m supposed to create two videos for promotion leading up to the event. In the past I’d done two completely separate videos… one on the complex side and the other a little easier to complete. I decided last year that I’d go all-out and make two really hard ones; Two styles of video that I had not accomplished before… Or so I thought. Needless to say, I was in over my head. The one I completed you can see here:

To fulfill my contract I realsed a shorter version of the above video first as I finished the details of the final version. Cheating? No, not really. These sort of things happen all the time. Whether you notice it or not, there are often long and short versions of the same commercial aired on T.V. all the time.

So what happened with the footage from the video I didn’t use? Well, thankfully I still have it… I actually got pretty far along with the concept I was trying to accomplish too. So I dug up and dusted off the old After Effects project today and to my amazement, the original footage is still intact, in fact, it fits the theme of this year’s festival even better than it would have last year’s. Its a good thing too, ’cause I had spent some of my own money buying the prop canvas that appears in the spot. I bought it as payment to the artist who was my actor in the add. By the way, his name is Perry Ross. You can check out his art here:

P-Ross and Canvas

The reason why this project has been so hard to complete is not only the fact that its one of the biggest AE projects I’ve ever worked on, but its my own ability to justify not doing something when there’s a seeming lack of need to finish. My dad would say its my ENFP (Extravert, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving) Myers Briggs score… but I think its just a fact of life. Its hard to get things done sometimes.

Ok, so enough about not getting things done. Here are some tips for those of you like me that have a hard time get a project completed (aka get’n ‘er done).

- Set a Deadline
Setting a deadline is the #1 way I accomplish a task. Set a reasonable goal based on previous experience and don’t be afraid if you need to change that deadline. However, the second and vital part of this equation comes in tip #2.

- Find Someone or Something to Keep You Accountable
Setting a deadline is crucial, but its never going to materialize unless you have someone or something making sure you hit that deadline. My accountability often comes from my need to finish work in order to get paid, but when I do things pro-bono or for personal use I try to find someone invested in the outcome of the project. For instance I’m working with a friend of mine on his debut EP. We’re having a blast working on it even though neither of us are getting paid. What keeps us going is each other. If either one of us lost interest or if he didn’t bug me every week about it or I him, we simply wouldn’t get anywhere.

- Another great way to make sure a job gets finished is to have it be something you’re somewhat familiar with, but something that also stretches your abilities.
For me at least, there has to be a happy medium between comprehension and difficulty. If I know exactly how I’m going to accomplish something or if I’ve done it before… if there’s no other motivation like money, what’s the point? I need to feel like I’ve grown through the process; learned something new, or…

- Perfect the result
This is one that my wife particularly likes. She’s a baker. She makes this amazing sourdough that she’s spent years (at least the 4 1/2 years we’ve been married) cultivating her starter, testing recipes, and sourcing better ingredients for. She makes 2-12 loaves a week and what motivates her is the drive to make her product better with every batch.

So, what do you guys do to get projects done? Do you use any of the above methods, or do you have very different approaches?

Either way, I look forward to completing the promo for the film festival. I’m hoping you all will keep me accountable too, so I can delight in presenting it to you in the near future.

Until then. Thank you for reading.

_Aaron

Paint Frame 2

Take Risks!

March 21st, 2013

I’m going to do my best to keep updating this blog through the next couple weeks though it might be hard with my wife less than a month away from giving birth to our second child. We had an ultrasound today and the baby is currently breach so we’re praying the little one flips over in time for us to have a natural birth.

Enough about that for now. Here’s a quick tip for this week: Take risks!

I’m excited to say that at the age of 31 I’m supporting my beautiful growing family on one income and that income comes from work I love to do. I took a risk this year leaving my salaried church audio gig to pursue my freelance business and it is going very well. I can’t tell you how nervous I was starting out, but I decided that it was time to strike out on my own (with the help of many friends and colleagues) and take the plunge. Let me tell you, it’s been one of the biggest and best choices I’ve made since my wife and I decided to have kids.

What risks can you take in your life?

Don’t go jumping off a cliff or anything, but don’t be afraid to learn a new skill or volunteer to do something you’ve never done before. Approach opportunity with a great attitude and a willingness to fail and if you succeed take on the next level, if you fail, make sure you learn something from that failure.

