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Dave Pastecchi

Dave Pastecchi

Hello, I am Dave Pastecchi a New York soundman since 1977 and local member of IATSE Local 52.

I have worked mostly on set since a young boy and most of my experience is with getting
locations sound. I do know quite a bit about post and mixing and what can be done to fix problem later. Along with what cant be fixed later from talking with Post all the time and what their needs are to make a better sounding film.

I will do my best to answer all your questions you might have. And if i cant, I will do my best to get the answer for you from one of my friends and make some calls to get the answer.

I will try to post some tips from time to time based on questions I read around the forums that help you with your sound.

And now for your first TIP:
Well first off, I would say to take a chance. Take risks. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. A lot of the time, you’ll see people getting paralyzed because they want to be perfect the first time around. The solution is to think less and do more - experiment. As you gain experience, figure out what works well. And as a sound recordist, you can make your own rules. If you find that standing on your head makes your soundtrack better, then by all means do that. If you find that turning your microphone around gets you better sound or gets the kind of sound you want, by all means do that – you get my point. Just don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Go with your gut. Stand up for yourself. Don’t let people push you around. Make them appreciate you. Also, if you really want to be able to assess the quality of your work, you need to hear it on loudspeakers, not on headphones, because almost everyone else who will hear it will hear it on loudspeakers. If there’s a way for you to get your tracks to a re-recording studio to review them, you will be able to pick out every intricate detail of your soundtrack. By doing this, you will be your own critic and correct your mistakes for the future.

So with that, I look forward to hearing from you
 
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Ok cool! I'll start the first question. It's probably very subjective, but from your perspective, what would be the ideal field audio set up for a new film maker who doesn't have the thousand dollar budget just for audio? In other words, what is the best inexpensive field recorder, mic, etc. for someone like me (new; and knows very little ) to experiment on?
 
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EvsFX08 said:
Ok cool! I'll start the first question. It's probably very subjective, but from your perspective, what would be the ideal field audio set up for a new film maker who doesn't have the thousand dollar budget just for audio? In other words, what is the best inexpensive field recorder, mic, etc. for someone like me (new; and knows very little ) to experiment on?
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thats a tough one....as field recorders start around 2500.
but thats not to say that you can find a used one that we longer use but are still great machines. i would look into a Dat Machine with timecode. there and many fostex PD2's and 4's out there(the PD4 being my choise of the two). i have seen them go for under 1000. and have also seen some HHB's go for around the same price.

but before you run off and get one of these. check to see what timecode you will be using, if you are going to use a newer 23TC, check to see if there is an update for this on thier sites. or if the machine was updated for this already.

if you had more money to spend i would sugest a FostexPD6 as many soundpeople are stating to dump these as the media format has changed. its a great machine that can do almost anything you will ever need. but uses minidiscs to mirror to and they stoped makeing these in a cassette form. they make an adapter for them now to use regular minidiscs.

hope this is of some help to you and if you have anymore questions or would like me to look into something you were thinking of buying...let me know and i will take a look at it
 
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OK, thanks for the suggestions. I didn't know timecode was such an important issue with sound, guess I should research on timecode because I have know idea what timecode I'll be using, I don't even know what that means.
 
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Timecode is handy, but not necessary. All audio can be synced without it. I, nor anyone I know have ever used a timecode on any projects and never had an issue, and we record audio seperately from video.

Like I said, my field recorder is an Edirol R-44, and it's only 900 bucks, GREAT piece of equipment.
 
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thefilmgeek said:
Timecode is handy, but not necessary. All audio can be synced without it. I, nor anyone I know have ever used a timecode on any projects and never had an issue, and we record audio seperately from video.

Like I said, my field recorder is an Edirol R-44, and it's only 900 bucks, GREAT piece of equipment.
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i am not putting down you Edirol....but it just so happens that it is recording in the same time frame as the camera you are using...that is why snyc might not be a problem for you now....but if you were to change the code in you camera and use a differnt timecode from your setup in camera...you would have a problem on longer takes....

i think everyone should learn more about what TIMECODE actually does and how to use it...i agree that for most small filmakers recording IN-Camera Sound...this will never be an issue....but when recording with a Seperate Recorder...this can cause some major issues that can be very costly for repair later.

and to purchase a machine for 900.00 with no code is ok, but when you need to use code, it will be useless to you. so i feel that spending maybe 100.00 more on a machine with code would be a better option and will allow you to use this machine with any camera you chose.

i think maybe i should start writting more about timecode here so people start to get a better undertanding of how it works and what it does when you are recording...it effects Picture and Sound.

be well...
 
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Well the good part is, you don't have to buy this stuff, if you want good sound, you'll be hiring a sound mixer, who usually has his/her own equipment. This is when you need to know your stuff as well, and what to ask. Timecode recorder, smartslate, boom operator with boom, mics used, etc. Hey Dave, maybe a tip on what to ask the sound mixer, to make sure you're getting everything you need.
 
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indietalk said:
Well the good part is, you don't have to buy this stuff, if you want good sound, you'll be hiring a sound mixer, who usually has his/her own equipment. This is when you need to know your stuff as well, and what to ask. Timecode recorder, smartslate, boom operator with boom, mics used, etc. Hey Dave, maybe a tip on what to ask the sound mixer, to make sure you're getting everything you need.
Click to expand...

good idea....going to get to work on these this week when i have some time off...but every project has different needs...so maybe just the basics on this one...
 
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