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I was hired to do sound for a TV production, what do I do!

Well not exactly a TV production. Someone who works at the network, wants to make a pilot to a documentary show, which he can show the Board (as he put worded it), and hopes they will like it and want more.

But this is a TV network where I live and I was told the Board has RICH people on it. I told the guy who hired me, not get me but a sound person who knows a lot more about it, compared to my very beginner-ish level. He said that he wants me, cause I have good equipment compared to others, and that he knows me, and know I will commit professionally. I also owed him and I couldn't say no. And he talked me into saying yes, also cause it's a paying gig and I will get my foot in the door, or at least some kind of door. He will get his foot in too, if we help each other out.

But I feel that I am really not the right person for the job of course, but got to do the best I can. It's a documentary show which means they are going to interview people, all in one take only. So no retakes. I am going to tell him to also look for someone else, who will do it for free or the a cut of the pay, and I will consider options as well. But I think it will not do much good, and he is set on me. On the plus side though, since it's all one take, I won't have to do ADR which would be even more difficult. But there is also a con there as well of course.

I thought what I should do with the boom mic, is too use my Y splitter to create two tracks in case the sound screws up on one. The downside of this is that I was told before on here that doing that cuts down on the mic quality, and he wants really good quality to make a good impression with these people. But some have said on here that it doesn't cut down and it's the way to go. But that's just one dilemma.

Do you guys have any tips for me, on how to pull off this one shot deal, at all? Anything I may not know could help on doing something like this. Thanks.
 
Well so far the team is making a feature, they hope to get distribution, which I am lending out my sound equipment for, and acting in, and they are making that TV pilot.

So they probably would be better off hiring pros, rather than relying on each other. There is one guy in the team who wants to help me with my feature in the future, and says he just really likes my script and thinks we could make it happen. He wants to be my DP, but since it's my feature I have to get certain equipment I want, which is fair. But not sure if I should use him for cheaper, and since I know him, or if I should hire a pro with pro equipment. Even though he's not a pro, his cinematography and lighting is astonishingly good and impressive. He can make a shoestring budget look very pro, lighting wise, and has ideas for lighting that I have not seen in most movies. But if hiring pros with their own stuff is the way to go, I am going to recommend that to the team. I will still help them make their feature, I just don't want them to fail and take the best options.
 
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Again, you are looking for absolute answers where there aren't any, it's all probabilities. In general professionals are better than amateurs, people are willing to pay them enough money to make a living at some aspect of filmmaking because their expertise, experience and skill will on average produce better results than the best amateurs. The more the professional charges, the higher the expectation of the quality of their work. If this wasn't the case, why would anyone ever pay for a professional and why would there even be professionals? Having said this, there are potential exceptions, the highly talented amateur who isn't a professional because he/she hasn't had time to build a reputation. They are going to make mistakes due to lack of experience but in time they may well surpass moderate professional standards. In the meantime they might represent a cheap and usable alternative to a professional, as well as being a very useful future contact if/when they do make the jump to being a professional.

The chances of this being true of every member of the group you are talking about is very slim and the chances of them producing professional quality, without the guidance of one or more experienced professional crew members is slimmer still. I can't say it's absolutely impossible, just extremely unlikely. You have to judge for yourself , balancing their abilities, the roles they are taking on and the equipment they have to work with against expectation for the distribution channel they are aiming for. In some cases, audio post for example, regardless of their talent/experience they'll almost certainly need at least a fair bit of pro gear.

In other words, there is a very high probability that the team would get a higher quality product by using pros, whether that means they are better off depends. It will cost them more money and there is still no guarantee of a marketable or profitable product, just more probability.

G
 
I just read all five pages.

I must say that was a nailbiter!!!

I really felt bad for the protagonist. With subpar skills and equipment, he was asked to do the impossible, told he shouldn't even bother because he's way out of his league (which most would agree is a fair assessment) but ultimately prevailed. Wow. Someone could make a documentary about this thread.
Complete with happy ending!

:cool:
 
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