I’ve been doing freelance work for roughly 15 years. Its taken me a while to make this decision. In fact I tried going 100% freelance back in 2009 after getting laid off and failed. Thankfully, I got a part-time job to supplement my income and came away from the situation knowing it wasn’t yet the right time. I learned from that situation that I needed more experience and a deeper pool of contacts and skills before I could try again.

Don’t get stuck in a rut! This doesn’t only apply to your job (though it should if you want it to). It applies to your hobbies as well. With a little confidence and faith you’ll be doing something you’d only dreamed about doing previously.

If you’re a multimedia producer like me (or any other type of freelancer for that matter) check out the following resources that will greatly help your portfolio:

Craigslist: Craigslist has a wealth of job opportunities if you’re diligent and know how to filter through the junk. I’ve gotten short and long term clients by checking a couple times a week and sending a couple emails to promising help-wanted adds. Clients scored through craigslist include: AOL and VIMBY.com.

Elance: Elance is full of work for getting your feet wet with freelance gigs. Whether your a freelance writer, programmer, animator, or graphic designer there is plenty of work to bid on and its free except for the cut Elance takes out of finished work.

Freelance Switch: Freelance Switch is full of useful articles on taking risks. From lessons in social network marketing to tips on how to price your goods/services, Freelance Switch is a must read for anyone either looking to freelance or is already doing so.

Well, thanks again for reading everyone. I hope to be able to post again next week.

Please log in, leave a comment, and help me make this better for you.

_Aaron

hiding a microphone

March 14th, 2013

When on set, wether its for a film, commercial, industrial, or otherwise it always looks more professional if you hide your microphones. I’m a huge believer in using a shotgun as a primary audio source which is quite easy to hide just out of frame above the talent’s head, but more and more, I’m running into directors or situation that dictate the use of a lavaliere mic. I’ve been working for the Meredith Corporation on a somewhat regular basis as a freelance location sound engineer lately, and the director/editor on the gig just wants a Lav. Sure, when doing a cooking demo when the talent is stationary we’ll put a boom up on a cradle, but its entirely secondary and is only used for backup and the occasional sizzle that comes off a hot frying pan. For all the dialogue he’s relying on the Lav to be clean. This is a big challenge for a location sound engineer. Not only do you have to make sure the mic and cable are not seen, they can’t so much as leave a line or bump in the talent’s clothes. Besides that, clothes are noisy, especially cheap clothes. The other thing I have to worry about is the whole gender/boundaries issue. I’m a guy, a happily married guy. It doesn’t matter if I have to mic a woman or a man, its always a little bit awkward placing a small microphone pretty much directly between someone’s nipples.

Hiding Tips

I’ve used a handful of tricks to hide a mic in the years that I’ve been doing this gig. By far the best technique is to start with a mic you like. I use a Sanken COS-11d ’cause its super small, I love the way it sounds and it comes with a time saving accessories that make my life as a professional microphone hider easier. The accessory I’m talking about is the RM-11. Its a firm rubber mount that you place the capsule of the COS-11d in to keep it low profile and pointing in the direction you want it to point. This little guy gives you a solid base for your mic and a larger footprint for tape to be applied. Tape is another huge part of this equation. I use two kinds; toupee tape, and medical tape. The toupee tape, as you can imagine keeps the mic from moving. It’ll attach and stay attached to anything; clothes, skin, metal, your dog, anything. Its also water/sweat resistant, and will stay sticky all day as long as it doesn’t get full of lint or fur (in the case of the dog). The one downside to taupe tape is that its a bit noisy, so this is where the medical tape comes in. Medical tape stops the noisy and gives you an added layer of sweat resistant sticky. I prefer to get the “nude” color, though I’m not sure why. Nobody’s skin really looks like the color “nude.” Perhaps it eases the mind of the talent… Anyway, like I said, it cuts the noisy and adds to the sticky. Use it!

I’ve used one other product as an alternative to toupee tape, but I’ve never been able to find it on the shelf. I worked for a sound mixer once that had this stuff he called “moco” (Spanish for booger). It was quieter than toupee tape and had a rubber cement quality that made it more playable and therefore useful. If you know what moco might be and where I might be able to find it, please let me know!

