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
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