SoundsXLNT

2009 has been a challenging year not only for me but for the world as well.  On a personnel level it has been very fulfilling and the people that I have met have been good solid people, people of their word and have kept me honest to myself as well.  On a business level it has been a bigger challenge, with some shows being more rewarding than others.  And still people have surprised me by actually taking notice of sound along with camera, lights and the many other talented people that make up a film set.  I would like to thank everyone that employed me this year, befriended me and most importantly to the people that actually gave a shit.  Really.

Best of the Season to you and Yours

Peter

BTW What’s so wrong about wishing for Peace on Earth after all?

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Yes indeed.  Been a very lazy boy, working when I want and having fun.  Sounds good until you wake up and realize that you really miss working harder and doing more.  Meeting people on set and the challenges of the job are always changing.  So it is time to step back in to the world of busy and get going once again.  Thats alll.  Besides it has been so long since my last post …..scary really.  Oh and I’ve decided to start a small production company doing shorts , so if you are interested just drop a line.

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When anything is designed, it is the best at what can done given time, price and other constraints we are bound by.  And things work.  So what if they work BUT you want/need them to be better.  This is when I get my thinking cap on, soldering iron out and do a little research.  Now, some of this is dead simple, if you know how to solder.  If you don’t you can always take it to someone who can solder.  Either way it can be done.  So this is what I have.   This shows the mixer before I got started.  A nice 8×2 Board.  Great EQ and very clean.  Runs off 6 c cells.

The first thing that got done   (from Audio Services Toronto) was 8 direct outs pre EQ,  pre Fader.  This enabled me the future option of  feeding an 8 track digital recorder that was in my not so near future.  It also enabled me to feed my SoundDevices 744T 4 track recorder some Direct Outs as well.   So this was good.

Now as work got me into different situations I noticed that the light on meters in the mixer were too dim  They didn’t allow me to operate in weak to moderate light without compensating for where my external light source was coming from (ie I don’t always have the luxury of AC when I need it).  Plus they took a fair bit of juice to operate.   So I took out the single filament bulb (12v) and put in 2 small LED’s.

So here is before (the regular light) >>>>>>>>>>> and with two LEDS .

You can easily see the needles glow even in regular light.  The interesting thing is how easy this little mod was.  No holes to drill just get the parts and solder them together.  The only tricky part was that the LEDs threw off so much light that I  had to cover them with heat shrink  -without heat shrink  it made it look like things were on, when in fact they were not.  With that all done I was able to view the meters in total darkness and read a manual if I wanted!

Next on the list was to replace the Direct/Return switch along with the talk back and slate mic switches. I found that they got dirty and noisy quickly.  I replaced them once already and having to replace them a second time  wasn’t my idea of fun.  The first time I did replace them,  the traces on the circuit board stripped off.  So I had to lay down new trace wires – a real dogs breakfast.    One thing is for certain though – you destroy the old switches in taking them out.   Got some miniature DPDT switches and placed them where they needed to be by soldering on some lead wires.  They fit quite nicely and work well.  Replacing them takes about the same effort  BUT the advantage is that the switches are more common and you don’t have to touch the printed circuit board if they have to be replaced.

With fine detail work a good soldering station is worth its weight in gold.  Magnifying glass or in my case goggles are the best way to ensure your work is not bridging connections.  And lastly tweezers with heat shrink on them to help place wires in small tight places.  The heat shrink helps to dissipate heat so when you are placing the wire it doesn’t melt.

NEXT…

A whole host of things.  I found that all the extra boxes that I had attached to the mixer made it difficult to pull out and quite time consuming to re and re or change batteries.

These boxes did the following:  made monitoring two decks possible without plugging or replugging headphones in and out of the decks or mixer, Record -pause of the HHB, the CL-1 from SoundDevices made plugging a keyboard in and remote record possible, being able to monitor via a speaker in between (to give ones ears a rest).  So I figured that it could all go inside the Mixer without too much of a hassle.
Coming soon… how I fit it all into the mixer.

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Every year I do around 12 “freebies” to help out the struggling Indies.  To give back and help people out.  Now most of these are on ultra low budget Videos and Movies.  I like to be able to contribute and to just help the process of making a better film for people.  Some shoots are well organized with plan “B” options if the weather is foul or certain  aspects of planning are not met, which is great .  Others leave it to the Gods of the Movies – which don’t always answer their prayers.  It makes life interesting.

