April Showers Bring May Gazettes

Friday, May 10, 2013 - 12:00am
Gone with the Windscreen

Hey, Atlanta (and surrounding areas) mixers! There's going to be a confluence of mixers and manufacturers marching down your way on Sunday, June 9th. It's all put together by Atlanta Audio Mixer for Television & Film and will include Sound Devices' Jesse Parker with the new PIX 260i, as well as our very own Christina Zofia Wittich! More details and RSVP here!

P.S. We know Gone with the Wind wasn't shot in Atlanta, but how can you resist a movie where the filming of the climax involved David O. Selznick using an intricate system of gasoline and water pipes hooked up to a keyboard to "play" the fire dramatically as it consumed all his unused sets while Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh ran around with four sets of stand-ins and corresponding second through fifth units to make the most of it?

Sound Inking

Gotham provided system design, installation services, frequency coordination and equipment rental for Spike TV's Ink Master. Stay tuned for next month's Gazette when we illuminate all the details of the job, including the custom user interface that tied it all together, and what it was like to blaze a trail being the first to integrate so many manufacturers with Dante. In the meantime, check out this publicity piece from Lectrosonics and, if you're in the market for a slick solution to your mammoth audio job, give us a call or email to discuss your show's requirements.
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Let the Sonnenschein In

I first read David Sonnenschein's book "Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema" later in my sound mixing career. I wish I had read it earlier on. Not only did it inspire me to think about sound in a new way, it inspired me to think about filmmaking and sound's relationship to story telling in a new way.

I've always encouraged my sons (aged 8 and 11) to listen to the sound and music in the world around them with care and fidelity, and so when I saw David's videogame "3 Deaf Mice" on Kickstarter, giving my support was a no-brainer.

- Peter Schneider

Read our interview with this fascinating sound designer, musician, filmmaker, and neuroscientist below the jump!


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First Look: Audio Ltd. Envoy En2 Lands at Gotham

Natalie Lowe takes the Audio Ltd. Envoy EN2 wireless system out for a spin. How'd it perform? Inquire within!
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A New Spring Bag for your 664

Gotham is offering $50 off our PS617 Deca Lightweight Audio Bag with free ground shipping to the continental US! Perfect for your 664 or similarly-sized mixer!

We’ll also throw in a hat!

Now through June 1st or until supplies last!

Love & Slate

The Bill Daly Memorial was lovely and we wanted to share one more story lionizing the venerable mixer from George Patterson:

I suppose everyone is aware of the fact that Bill Daly invented the time code slate. I'm not so sure everyone knows the reason why Bill didn't make a bazillion dollars from his incredibly genius invention.

At the time Bill built his first slates he had been working with a director that was shooting a lot of concert performances. We all know the challenges that multiple cameras pose in that situation. Bill told his director about his radical new slate and it was agreed they would try it out on the next job he got. Needless to say it was wildly successful.

Then Bill had a rare moment of fiscal clarity. He contacted a patent lawyer. His lawyer explained to him that he needed to keep his slate under wraps until his patent was approved or he would risk letting his idea fall into public domain. And so Bill took his lawyer's advice. Even when his client got another multiple camera concert to shoot, Bill stuck to his guns and told him the slates were not available.

On the morning of the performance Bill's director buddy sent a van, accompanied by some concert security people, to pick up Bill and his equipment. The security people were quite insistent that Bill bring the slates. It seems that the Hell's Angels were hired to provide security for this show. Bill had no choice but to accommodate. The slates performed perfectly, of course, and his idea fell out of his control. For obvious reasons it was quickly copied and became the industry standard that it is today.

Bill told me this story many years ago while we were working together on New York Undercover. Ever since then the presence of that piece of gear on set reminded me of my dear friend. Now even more so. Whenever I see that slate come into frame I think a nice thought about Bill. That slate comes into frame a lot. Perhaps Bill does receive royalties from his invention, in an emotional way.

Bill gave good "Speed".

Cheers,
George Pattison

Thanks for sharing, George!

Burl Country Style

Gotham is proud to announce its partnership with Burl Audio.

Burl Audio is the pioneer in 21st century analog-to-digital conversion with their flagship multi-channel B80 Mothership and two-channel B2 Bomber ADC and DAC. What sets them apart from the rest of the herd is their penchant for huge-sounding, Class-A analog circuitry in front of digital conversion. This imparts the beloved tone of an analog console where one may drive the transformers harder for a bigger and warmer character or back off for crystal clear sound with depth. Contrary to some online commentary, Burl conversion is not “distorted” or “colored” but provides a 3-dimensional soundscape and full-bodied sound which cannot be rivaled in current A/D converter design.

With direct connectivity to Pro Tools HD (via Digi-link) or MADI (via BNC), the B80 is optimized for recording studios and post-production houses that deal with large track counts and stem mixing. The dual channel B2 Bomber is equally well suited for mastering and overdub/foley sound studios.

Gotham has the Burl B80 Mothership and B1/B1D preamps available for demo by appointment only. Call or email us or check them out on facebook today to step up your sound! GET BURLY!

NAB 2013 Greatest Hits

Christina Z. Wittich picks three videos that demonstrate future trends in wireless audio in a world of ever increasing spectrum crunch.
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Do the DPA

We have a DPA 4017B demo model! Come check out this lightweight shotgun microphone!

Pix It Up

Sound Devices has released new firmware for the PIX260i with a host of new features, including: Drives are now exFAT! Sequential mode recording! Pre-record for audio only mode and much more!

Download the file and get more details here.

Going Allen

Bittersweet news as we report that Cory Allen is leaving Gotham for the production world. We wish him the best and hope he continues his important, innovative work (seen above).
News category: 
Gazettes
News tags: 
NAB 2013AtlantaInk MasterMartin KellyLectrosonicsKarl WinklerDante3 Deaf MiceRadio Active DesignsJames StoffoMassimo PoloDavid SonnenscheinAudio LimitedEnvoy EN2Sound DevicesPIX 260iPetrolPS617Bill DalyGeorge PattersonBurl AudioDPA4017BCory AllenNatalie LoweChristina WittichWisyCom
Submitted 11 years 6 months ago by Jared M. Silver.

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