How do I handle this situation with a stressed producer?

I am acting in a feature film being shot where I live, and the director told me she lost the sound guy I and knew I had some sound equipment cause she knows me. I recorded dialogue for a TV show pilot months ago, and that network said it was good enough, and that they wanted to air it, but didn't get it, since the crew could not producer more episodes. She asked me if I could do the sound for the scenes where I am not acting, to help out until she could find a replacement.

I have done that cause I wanted to help out and not have the movie be ruined. The sound sucks cause she would constantly not let me boom properly. She would keep telling me the boom was in the shot, so I kept having to move it so far back, that the quality and room perspective goes way down.

The for the scenes where I am acting the director had to bring a friend to boom, but the friend would not boom properly even though I kept explaining it to her. For example in a scene with four actors around a table, she would refuse to boom each one of them, by aiming at the mouths individually. And would always boom the mic inbetween all of them in the middle of the table, without moving it. So most of the sound sounds off axis or too far away. Their are also scenes shot in the middle of downtown, and it's somewhat difficult to hear, cause of all the heavy traffic. Having the mic aimed improperly cause the director will not allow proper aiming the way she shoots, does not help either.

The friend that she used also, will have only recorded sound on the first few takes and then the director would send her friend home, even though we are still shooting more takes. She kept saying it was fine, and that we can just use the audio takes from before and put them over the final takes if needed.

I kept on telling the director of problems and she said it was okay, and they will just do ADR. Even though almost the whole movie will probably have to be ADR now.

Their is a producer that is funding the director, giving her permits and things like that for example. All the actors and crew though are working for free, which we don't mind, cause we want experience, and build connections, and believe in the project.

This producer has a very different opinion than the director and is actually really pissed off. He told me that since I am the sound guy, it was my responsibility to get good sound (which I agree with), but the director kept constantly preventing me from getting it with her decisions (which I don't agree is my fault). Plus I am not only acting in this movie, but am the lead role, so I have a good amount of screen time, in which I cannot do the sound for the majority of it.

The producer also says that because I am the sound guy, I am in charge of all the sound. He says the post production mixing, Foley, effects, etc. It's all on me cause I am the sound guy, as he constantly emphasizes. I did not take on those jobs though. I just agreed to help out of a jam while recording dialogue on set, until they find someone else. I told him that and he says that I am the sound guy cause their is no one else and it's all on me. He says that I have ruined the movie, cause the distributors will not accept a movie that is almost all ADR, and that ADR is for cartoons and is not a solution. And that it's not up to me to fix it. The producer and director's favorite takes are mostly the final takes in the shots, where the director aborted the sound from being recorded in those takes as well, and they want me to come up with a solution to fix that.

So what do I do now? I told them I am really just an actor helping out, and I am not an official sound guy role at all from the start, and that they are risking consequences. I want to help but it is becoming an impossible situation I feel, unless I am just being a poor sport about things? I really considered myself to be just the actor and did tell them they would have to find a replacement for the final audio solutions, before shooting even started. I only wanted to help the movie be worthy of all the work being done, but I did warn them several times, of the potential risks, and things that needed to be considered, which I felt were not by them.
 
Last edited:
It sounds like you have taken on much more than you are capable of. You have minimal experience as a PSM/Boom-op, and even less doing audio post. I can't comment on your acting abilities.

However, this does not excuse either the director or the producer - if you are portraying the situation accurately.
 
walk away.....life is to short to waste your time and skills on people who are not prepared to take

their craft seriously.

cheers
 
just out of curiosity... do you base ALL of your filmmaking decisions from strangers who you never met on indietalk?

Mostly...

The producer also says that because I am the sound guy, I am in charge of all the sound. He says the post production mixing, Foley, effects, etc.

You can't be serious H44... How can someone just give you all that work? That's a hell of a lot of work and you lack the experience to pull it off... I'd walk...

...and you should be filming your own stuff anyway.
 
just out of curiosity... do you base ALL of your filmmaking decisions from strangers who you never met on indietalk?

No, I don't but I figure people who actually make movies, are better at giving their input, especially when they have the passion for filmmaking, compared to my friends, who don't have the best input compared to people actually in the industry or more qualified to give an opinion on it.