Now some of my peers think that I’m crazy for doing this, helping for free or a greatly reduced rate and yet I feel that it is important to help others learn and understand the craft and make it better.  Or at least to get young directors and producers to appreciate what you are trying to do on set.  I won’t be rich but I will be happy.  To show them the skill set and tenacity that you approach getting what you want out of sound. And the question that I get asked the most needs to be repeated…

What do you (the Sound Dept.) need and what do we look for?

This is most often asked by people new to the industry – although I have run into some people that are in the Industry that really do need to  read this…twice.

The most obvious is quite locations devoid of anything that you can’t see in shot.  Examples:

Sirens, waterfalls, jets or planes, boats, compressors (refrigerators, freezers, nail guns etc), heavy traffic, horns honking, people screaming, drunks heaving, weed whackers, snow blowers, .. you get the idea.  Unless of course the sound plays in the  shot.  So yes it is OK to hear a firetruck  if you see a firetruck.  But if you are doing a period piece, Jets are not ok.  Now check for everyday sounds as well.  The heavy traffic that we hear we filter out and ignore.  Since microphones don’t have a brain, they can’t filter out that noise – they hear it all and consequently so do we.  Now if traffic “plays” great.  Remember to listen like a child, cause they hear everything.  And we just want to give you the best sound we can.  Next if your shoot is happening on a specific day scout it on that day.   It wasn’t like that on (insert day here) is too often said on set and people must learn or (you fill in the blank here).

So , so far this year I have already done 7  little ones and look forward to a few more.

And in a final quick note.  Scarlett Bruns (a local producer) made mention of a great idea that I thought that I would pass along.  She takes a small recorder with her to record the locations as she is looking at them.  And as she mentioned that “…Boy does it pick up a lot more than we want to hear!…”  That is what we hear.  Thanks Scarlett.

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Now have a Lectrosonics Venue system in my Cart. The Microns have served me well and I will use them when I need to. The size of the units, power consumption, range and overall performance are quite good on the little (and I do mean little) Lectrosonics SMD transmitters.   Have also modified my Audio Developments 245 to be a little friendlier on set for me.  Which translates to doing a better job. 

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It has been a little quite these days so I tend to get into what I call Design and Improvement Mode (DIM for short). It is when I come up with some brilliant(least I think so) idea that I can incorporate into my gear or make to replace or improve upon an existing idea or design that makes on set life easier. With that I shall give it a page and document some of these changes so that others might use them. I guess I’m always working really.

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I just wanted to wish everyone a safe, fun and prosperous New Year.

Cheers

Peter

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I think I worked on one of the first RED VIDEO CAMERAS with BLOOD: A Butchers Tale and all it was, was a small lens box attached to a MAC.  It didn’t like Audio then and it doesn’t much like Audio even now.  In the Video world it has made a huge splash and yet I really don’t see why.  Inexpensive?  Maybe.  But with all the accessories that you have (NOTE: HAVE TO) to add to make it functional it still comes in at about 60K+ so it ain’t cheep.  They are working on it but here is the kicker that I see – you are the BETA testers for them , and you’re paying for it.  The picture is good and I’ll leave it at that, cause that isn’t my area.  Now they do boast 4 audio inputs.  Great!  Well almost.  There is no audio scale at all to line a tone up to and getting to the menu to set it up is a little crazy.   Next.  Time Code.  Well we changed it, it showed up on the screen, but not at the LEMO.  Still had the old TC.  So we waited for 10 minutes to see if it would change.  It didn’t.  So we jammed that time code.  Great.  Well almost.  Somewhere during the shoot, it did change.  Now we caught it at lunch, but that sure won’t help the work flow will it.  So right now I’m working on a show called Under the Apple Box by Ellie Fox and we are working with a RED.  The last one I used on Attila Lucas SEEDS didn’t like audio either.  So any solutions out there?  Let me know, cause I’m really looking for answers.

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That is what has happened to the summer for me.  Did lots of projects and worked with some really great people.  Some of the more notable things that happened where:

Became a member in good standing with I.A.T.S.E. 891. This in particular made me very happy.  It was really nice getting in on merit and not because of a set raid.

Did a very interesting short with Nicole Laverock and Rob Compton to whom I (hopefully) will working with in the not too distant future on a feature being shot in Malawi and Canada.