Be Respectful

I may have mentioned this before in a previous post, but this is very important. Ask your talent to wear under garments like camisoles, undershirts, and/or Spanx. Nobody really likes tape on their skin and these garments are great for sticking tape to, as well as helping to eliminate cable lines not-to-mention they help make most people look slimmer. Speaking of eliminating cable lines, plan your cable path before you stick your hands up someone’s shirt. For guys, try placing the cable up his side and around pectoral muscles. If he doesn’t have pecks, try placing the cable up the back and around the collar. The same techniques can be successful on women, however, when possible I try to ask the wardrobe or makeup teams to help me with placement. There is usually a female that is either good at this sort of thing, or is at least comfortable placing the cable along a bra line. If you’re on your own, well, you’re on your own. I’ve been there. Do your best to tell the person what you’re going to do before you do it. Its a respect thing. Don’t be afraid to take your time to make sure it gets done right the first time. Most actors are used to being mic’ed, but they aren’t terribly tolerant if you’re regularly adjusting something on their chest. Don’t forget to remind your talent that they’ll need a place to clip on a wireless transmitter. Belts are best, but pockets will do as well. I’ve only run into it once, but if you have talent that is wearing a dress, there are options for transmitter placement. Come prepared with one or both of the following: an Ace bandage that can be wrapped around a leg or waist to act as a belt, or a velcro belt with a pocket made for a transmitter. Obviously Ace bandages are easier to find so there’s no excuse if you don’t have one ready, but the velcro straps with transmitter sized pockets tend to be more comfortable and are easier to adjust.

Dealing with Clothing Noise

Clothes make noise. Cheap clothes make more noise. Its just a fact. Be proactive; if your production doesn’t have a wardrobe budget try to ask the talent to wear nice clothes, preferably fabrics that are natural. Artificial fabrics like polyester have a tendency to sound scratchy even if they are soft. If your production does have a wardrobe budget, it still doesn’t hurt to talk to the costume department to mention this fact. They should know, but they don’t always know. Communicate as best you can your needs and try to listen to their concerns if any. Thankfully, with hi-def cameras it’s easier to spot cheap clothes these days and they’re being used less as a result.

However, if you do end up having to deal with noisy clothes the above mentioned medical tape can help a lot. If two garments are rubbing together close to your mic, try to stick them together with a little medical tape, or place a piece of medical tape between the two garments to cut down on the direct rubbing. Toupee tape is double sided and can be used as well, but it too tends to be a little noisy, so use it with caution when close to your mic. Getting more space between your mic capsule and clothing is important. This is where working with a female with cleavage can really make your job easy, but when you don’t have this factor working in your favor, get creative with the recommendations I’ve mentioned above.

Thanks again for reading everyone. What techniques have you used in similar situations? Let me know what you’d like to read about next?

Observations:

March 6th, 2013

Hey readers, I’m making good on my promise to get another post out within the week (well, at least within 7 days after my last post) and I’m writing here in the Las Vegas airport trying to avoid the slot machines and choosing to be productive.

So, I had the chance to do something I don’t normally do on the job. I’m in Vegas to “direct” the technical aspects of a corporate meeting and was able to observe both a professional audio/video engineer and a consulting public speaker. Well, seeing as I’m writing about both in this series and my flight doesn’t leave for a couple hours, I thought I’d share my observations.

For the Tech:

Ok, I picked on the public speakers first last week so I’m going to pick on the techs first this time. Let me start with the things that I saw that were good

Customer service is very important in this industry. Surprised? You shouldn’t be, and let me tell you, the tech today had great customer service! As the director coming in from outside the venue I was the customer, and he, the tech, and his manager, bent over backwards to help me as I troubleshot an issue we were having with a video source. These guys were willing to search for every little adaptor, cable, or tool I needed and all without so much as a groan or sigh. Even if they had contempt for the “outsider” they never showed it and this goes a long way when things aren’t going they way they should.

Another big consideration that this guy took was to replace batteries before the show, and not just the batteries in the wireless mics, but also the battery in the PowerPoint clicker! I’m sure we can all admit that we’ve been burned by a dead battery ounce in our career, so don’t forget to check every piece of gear that has a 9 volt, double A, or CR-2032.

