Recent content by AcousticAl

Gear prepping today. Tomorrow starts a short film production over 3 days. It will be the second short featuring aliens, for which I’ll have done both location and post sound in the last 2 months. Creating creature sounds is highly entertaining, and quite satisfactory when the job is done and...

I seem to remember several interviews and articles about Back to the Future, saying outright that Stolz wasn’t a good fit. That’s not throwing anyone under the bus. It’s just honest. I think you’ve read a lot into State Farm’s statement that may or may not actually be there. There are so many...

This also happens with professional actors. Someone is cast in a role, it becomes clear that they aren’t the right fit for that role, and they are replaced with someone else. Just ask Eric Stolz.

Remember when Superbowl commercials were consistently the best part of the advertising year? When beer commercials had all the best Superbowl ads? When so many people watched the game with zero investment in either team, but were ready to talk to folks the next day about the commercials? Yeah...

There are some great spots in that campaign over the last 5 or so years. Playing the “straight man” can often be the difference between make or break for the success of the project. If you want a monumental reference point, please see Michael Caine in “The Muppets Christmas Carol”. His decision...

Yes, it was a scripted line. But it was two words, and again, was likely exactly what he was able to deliver in a way that worked 100% for that particular spot. While this ad campaign isn’t as consistently “funny” as what Progressive has had going the last several years, this does take some...

Not looking to trade insults here, dude. Reality: have you ever worked with someone who was perfectly comfortable just being themselves, but the moment you try to direct them to do anything else, they freeze up and can’t function? I have, many times. In fact, I still work regularly with a...

The original Jake, real name Jake Stone, is (was at the time) an actual State Farm employee. It’s entirely possible that, while he was perfect for that role in its original form, not being an actor meant he wouldn’t be able to adapt to an expanded and changing role.

Highlander I seem to remember loving that film as a kid. I guess early-80s me didn’t have a very high bar. Tried to watch it again a couple years ago and I… I just… couldn’t. About 10 minutes in, I realized I’d forced myself about 9 minutes too long.

I keep getting ads in my feeds for some crappy plug-in for NLEs that claims to take care of the audio mix for your video or film, completely AI-driven. I’m not buying it, and I don’t mean that in the purchasing sense but in the accepting that it’s a viable tool sense. Yes, it’s all going to be...

Yes, a stereo array can definitely open up the room, and even fill in some holes in the mix depending on what your other sources are. For instance, recording a concert with a feed from the console can be really dicey. If the FOH engineer has the time and is willing to help, it may be possible...

Yes. For what? Mid-Side can be tricky, and it is not at all advisable for dialog. Dialog is a mono source. It’s panned center in the mix (with a few exceptions in narrative work for actor movements off-camera). It’s also recorded in mono, even if that’s multi-mono with a lav on each person...

Can it be done? Sure. Is it going to make things better? Meh… The only connections that matter here are the available output (3.5mm stereo that doubles as headphone and “line” output), and the camera’s XLR inputs. Because the “line” level output of the H6 is pretty anemic in terms of actual...

I’m going to disagree. The sound quality (or lack thereof) completely took me out of the story. Not the singular distraction for me, but still. And yes, post-production sound was desperately needed. But then there’s this: Was this all on-camera mic? The last and worst place to put a mic for...

No, this is not normal. No, it’s not ethical. You can always consult with a copyright attorney… there’s little-to-no chance that he can claim any copyright to the footage, and it may even be likely that his copying the footage without consent was a violation. And at that point, a “friendly”...