This is one of the more hotly debated topics in the sound mixer community. Which are the best headphones for location audio work. Not everyone agrees that there’s a best headphone but they certainly agree there is a most popular headphone and that would be the Sony MDR-7506. I’ve owned 3 pair of these headphones! […]

Wireless lavalier microphones have become the industry standard on set. For some very good reasons too. They’re pretty reliable when proper RF coordination is practiced and the good ones sound excellent when properly gain staged. But are there times when it might not make sense to use them? There sure are. While you may get […]

Researching location sound mixer rates and hiring a location sound mixer can feel like an expensive task until you consider how much it costs when you don’t hire one. Having to fix problems with poor location audio can be a lot more expensive than hiring a competent professional with professional (not prosumer) gear to show […]

Utilizing timecode on set should be a very painless process provided you are using industry standard cameras with timecode capabilities and quality audio gear. Timecode enabled slates are very useful for ensuring your syncing process is smooth. One of the earliest ways used for syncing sound to picture was the simple slate. The video portion was […]

Which patter of microphone is best for your application In the last post, I discussed the two main types of microphones dynamic and condenser. Both of these types of microphones can have different patterns. Patterns describe how the microphone is sensitive to sound waves in relation to the space surrounding the capsule. Is it sensitive […]

If you don’t mix sound for a living there’s not a lot of reason to learn the difference between the types of microphones. But when you spend your day trying to effectively gather audio on set you better become an expert on which microphone to use when. The first category is to consider is whether […]

Cinder Grip and Lighting: Independent grip and lighting rental. Good service for smaller productions including commercials, music video and indepent productions. EUE/ScreenGems: Large, full-services studio located near the airport. Fluid Films: Independent production company specializing in commercials, corporate, documentary and non-fiction. Full Frame Rentals: Independent camera rental company based in Atlanta. Gotham Sound: Atlanta outpost […]

Over the years it’s become increasing common to capture stills during a video shoot or video during a photography shoot. The best way to do it though is a full on hybrid shoot. That means bringing the best resources together in the same place and the same time to maximize your return on investment. So […]

If you work in advertising and marketing long enough you will eventually find yourself working a celebrity shoot. And almost always, celebrities are not like the rest of us. Their lives are different and therefore they must be treated differently on set. Here are a couple pointers. 1) Most have a handler/assistant, this person is […]

It’s unfortunate that sound for video isn’t better understood by marketers and even some creative professionals. I’ve had the pleasure of working just about every kind of production in the nearly twenty years I’ve been a creative professional. I’ve done lots and lots of commercials, Web videos, POP videos, trade show videos, event videos – […]