Hello all; At the urging of Paul Sedillo I'm going to introduce myself and give some background info on my involvement with audio. I may be able to help or at least point you in the right direction if you have any audio recording / post production related questions .
I started my career in audio at age 13 when I got paid to run sound for a Jr. high rock band. Since then (30+ years) I have toured with several (unknown) bands, owned a live sound company, and run sound for live shows at most of the big clubs in the Washington DC / Northern VA. area. In 1994 I partnered with CUE studios in Falls Church VA. (www.cuerecording.com) a multi-platinum producing recording studio. Unfortunately (or not) my wife transfered to the Texas Med Center in 1997, so I moved to Houston. This spring I finally moved my recording equipment to Houston and set up shop here. I upgraded a lot of my equipment in the process, and now have a first class recording setup, as good as any I have ever worked on anyway. I have done tons of location recording and recently worked recording one of Paul Sedillo's video projects. Since getting set up here I have recorded and released a punk record (not me, a real punk band), a Diet Coke ad and have been working on mastering some rap albums for a local rap label. Yesterday I did a complete record of Americana, beer hall, and Mexican folk songs for a guy, all one takes, 38 songs, started at 9am and had a CD by 3pm! I'm realitively new to Video/DV but I'm addicted to it for sure. I have a new GL2 and FCP 3.0 I'm getting up to speed on. I'm presently working on a short about the Athabaskan Indians in Denali, Alaska, and have another short I have written in the works, about angels and death (fiction of course!) nice light topic to start my video career eh? I haven't been a member here very long but have truly been enriched by the time I have spent here, kudos to Chris, all the wranglers, and the user community at large.
p.s. (Paul said that I might mention the fact that I specialize in the cracking of STONES! :)

Mark,

...but, do you know anything about audio?

Just kidding. Really impressive bio. We're lucky to have someone here with your experience. Just promise not to get sick of my questions. Audio is still the "There, be dragons" realm of DV for me...so I'll be asking a lot, I'm sure, when I get into post-production on my next project.

The "Americana, beer hall, and Mexican folk songs" recording sounds great! What an eclectic mix. And your Alaskan project sounds intriguing, too. I hope you'll keep us posted on both (maybe we can hear and see a sample or two?)

Anyway...thanks for the introduction. We'll see you on the boards.

I'll make some MP3's to post on my site for you to check out, it's pretty cool stuff. Paul Sedillo has just posted the Denali clip on his server:

http://www.image-studio.com/movies/Denali.html

It's not perfect but it's my first try.
Mark

Welcome to the BBS, Mark!

I am a former Houstonian, so I can appreciate the culture shock you have been going through... I guess by now, you've adjusted.

I used to play with sound while in Houston, but left in 1989 to move to Atlanta, and didn't take it up again until a few months ago... to go with video.

It's good to have someone like yourself on the board, as audio is the weak link of so much video... and someone with studio experience can be very helpful to others, here.

Conversely, I am sure you will learn much from many on this board who may lack the studio experience, but have vast experience with capturing audio on location.

I spent Thanksgiving with a New York producer of documentary films. Very interesting day, for me! A great sound tip she gave me was one that her soundman uses:

She said that when they film in someone's home, not only do they shut off the air conditioning, they turn off the REFRIGERATOR, as well. It shortens the time for audio sweetening.

The great tip is: Put your car keys in the refrigerator. That's right.... keys in the refrigerator! Why? Because you will be more likely to TURN THE FRIDGE BACK ON! After many shoots... and lots of spoiled food (and angry people) this tip serves all very well.

Anyway, once again, welcome to the board!

It's great to have another audio tech on the boards, (definitely my weakness). Welcome!

Chris