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.