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.
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.
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