RADIO MICS: THEIR THOUGHTFUL USE IN THE NEW FILM ENVIRONMENT 

by DANNY MICHAEL CAS

In the last 5-10 years, feature films have changed dramatically - well beyond their more publicised escalating budgets. Since the early 70s, when I found myself working on my first low budget picture, much has evolved in the way a project gets developed and, ultimately, filmed and edited. With the emergence of 'superstars' that drive the engine that gives a film its 'green light', the breadth of a project has changed the way various technicians and crafts people must approach their responsibilities. It's understandable that, as the costs of making a high profile movie increase, the studios need to realise a quicker return on their money. This has forced those of us in production to get in step with the new economics or be left behind the speeding train.

As the demands grow for completing a movie in shorter time, the opportunities for 'fine tuning' fall off rapidly. Under pressure from their producers, assistant directors are struggling to keep on schedule even as the risks and complexities of a project increase. Cinematographers feel this pressure and therefore respond with even larger equipment packages and crews to give them more flexibility and speed. Naturally this too increases the cost of a day's shooting and the spiral continues. More and more, we see multiple camera packages being introduced on productions, even those that would seem too low budget for such a luxury. Predictably this type of production escalation affects all departments. Art departments are under pressure to complete their work, even though their sets are in constant flux from daily production schedule changes. Property departments must anticipate their needs more than ever as shorter pre production schedules make it more difficult to nail down specific props. Post production teams and their sound counterparts as also under pressure to do considerably more in much less time. Consequently, editing staffs have expanded with a greater reliance on electronic editing systems that were introduced with the promise of reducing post production schedules. 

On our end of the scale, location sound has changed too. Even with a skilled director who favours a usable location track, the pressures are too great to achieve good tracks all the time. Here in New York, as location shooting increases in real-life environments, there is a decreased likelihood that an acceptable track can be achieved. Community resistance is growing to the disruption caused by location shooting and more and more limitations are imposed by the NYC Police Department (particularly with respect to sound lockups on the streets). Add to that the expanding

use of multiple cameras or complex shots designed to work 'all in one' and you've set up a formula for clenched teeth every time you shoot outside. With this come fewer opportunities to capture missed dialogue or to refine the track mix. Greater reliance on split or multiple tracks has been necessary to allow for options in the final mix and for the treatment of problematic locations or miking due to location/shooting compromises. An outgrowth of these compromises is a greater 'defensive' reliance on radio mikes in situations where normally it might have been possible to work with the preferred open boom mike. 

Radio mikes have always been a useful tool for those situations where background noise is too heavy to allow for the reach of a mike like a Schoeps or a shotgun type Sennheiser or Neumann. As much as I have resisted the use of radios in situations where others might have gone to them right away, I find that the today's situations have forced me to re-evaluate their use in more and more circumstances.

 On Ron Howard's Ransom, my use of radio mics increased dramatically as a defensive measure. Ron is a talented director who is hard to pin down. Things change all the time, including who and where someone speaks. Just when you think that you've got it figured out, an additional camera shows up, quicker than you can say "Give me unit #3". This does not mean that I will allow myself to be satisfied with the compromises inherent in using the radios - they remain a tool that must not be abused. Assuming there is coverage that allows for closer miking, I will always consider returning to an open mike. Obviously, this open mike track must work with the tracks you've already recorded. Let's say the radio mike track had a fair amount of clothing or wind noise due to clothing restrictions. If the track was marginal, wouldn't it be best to try and cover all that with a better miking option given the opportunity?

When working on Marty Brest's movie Meet Joe Black, the two leads - Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani were often pushing the 'whisper envelope'. Radio mics were standard issue on any exterior in NYC with them. More often than not, the radios barely coerced enough level from them to override the noisy exteriors. With so much gain pulled up and little wind protection from light summer clothes, it was getting difficult to overcome wind noise and even some clothing noise. When the cameras started to push in, I had the choice of living with barely usable tracks or to switch gear and work from below with a Schoeps 441 in a Rycote screen. 

Why from below? I was able to obtain much more bottom end and energy from the frail voices they offered and the closest match to radios on an actor's body. I ended up with very usable tracks that tested the will of my boom person, Andy Schmetterling, who had the thankless task of trying to squeeze a grey blimp between two easily distracted actors.