Re: field recorders, warning, sales pitch...

yeah, poor Tom...

Don't misunderstand me. My normal jobs aren't high profile.
But, (at least over here), low end stuff is NOT cheaper than the good stuff. It takes more labour to get the job done, and since labour is more expensive than decent gear, i do not see the logic in using cheapo cams. Of course there are situations (very long shooting time, unattended cams, risk situations, amateurs using the equipment) that cheapo cams have their place. But in normal operation, if you want quality, having decent gear does pay off.

What i don't get from your situation, over here it nowadays is NOT common to have a sound person on the job. Most shoots have one lav that the cam op puts on the talent, the boom (sometimes over a mixer) is held by the director or (if available) intern.

The whole reason i've developed my AUX TC reader is to make it possible on low cost shoots to have maximum efficiency.
Using it for muliple take music video shoots is great.
One channel of music for playback on set, the other one LTC, no fuzz finding back what shot goes where.
(Alough that's a situation where almost never a sound person is present, as it's playback only...)
Multicam with unconnected cams and BWF recorders where the second reason.

All in all, in my world (and my opinion!) cheap gear does not mean low cost. The cost just shifts (luckily more money for me, although i always have to explain why things aren't running as smooth as normally...)



Bouke

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