The reason for going through all this trouble is that I know from feedback that most editors are very pleased to get even one clean track all the way through, so they have the option of 'stealing' a piece here or there. This is especially true since the time available to 'successfully' record a wild track for missed dialogue has become harder to find during the course of a shooting day. If you're in the habit of reaching for radio mikes on a regular basis, their use might become a defence mechanism. Directors or their ADs will suggest you put them on before shooting a scene because "you'll probably need them". There's no point in arguing - it's easier to just put them on. 

I want to be very clear, this does not put into question my utmost respect for those sound mixers that freely use radio mikes as part of heir initial approach to any sound recording. Those who have mastered this style don't need to make excuses for an approach so well crafted. The way we achieve our tracks as individuals is the net result of our personal tastes gathered over many years of experience that are too complex to compute. 

On the more dialogue driven projects that I tend to work on, feedback from film and sound editors suggests they prefer that I work with open mikes wherever possible. They like hearing the ambience of a room or exterior and the effects that come with it (within reason, of course). The rerecording mixers don't like the high levels of equalisation that the use of radios require quite often. As you know it's very hard to undo the effects of a heavily equalised track. The last thing you want to do to the post production people is to tie their hands. Keep in mind, as their time with a film decreases, they also begin to find it difficult to find the time to correct problems with the tracks. ADR becomes an easy crutch for questionable sound, or worse yet, sometimes questionable tracks will 'just have to do'. 

You must always be conscious of what the impact of your tracks and the way they're handled will have on post production. Use your sound reports aggressively and by so doing you will help an interested sound editor improve your tracks. Consider marking spots on your sound reports that will guide editors to more usable takes of sound that they might lift from your tracks. Try to get wild tracks with your actors whenever you can. Be subversive - if the ADs can't give you the time to get them on set, elicit their support to take the actors off the set to get your tracks. Another helpful approach is to use split tracks and record off camera dialogue from your actors so that in effect you're recording wild tracks during the shooting of the scene. Don't forget, however, to label your sound reports accordingly and inform the script supervisor whenever you record split tracks for that purpose.

 I'm sure you've all faced the concerns reflected in this article. Hopefully putting them in print will help us all address the need to develop meaningful solutions.

Danny Michael CAS, is a production mixer based in New York. He is a BAFTA winner and Academy Award Nominee for Mississippi Burning. His credits include In And Out, Ransom, Scent 0f A Woman, Glengarry Glen Ross, Billy Bathgate, and The Paper. He most recently did the production sound for Meet Joe Black and Mickey Blue Eyes.

This article first appeared in the CAS Journal and we are indebted to the Cinema Audio Society for their permission to reprint it.

AKIO MORITA - CO-FOUNDER OF SONY DIES 

Akio Monta was born on January 26, 1921 in Nagoya, Japan, to a family who had been sake brewers for 400 years. From an early age Akio was fond of tinkering with electrical appliances, while mathematics and physics were favourite subjects at school. After high school he entered the Physics Department at Osaka Imperial University. 

Graduating in 1944, during the war, he became a lieutenant in the Japanese navy, fortuitously meeting up with Masaru Ibuka who was working for the Navy's Wartime Research Committee. 

After the war he read in a newspaper that Ibuka had founded the Tokyo Telecommunications Research Institute. The two met up in Tokyo and after discussions decided to establish a new company together. 

On May 7th 1946 they founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo KK (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation) with 20 employees and a capital of 190,000 Yen (just over £1000 at today's exchange rate). Ibuka was 38 and Monta 25. 

Throughout their long partnership Ibuka, who died two years ago, devoted his energies to technological research and product development while Morita was instrumental in leading the company in the areas of marketing, globalisation and financing. 

In 1958, although the Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo KK was becoming widely known, Monta decided it was necessary to change the name to something that was easier to pronounce and remember in order for the company to expand its presence globally. So the Sony Corporation came into being.

Many products launched throughout Sony's history can be credited to Akio Morita's innovation. His ideas gave birth to new lifestyles and cultures, evident from such products as the Walkman and the videocassette recorder. 

With the formation of the Sony Corporation of America in 1960, Morita moved his family to the USA where he took the lead in diversifying operations, including interests outside the electronics industry. Sony entered the music software business in 1968 establishing the CBS/Sony Grouping jointly with CBS Inc. In 1979 Sony Prudential Life Insurance was founded. CBS Records was acquired in 1988 and the following year Columbia Pictures Entertainment was taken over enabling Sony to become a fully comprehensive entertainment company.