Had a good time yesterday at Huntington Beach. 2nd unit shoot for Cloud 9 at the AVP volleyball tournament. Very nice day at the beach. I've forgotten how much a DAT recorder weighs...good thing I don't do that everyday. Back to the cart for me...

Looks like it's my turn for day calls. Tomorrow I'm doing some 2nd unit for Cloud 9, starring Burt Reynolds. We're at the beach for a Pro Beach Volleyball tournament. Pretty much run and gun all day, so I'll have to be light.

Hopefully some of these day calls will turn into something more long term.

I got a last minute call on Friday night for a shoot Saturday morning! Thankfully I have a day call package that will fit in my van. It ended up being some pickup shots for the upcoming movie Taxi with Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah. I'm glad I have all kinds of playback stuff, as it ended up being playback in a vehicle while recording the actor singing along with the track. None of this was relayed to me in the frantic phone call at 10:30 pm the night before, but as usual... I bring everything. All went without a hitch... :)

I can't stress enough how important it is to be prepared for as much as possible these days. The days of just showing up with a deck and a microphone are long gone...

A big thanks to Jeff Zimmerman for answering his phone late Friday night as well. He didn't boom as much as he did music playback. Another important note...be able to do as many jobs as possible in the sound department, we never know when we have to shuffle around and do other duties.

This past weekend I subbed for Stacy Brownrigg on Fat Albert, directed by Joel Zwick...great cast and director. It should be a funny show. I had the chance to mix on a Zaxcom Cameo for the first time. It was a bit of a shock but I mostly enjoyed it. There were a few odd moments, but by and large all went smoothly.

I signed yesterday with Prime Artists for agent representation. Time will tell on this move...I think it will work out. He seems to know everyone...that's where I'm at a loss.

Re-arranging the van and garage this week. Trying to make my day package fit in the van again...it's gotten rather large. I'll be purchasing a trailer soon for the longer projects and travel jobs. More later on this...

Looking for work...

Wondering if anyone reads this blog...???

Looks like I'll be signing with Prime Artists for agent representation. I guess my interview went well...

I hope this will help with the cold calls...I hate them.

Monday....

Working for Stacy on Fat Albert this weekend, should be fun. He's got a Cameo so I'll get some time on the digital mixer. I need to download the manual today.

Meetings tomorrow...hopefully I'll have an idea of some work coming up.

Writers and Teamster threatening of a strike...everyone is trying to get shows going and done before that happens. No news on She Spies season 3, might be a goner. Who knows, hope not...

More later...

Been a nice slow week. Lots of cleaning the garage and dusting off gear. It's amazing how much space you gain when you clean out the garage. It happens every time!

Still no word yet on a new project, hopefully something will turn up soon. I'm shakin' the bushes. Meetings next week...hopefully something will turn up.

It's gotten quite warm here in So. Cal., a bit earlier than usual I think. The AC's working hard already. Nights are nice and cool though...good for dog walking.

I've been doing some cable and equipment modifications over the last couple of days...I'm looking forward to completing them next week. My crew will be happy.

More later...

We wrapped Hostage this past Friday with a day in the crawlspace. A great job from everyone on the sound crew and a special thanks to Peter Devlin for bringing me on board. It should be a very good movie.

No plans for work as of yet. I need some time off to rest and clean up. I've posted some sound crew pictures on my website: http://www.palmeraudio.net/gallery.htm

I'll update a little more often now that I'm off work...

Wow...sorry it's been too long. I finished up Species III two weeks ago. Many thanks to my great crew Jeff Norton and Jeff Zimmerman. I think we did a fine job for the company and I look forward to hearing the results.

I immediately cleaned all my gear and loaded it onto another job. Peter Devlin was so kind to recommend me to replace him for the remainder of Hostage, a Mirimax film. We have several weeks left, all on stage at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. The film is written by Robert Crais and stars Bruce Willis. We are off for the Easter Holiday weekend, and I'm catching up. George Flores and Jeff Zimmerman are finishing up this picture with me.

That's the update...

Week 4 is in the can. Lots of special effects this week...which means a lot of guide tracks for me. All in all, very good stuff. Let's see...the DAT recorder went down this week, got it repaired...the DEVA is acting weird, it's going out next week...I've blown up two power supplies for my cart, they're back at their maker. Kind of a tough show on equipment, and I can't really figure out why. I guess it's just my turn, as I rarely have these issues. Thankfully I'm real paranoid and I have backups for just about everything.

We've got 1 more week to go, then I'm off for a few days. I am jumping on to the last week and a half of Hostage for Peter Devlin so that he may go and start another show. After that...who knows.

I think I may be testing some new gear as well...we'll see.

Just finished week 3 of Species III. All in all I'm quite happy with the sound we have recorded on this project to date. The locations have been a nightmare for ambiance, but that's somewhat normal these days. Even on stage we have so much noise from fans, SFX, crew, and above everything...the cameras. I'll keep from that rant this time around.