Worked with some big cats (literally) and a bear on a piece for a company out of NY on Roman Venatores (similar to Gladiators but they only fight animals – BTW Gladiators DO NOT fight animals, as much as Hollywood would like us to believe).

Worked on the TV show (along with 11 other Audio guys or so – boy is that weird, more on that later) The Week the Woman Went 2.  It was a very rigorous shoot, 11 days straight.    Got to work with Josh Moody (a very cool camera guy – ya there are some).

Got a bunch of new gear and more to go.

Did my first 891 day on Eureka doing playback, but what the heck , I was out playing with the big boys and my friend Lyndsay Bucknell.  What could be better?

So feeling pretty good.  Whats next?

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I’m sure that it will. Having become an official member of I.A.S.T.E. 891 (as a mixer) August 15th 2008 I’m all excited and ready to go. I’ll be looking for second unit work with a passion because that is what I want. Not that my skills couldn’t handle doing Main unit. I really would like to get earn my wings in a more traditional manner by doing second unit and making a name from there. So thanks 891 for giving me an opportunity.  And yes this took a very long time to post.

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Got a call from “The Thaw” a local production, more specifically Craig Stauffer the mixer, who had a pinched nerve in his back. Having gone through that I had great sympathy and wanted to help however I could. Well what they needed was a Boom Op for a couple of days (which turned into 4 days) and his Boom op Murray Forward would mix (as I don’t know Craigs setup this was a logical choice). So off to set I go and the first set up was an easy one – get the slate. The rest of the day turned out to be a good one and I started to get comfortable working with Murray.

Now a bit about Murray…

He knows his business and he is pretty surgical about it – goes in takes a look at the set up and knows where he is going to be and how to catch what he needs. Knows, that is the key word. Knows when he needs to wire and knows when and where he needs to be. Well, me, I am not nearly that good. I am in the “Ithink” rather than the “Iknow” department. And sometimes it takes me a few tries to get – which isn’t always good on a film set as you may not have that luxury. The other notable problem that I had is that I got lazy. Yes I did. So used to doing News and Docs that I got lazy in looking at the set up and missed a lot of things that I would have(?) normally spotted – shadows etc.

So with the careful encouragement of Mr. Murray Forward, I learned alot the next three days. And for that I am very thankful.

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I find it humorous how life sometimes lines itself up and gives its own punch line. Example with a call from Keith Toms the Line Producer for CINENOVA Productions, who just happen to be doing a story for National Geographic. When Keith called he did have “touth mroubles” (a cute way of saying mouth troubles) as he actually said his name wrong – which we both had a good laugh at. He told me what they where doing,a story on an “AirCrane” which was being used in Ucluelet, B.C. for selective logging amongst other things, and he was wondering if I could help them out with sound. So we got the details sorted and in sorting out the details he mentioned Africa and “Voices” (which now has a web site of its own at voicesformalawi ) and we talked quite a bit about Africa and projects. A very nice chat and a few days later I was off to Vancouver Island.

Now I took my time and was a bit of a tourist as I hadn’t been to that side of the world in a while so I figured that I would enjoy it. It was a really nice road trip. When I arrive in Ucluelet I booked into the Cabins a wonderful little place, met Keith and found out that we had lots in common, then later in the evening I meet the rest of the gang, Don the Cameraman and Jane the Director. All in all, wonderful people.

The project was quite physical and it is jobs like that, that show you what sort of shape you’re in – or not… And it was originally a 2 day job which ended in being a 4 day job, glad I had enough batteries and clothes. Now the punch line – they where wondering if I could work with them in the US, which I had to decline as I do not have a work visa for the US. Darn! It would have been a lot of fun I think. Any way , nice people to have met and work with. Thanks for the call Keith!

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April has been a weird month for me. To start off April I released my first short called “Voices” in the first (annual I hope) Terminal Cinema Film Festival. And to my surprise people liked it. Not that it was bad or anything, I just didn’t realize that it was that good. More on that soon.

Did a bunch of day calls for various people and had a lot of fun doing that as well. I like to work and I like to be given the opportunity to do my job well and be appreciated for it. It is a nice warm fuzzy feeling that I think that we should all experience on a daily basis. I then took it easy as well and did some retrospective thinking about what to do next. Like I said a weird month.

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Just when you thought that it was safe to go out and record … stuffis, for your own library, along comes work, the nerve!