And yeah I would rather do a short film of my own and make more time for my own projects, as doing post on this film would take a lot of time of course.
 
When you say "Producer," do you mean someone who actually produces narrative content for a living, or do you mean someone with little experience and a "day job" who is trying to fill the role of "Producer?"

Also, you need to decide what you are. Are you an actor? Are you a writer? Are you a director? Are you a sound guy? Because trying to be all of them seems to be causing you trouble (not your first thread like this), and you might consider picking something and focusing on it more fully for a while.
 
As far as I know, he is just as guy at home it seems, but he does have money, as he was able to get access to locations that would require it, as well as equipment.

I want to be a director and actor. An actor for this feature since I was chosen. I only offered to record dialogue in scenes I wasn't in, because the producer and director wanted to go ahead and shoot the feature, even though, they had no PSM and boom op, on board. So I thought I might as well, instead of acting in a whole feature that would be definitely wasted if they recorded all the sound directly to the camera, or something like that.

As far as knowing what I want to be, I want to get on sets as well and before this feature, I have gotten on a TV pilot episode, but as a boom op. I have to be willing to do other things to get on sets most likely, in order to get some set experience, otherwise I probably wouldn't get on, if I told them I could not do anything than act or direct.
 
Last edited:
He says that I have ruined the movie, cause the distributors will not accept a movie that is almost all ADR, and that ADR is for cartoons and is not a solution. And that it's not up to me to fix it. The producer and director's favorite takes are mostly the final takes in the shots, where the director aborted the sound from being recorded in those takes as well, and they want me to come up with a solution to fix that.

Cartoons do not have any ADR. ADR is an abbreviation for "Automatic Dialogue Replacement", so if they did not record the dialogue in the takes they want to use there is no dialogue to replace and so ADR is not possible. I would have thought this is obvious! The only solution is to cobble together dialogue from other takes and/or dub the dialogue, both ways are going to be very difficult and time consuming and even an experienced (highly paid) audio post pro would struggle to get usable results.

If the producer knows that distributors will not accept a film packed with ADR/dubbed dialogue why on earth did he allow a film to be made in such a way as to guarantee it would require pretty much all ADR and dubbed dialogue? Either he is a complete moron or you are not recounting the events accurately.

All the actors and crew though are working for free, which we don't mind, cause we want experience, and build connections, and believe in the project.

How can you believe in a project when the people in charge of it (producer and director) are so obviously morons? When I come across people who have no idea how to make a distributable film, without exception that tends to make me not believe in the project! At least you have got what you wanted, experience. The experience you have gained is: Don't work with morons. I'm sure that's not the type of experience you were looking for but it is valuable experience nonetheless!

G
 
Well it's very difficult to get on sets. Usually when a movie is filmed in my city I don't know about it till after, since the filmmakers either keep it too quiet, or I just don't know the right people who would know about it and tell me.

This is the first feature I got to work on so far, and they wanted me for the lead role, so I felt it was better compared to nothing for the summer and therefore, believed in it based on that. Plus the script is not bad at all either I felt, and other actors liked it enough to get involved too, so I thought it must be at least somewhat good. I didn't know much about what they were doing with the audio or video or anything, so when shooting started I then found out that they were 'cough' morons.

I know ADR is not for cartoons, but apparently he does not see a distinction.
 
The producer also says that because I am the sound guy, I am in charge of all the sound.

I'd politely tell them that they need a post sound guy. Let them know that you're not that guy, that any attempts that you make on that job are likely to fail.

I want to help but it is becoming an impossible situation I feel, unless I am just being a poor sport about things?

Sounds like you need to learn how to say the words: "I cannot do that." and/or "I won't do that."

The experience you have gained is: Don't work with morons.

Damn fine words. Well said.
 
Yep for sure. I told them that several times. Now they want to reshoot a lot of scenes, and counting, in order to get the sound right on set. But they still don't have an audio guy for it, and using friends, so I don't think it's going to help. The movie is already over a year in the making, and hopefully I won't have to go into next year.
 
Back
Top