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25+ years in sound for TV/film here, but okay. I stand by my analogy: shit mic cannot be fixed by any preamp, great mic gives the best starting signal quality. Likewise, a shit lens can’t be fixed by any camera’s image sensor and processing, but a great lens gives the best starting image...

I… never said it was. A shit mic is going to sound like a shit mic, no matter what comes after it. You’ll never get a RØDE NTG2 to sound like a Schoeps. The second link in the chain is the pre-amp, which can only pass on the mic’s signal at full quality, or do its own work to degrade the...

Disagree. The microphone is your first barrier to sound recording. A good mic through a lesser pre-amp will sound better than a bad mic through a good pre-amp. You can’t ever improve the sound captured by the mic with anything downstream, but you can maintain it and you can certainly destroy it...

You mean third person omniscient? Most all of the examples cited in this thread are first-person. I’ll add “A Christmas Story”, “Forrest Gump”, and “Big Fish” to the list of good use of first-person narration. “Big Fish“ wrecks me every time I watch it. Third-person omniscient is an odd style...

Fried Green Tomatoes. Also, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I don’t know why this one works for me as well as it does. Obviously, Costner’s American accent is a bit out of place, but I actually enjoy the film quite a bit.

Wireless for boom is a very complex topic. First of all, you link a video that talks about using dynamic mics. A dynamic mic is absolutely the wrong choice for a boomed mic. You need a condenser, and which one really depends on the location. Shotguns, supercardioids, and hypercardioids are the...

In honor and memory of Her Majesty, it’s a Dubonnet and gin tonight.

Still sounds mechanical. The inflections are repetitive and predictable. It’s certainly impressive where AI voices are now, but they still lack the ability to dramatize. All tell-tale signs of AI voiceover. Side note: as the video progresses, the music gets louder and begins to drown the...

First off, kudos for recognizing that sound is important! I don’t think a couple hundred dollars will cover it, because there are a few basic pieces and parts that add up, even on the low-budget end. Fortunately, there are a few lower-cost options that can get you started. Before I list that...

I’ve been watching the 2nd season of American Horror Stories as it drops (Thursdays). American Horror Story has been incredible, except the last season didn’t really snag me the way the previous seasons did. I don’t know… it just wasn’t as enthralling to me. But I binged S1 of American Horror...

I have three days off between shows. Moving from competitive baking to competitive distilling. So I’m taking the dark days to finally get off my arse and clean out the basement, which became a shoveroom of random boxes of random crap which I need to Marie Kondo like there’s no tomorrow. It’s...

Yep. Lots of changes coming. They’re selling the Knoxville campus, which brings a whole lot of uncertainty since it has a fully-functioning studio that’s been consistently busy for the last few years. There aren’t any clear outlines at this point, just speculation, but if the studio goes away...

Booming is an art form as much as a science, and it is not a passive process. You need to be actively holding and moving the boom to keep the mic in place and to follow the action. The only time to have a boom locked down on a stand is when the talent is standing still.

Hi, Peter. A couple of things: ”Pointed directly towards the actor” doesn’t necessarily mean much. If the mic is aimed horizontally, directly in front of the actor and aimed straight, it is also pointing at anything and everything happening behind the actor. The mic should be overhead...

Today, I’m working on not sweating to death. The AC went out yesterday, and the house is currently 89º. The chilly control room at the studio was even more refreshing today. Too bad we wrapped early and I was home by 3:30…

As @indietalk said, non-linear is streaming/on-demand. Linear TV is the term for traditional broadcast/cablecast. So I've been on a string of Food Network shows, and I'm starting on a series for Discovery in August. That's linear, as these shows all go straight to the cable networks (though they...

They say linear TV is dying. It may be, but it’s still paying the bills. Current series is, apparently, one of the most popular on the network, so we’re shooting two full seasons this summer. Wrapped S11 on Friday, starting S12 this week.

Well, it’s a holiday weekend, so… But seriously, current show is dark for three days, but I don’t go back until Thursday. Location scout on Tuesday for the next series that starts in August. I’ve been pretty consistently booked since March with very little down time. Between all of that, the...

Premiere Elements is total garbage. That’s the cheap-o, consumer-level version. Personally, I can’t stand Premeire Pro either, but I know a lot of editors who use it as their daily driver. The fact that you get Adobe (Creative Cloud, I assume?) for free through your school changes the entire...

8GB won’t do it. 16GB might, but you need to consider first which editing platform you’re wanting to use. There are some good, free NLEs out there. DaVinci Resolve has a free version (Mac and PC), HitFilm is decent (also Mac and PC). There are also some inexpensive options, but… avoid Premiere...