Ring out your mics! Get to your gig an hour or more early when no-one else or very few people are around and make that mic squeal! Note: Please, if you are not alone, let people know you’re going to do this, and tell them its on purpose. They may not understand why, and they may not like being in the room while you do it, but take the time. If you don’t know what I mean by “ring out your mics,” here’s a little tutorial:

Start by turning on a channel on your console, with your master fader is between -10 and 0, turn your gain down then run your fader up to unity (aka 0). Start twisting that gain knob clockwise until you hear the first ring of feedback and immediately turn it back a click or two while visualizing that feedback on a spectrum from low to high. If you have a parametric EQ on that channel, grab the band (low, low mid, high mid or high) where you heard the feedback and dial it down a bit. Start with a wide Q if you have that control and repeat the process of making those mics squeal ever so slightly until you feel you have enough headroom to accommodate a reasonably quite speaker.

Ok, now for the not-so-good observations: Just like driving a car, you need to pay attention to what you’re doing. Put your cell phone on vibrate and don’t text during the show. Ok, so its not a life or death situation, but when someone says standby for a cue, don’t put your hand on a fader or button and burry your nose in your phone. Be attentive when you know cues are fast approaching.

Ask questions. Do your best to get a run-through of the show during rehearsal or if there is no rehearsal, get one in advance. This is the one I’m most guilty of, and I’ve found that if I don’t ask, the client might not even have a firm grasp of the order of the show themselves. Its not necessarily your responsibility to make sure the show order is created, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Its not annoying. Trust me your client will thank you, well maybe not in person, but they’ll remember that you asked and it will help both of you.

For the Speaker:

The keynote speaker at this particular meeting was a pro. Dr. Joseph Michelli has consulted for hugely successful companies such as Zappos.com, Acura, Starbucks and others. He comes to the gig with enough time to get a sound check, brings his own computer with not one, but two VGA adaptors, and uses his own bluetooth clicker. He does all of this with the utmost respect for the tech ’cause he knows that if you treat the tech with respect, the tech will make sure that mic sounds good and will do anything in his power to make you both look good. He knows that if you don’t treat the tech with respect, he’ll be tempted to sabotage your opening statements with feedback or worse, not pay attention at all and leave your mic on when you’re in the restroom.

Ask questions. Dr. Michelli asks questions. He asks if he can display his opening slide up on the screens to make sure they’re in the right aspect ratio before the meeting starts. He asks when he will likely be speaking and who speaks before and after him. He asks if it’s his responsibility to turn his mic on or off, or if he’s to leave it alone. He even asks if there are any places on the stage he should avoid due to speaker proximity. Like I said, this guy is a pro.

But even pros can get better at what they do. This is not the first time I’ve had the pleasure of working with Dr. Michelli. Back in Nov. I was behind the audio console and noticed a quirk of many public speakers, especially the pros. During sound check many keynote speakers will speak quietly. Perhaps they are saving their voices for their presentation or they’re worried about being heard beyond the air wall, but a sound check is meant to be a representation of the event. So speakers, please speak up. Make sure to use your outside voice and get excited. In Nov. Dr. Michelli throttled me. By throttled, I mean he was quite during soundcheck so I turned his gain up to where it needed to be for the volume he was projecting. When he got up to present however, he was excited and clipped the input a couple of times before I knew what hit me. During sound check this time the same thing happened so I gave the sound tech a heads up and we were able to anticipate this all-too-often phenomenon.

So, the big themes here are be respectful, be attentive, and ask questions. Techs and speakers, make sure to get on the same page ’cause ultimately you’re on the same team. When it comes to public address you can’t really have one without the other, so remember that and be good to each other.

Got it? Good!

Ok, so I haven’t forgotten that I wanted to talk about mic hiding techniques and etiquette. I’ll try to get around to it in the coming days as I have a couple gigs where I’ll be doing just that, hiding mics.

Again, let me know what you’d like to read about. Like every decent sound guy, I’m a listener so give me your feedback (no pun intended).

Thanks for reading,

_Aaron