I have to say, I've got a great sound crew. The Jeffs...Jeff Norton and Jeff Zimmerman are doing a great job. It is very comforting to know that all I really have to do is mix...everything else is taken care of.

We've got 2 weeks to go. The hardest location is coming up this week...we are shooting at the old power plant in Rodondo Beach. The final week is on stage.

Hopefully we'll know more about She Spies in the next week.

Beginning week 2 of Species III. These F900 cameras are the loudest video cameras I've ever worked with. In the words of another sound mixer, when these things spin up...it sounds like the DP is making daiquiris. I can't get a clean close up without fan, tape transport and servo noise. We are working on a barney type glove...hopefully the KATA product will work.

The show is good, the actors are good, and the crew is great.

Lots of multi track on this project. I'm trying to use the DEVA to it's fullest. I'm really enjoying the machine, I hope we can get a couple of bugs worked out.

We start splits and nights today...

We've had a week of tests with the new 24P format. Things went poorly in the beginning but got better as we realized the deck was bad at the post house. All if our stuff was fine. It caused a lot of anxiety, but all is good now. For those that may want a detailed list of the testing procedure and the results by the step...contact me via email and I'll get you the info. Email - phil@palmeraudio.net

We start shooting on Monday bright and early. There are an enormous amount of visual effects in this production for such a short schedule...we'll see how it goes.

Many thanks to all the people I've called this past week for guidance and help...Dave F., Wolf S., Bill H.,Chris S., the techs at Plus 8, and all the guys over at Westwind. I really appreciate all the help.

I'll report the progress of the show as regularly as I can.

Thanks to all...

Sorry it's been a while. We finished up Desert Greed...very dusty. I'll be cleaning my gear all weekend. Jason London finished up the show with a fine perfomance.

The next project is much more intensive...an HD 24/P shoot for MGM. We are continuing the Species series of movies with Species 3. Jeff Norton and Jeff Zimmerman will be booming for me. I have no idea who is cast for this movie, but will very soon. We start shooting February 23 with camera tests next week.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Well, we're a week into Desert Greed. Very dusty and cold...not what I hoped. The DEVA is performing flawlessly. Now I wished I had never waited...

Rob's doing a fine job, Noah as well. Good to have them aboard. We're already a day behind, but I'm onto something else right after, so I'm not hangin'.

It took all week to get over the cold, but I feel pretty good today.

It's Patrick Marten's birthday...Happy Birthday buddy!

More later...

Friday before we start Desert Greed. I've gotten sick...go figure. I hope it's a quick one, but it feels like a cold.

Bought the DEVA 2 yesterday. I can't wait for that company to deliver the next generation of recorders, so I had to bail and buy the older tech. At least it's time tested and working. It will work well for the next year, then I'll upgrade.

Man I feel horrible.

Load the truck today, that will be a bit of a relief...I think. Looks like I'm on for Species 3 as well. Nice to know I've got some work lined up.

I was right...now we are pushed to the 26th of January. Working title now is Desert Greed. Luckily my crew has decided to stay with me on this one.

Things are starting to get busy around town, so I feel okay about things, today. That could change of course. :)

Still waiting on the new DEVA...my hope is to have it in time to play with it for a while before my show in February. They have a history of delays, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

Worked on Angel this past week. Real nice crew over there. Funny episode...

First work week of the new year...and I'm not working, yet. The small show got pushed some more...as was expected. We scout on Thursday and production meeting Friday. I actually bet this gets slammed again as well. Now we are trying for January 20 as a start.

Getting the gear up and in order. Enjoying that actually.

Went to the LA Auto Show today. Very cool.

Want to get back to work.

It's the Holiday lull...in between Christmas and New Years. I've been working on gear, as per usual. Got my follow cart all cleaned up and upgraded. New drawers and such.

Kathy's working at her new job and happy. Oliver's feeling lonesome. Things are going okay.

New pictures soon of the new cart and truck modifications.

Christmas Day here in rainy southern California. It's REALLY raining today, not just damp or misty. The mountains are getting a lot of snow, Mammoth got 2 feet yesterday.

Tomorrow is the day to really tackle the cleaning of my sound rig. I need to get it ready for the next project...Axeman. We begin shooting the second week of January. Rob Cunningham will be joining me as boom operator. No new toys for this one, as it is a low budget production. I hope to find out something soon about some future projects.

Still hoping that the DEVA 4 comes in on time. Though I am really unhappy about the way the company slams the other manufacturers at every opportunity. Their competitors seem to welcome the new products on the market, while all Zaxcom does is talk badly about every other thing out there. Bad business practice in my opinion. Almost enough to make me go elsewhere for my equipment. Really good gear, bad PR.

I look forward to the new year and all that it may bring.