Got together with the talented people at RETHINK and Dean Ekstrom to do a whole lot of spots for the very humorous “Julie”  on the  Coast Capital Savings .  At first I just didn’t know what to think as I entered into Bear Studios on East 6th Ave to discover that Dean had locked the camera down and was trying to match , quite successfully, the previous session that they did a while back.  Andrew Pepper helped Dean with the lights (or was it the other way around) and it matched! Really good job.  The shoot was a challenge for me as the material “Julie” was wearing was of a high thread count and quite noisy.   The advantage was that I could experiment a little because not only were we using the wireless but a boom mic as well.    So I got to play a little.

Next up was a call from my good friend Lindsay Bucknel.  He wanted to know if I wanted to help out on a video game for Electronic Arts.  Since this was the first time that I was able to actually work with Lindsay, what the heck.  So we trundled off to EA on Saint Paddys day to meet the fabulous people from Electronic Arts.  Very intense work sessions and in the end – I was exhausted.  My arms where aching and my back was sore.  Then I got word from Lindsay that we had put down about 2.5 days worth of data in a single 9 hour day, and we had three more to go!!!!  All in all it was a good experience, especially to see all the  toys that they get to play with.

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Every once in a while I will get a phone call from someone that goes like this…

“Hi Peter? We’re doing a no-budget Indie and we’re wondering…

Now I’m sure that the eyes roll and smirks abound yet, I still like to help out once in a while for two reasons.

The first , it is where we all started and I don’t like to forget “my roots”. Not knowing much about the film industry and working out mistakes on low budget projects to get to where we are now, doing it for a living. I think of it a Karmic payback for all those little mistakes that I let slip by on the day because I didn’t know any better. When I started I got great results (no really I did!) and every once in a while I was either limited by my gear and/or (more to the point) my knowledge of what was required, so we learn.

Second reason , now that I have all this wonderful gear (well the bank ) and if I’m not busy, why not go out for the day and make someones project better. Give a little bit back. Now I do try and cover my expenses, yet what is received in return seems to be worth it. “They” get a better project, I get to meet new people and be put into some really “different” situations and I learn from it. Sounds fair to me.

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Drama. I think that I can live without it. And just when you thought that it was safe to go and do something nice.

Let me explain.

A lot of times I do flats for people, to help them out with their finances. For those that don’t know what flats are: flats are when you work for a maximum of “x” number of hours with no minimum. It may seem a bit one sided on the onset , till you recognize that most flats are 60% or less of your normal rate. This is how it works:

Your days are set, anywhere from 8 to 12 hours as a maximum- there is no minimum. Now lets say go over 12 hours, you put that in the old memory bank and wait for a rainy day, so to speak. Then some days , if you are lucky, you’ll do an hour or two and that’ll be it. So it all works out – most of the time. Now all of this , so far, is pretty much drama free. Unless you are constantly going over 12 hour days, then it just starts to suck. But you stick to your rate and hope that they recognize that you are going over a lot and compensate you for it – doesn’t happen often though.  Hey I can dream ok?

Now enter the assumption of time. Some producers think that they own you and your works for the entire day, flat or not, we are talking 24/7 people – cause they “paid” for it. I have run into this attitude a few times now and I am battling this once again. The assumption that every thing you do, be it on their time or not, belongs to them (them being the person that hired you). This is called a “Work for Hire” and usually is accompanied by a lengthy Deal Memo or contract. Now most Producers on Indies don’t have a problem with you using stuff recorded on their time – as long as you aren’t making heaps of money off of it.   Because it is their stuff that they have contracted you to make. I don’t have a problem with this.  Now if you do stuff on your own time, and you include it with your package to them, it is a bonus that you have given the producers – they don’t own it though, still no problem there.  This is stuff that I share.   They don’t know that I even did it sometimes they are just glad they have it .

So let’s break it down. One day you work 12 hours, the next 2 and so on so forth. You’re working away and then something catches your attention that you would like to do personally. The location that you are in is “wrapped” ( finished). The Producers would like to move on to a different part of the story. So you ask the powers that be if you are needed in this new segment. You make sure, you do your due diligence. So you ask the Director/Cameraman “Do you need me at all?” and he says – “No, it is just simple interviews for “B” roll (“B” role is filler material), so we don’t need you, we’re covered.” You ask the other camera guy “Do you need me or anything from me?” and he replies “No, like the Director said , it is just “B” roll”. So next you ask the Producer. You say “I am personally interested in doing this , do you need me to go with you? ” The producer replies that “you’re time is your own. We will see you back at the Hotel, so you make your own way back, you’re on your own, ok?” and I reply “Yes, thanks.”

Then you go do what you want and then later (much later) the Producer lays claim to all that you have done, through the entire shoot, even on your own time.

So now the drama starts.

So in comes the legal beagles and the price tag attached with that little necessity. But is it a necessity? Let me know what you think. Oh, my intentions with this little project – to help out some people in need. The Producer wants to use it to recoup some costs. Both valid – still…tell me what you think.

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So after my busy Dec. it was nice to have most of January to relax. Did a few days but nothing strenuous at all. I enjoyed the time that I could spend at home. Lots of little projects to finish up. I just wish that I could finish them a little quicker.

Have some new “toys to play with – another TimeCode Slate, 3 – B3 mics (by Countryman – boy are they ever tiny!!!), almost finished designing my new cart and boxes (now I just have to build them), have a new Stereo Mic from Ambient (the Emesser) and looking to get some accessories for my Schoeps mics (some MK4 capsules and GVC ’s the 90 degree flex attachment) and some a new length of multi cable (snake) for the boom.

Now I know that most people are going to wireless for the boom and I do use it on occasion. I just like the sound of the hard wire and the dependability of it. It may be slower to work with, wrapping and running the cable can be time consuming, but the results are better in the long run.  Least in my opinion.

What I am not looking forward to is the loss of most of the bandwidth that comprises a large chunk of the wireless band that we now use – it is going to Digital TV.  So a lot of people will be losing their wireless when these bands come in and interfere with our beloved systems. So the monetary outlay tends to be unrecoverable if we can’t use them, funny how that works.   Not so much fun.

So lots of changes coming and , by the way, I’m looking for a new Boom Op. So if you want drop me a line.

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It is the end of the year and time to reflect, or at least that is what most people seem to be doing. As for me I am eagerly anticipating 2008 and all that it has to offer me and the others that surround me. Doing my job and having the opportunity to do it well, makes this “job” the best hobby in the world. I love what I do it is as simple as that. And yes sometimes I get lazy – who doesn’t.  After doing a 21 day stretch of travel and work who wouldn’t want to take a little time to ones self.

And yet I still find myself working on little projects that surround my business of “working in the movies”. Little inventions or ideas that make “work” better or simpler. It never seems to stop. I look forward to helping my Malawian friends James (and his family) and Judith (who showed me a slice of her Malawian life in Muzuzu), and promoting some projects that will help others in Muzuzu as well. To change someone’s life for the better, that to me is what living is all about, not the 52 inch LCD big screen that we want to plunk ourselves down in front of to watch the big game. Change the TV to a mirror and watch the really big game – and it is a touch bigger than 52 inches!

Take care one and all and enjoy.

Peter Kepkay

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I’ve had a stellar year meeting new people and being very busy for the entire year. I just wanted to say thank you to all that contributed to my success and to wish each and everyone of you a great holiday season and be safe.

As for me, I am currently in Malawi (Africa) and enjoying the heat – sorry about that !!! The people here are fantastic, the business system is a bit crazy and bureaucratic but it works…eventually. It is nice to know what to expect this time and to be able to help even just a little. It really means a lot to the people here – even a few dollars goes a very long long way. Imagine buying a house for only $5000 dollars. Now it might not be a dream home but it is a house that you can call your own.Best to all and see you in the New Year!!!

Regards
Peter Kepkay

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Been doing a fair number of shorts recently and meeting a lot of interesting and talented people. Amongst the group is Nicholas Campbell, Peter Deluise, Simone Bailly and a host of others. My most recent surprise came in the form of a boom op – Pietro Sammarco that I met for a Kick Start short called “A Season to Wither”. It is hard to get people out sometimes on lo/no budget shorts but he was willing, ready and to my surprise quite able. The fun part for this shoot was, well, two fold.   -1-  Transport for my gear ran a foul and I ended up driving up to Kamloops, with gear in tow. Not so bad really with the exception that - 2-  I was having problems with my back.  (Found out later that it was a pinched nerve, oh yes it was.)  And yet Pietro came to my house, loaded the gear, unloaded and loaded for the next three days, was diligent, very helpful and looked after this poor soul til it was time to leave. And for that I thank you Pietro Sammarco, very much indeed.

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