Alex sent me a shoot update. I don't know if you have noticed, in previous pictures and the picture below, but Jose Baptista, our sound engineer, is using a revolutionary process for capturing the sound. He has his MAC laptop in a bag slung from his shoulders. He is actually capturing the sound directly into his MAC, saving several steps in the recording and mixing process. He spent quite a bit of time here in Paris prior to going to Jo'burg, looking for the perfect bag, as well as an extra battery.
Day 24
Jo'burg's excellent weather continued for another day and the pace with which we worked made us realize how much we missed through all those weeks of rain.
Today's shoot was all exterior - thank goodness we got a day off to recuperate because it was certainly long and physical. Day 24 was really all about the Benades, with our favorite dysfunctional white trash family making an attempt at landscaping their uh, front 'lawn.' Of course, this being Lambert, Treppie and Mol, nothing is quite what it seems and even the most mundane chores can provoke a semi-murderous booze-fueled conflict.
For those of us trusted with capturing the sight and the sound of their antics, it was a pleasure to behold. Here we are, filming the family in alcohol-soused action.
Of particular amusement was Lambert firing up the lawnmower on the veranda (where else?).
Tomorrow we'll be shooting at night, so cast and crew can have a bit of a sleep in. We'll be working til twelve at night, so we'll have to get all the rest we can get. And of course, our first proper evening in the none too salubrious neighbourhood of Vrededorp...no doubt a riveting experience awaits!
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Starting the Lanwmower on the Veranda
Thursday, 18 October 2007
The Sound of Triomf
Alex Pearse sent me some photos last night of Triomf's sound engineer José Baptista and Nati, the boom operator. This is a great opportunity to introduce José and his illustrious background:
José Baptista was born in Lourenço Marques-Mozambique. He is a professional sound engineer and a designer and installer of electroacoustic equipment and sound studios. He holds a Cinéma Diploma C from the London International Film School and a BTS Cinéma opt Son from the Ecole Nationale Louis Lumière. He speaks English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
When José is not working on a major film, he co-produces documentaries and records and mixes music albums/CDs. He is also a journalist for Portuguese-language newspapers.
You can find his film credits on IMDB here. His professional experience includes:
2006
- Post-production sound engineer for la société de Production de Films de Long Métrage : « Les Films de Mai »
- Post-production sound engineer for la société de Production de Films Documentaires : « Strawberry Films »
- Installation of electroacoustic equipment for a music studio - dedicated electric installation, video/audio wiring and Ethernet, installation of the equipment.
- Technical Directeur - Studio des 3 Arts (Feature film and TV mixing)
- Sound engineer and maintenance of audio section for Plateau de Télévision de la Société MMP (Antenne de Télévision « La Locale »)
- Installation of electroacoustic equipment for l’Auditorium de là société TABB Productions
- Sound engineer and Installation of electroacoustic equipment for Studio 64.
- Sound engineer, member, founder of « Créason » - association of sound research, managing the post-production unit within « Films du Village ».
- Mixing of several full-length fiction films, many short fiction documentaries for television and cinema.
- Sound engineer for Images Ressource, S.F.P., Offshore, Films du Village.
- Sound engineer for Studios de la Seine, Studios Desmarquest, Films du Village.
- Sound engineer for Studio Savane. (Tam Tam Vidéo, Audiophase)
- Sound engineer for video studios Mikros Images, UMT, SACFA, Studios Desmarquest, Auvico, Alphamédia.
- Designer/demonstrator of audionumeriques equipment at PUBLISON
- Sound engineer for the video studio of Waymel Montage
- Sound engineer for the mixing studios of Teletota and Version Française.
- Sound engineer for the video studio of Tigre Productions.
- Chief sound operator for documentary films, sound engineer for mobile video, assistant sound engineer for fiction films for many French video production companies
- Sound technician for Production Services for l’Institut National du Cinéma du Mozambique
Sunday, 5 August 2007
Michael Raeburn Field Tests Paris Vélib' Bicycle
Ever the early adapter, Michael Raeburn wanted to be the first to try the new Vélib' bicycles while he was in Paris last week. Vélib' bicycle rental areas were placed all over Paris, in hopes that people would use bikes instead of cars, thus addressing Paris traffic and pollution problems. We are seeing people on these bikes all over town - they were immediately popular.
To rent a bike, all you do is put your credit card or a Vélib' card into the machine and you can rent the bike free for the first 1/2 hour and then for only 1 Euro an hour after that. (Check out the great explanation of how Vélib' works, in English, on the Polly Vous Francais blog.) Since there are so many stations available, with proper planning, you may never have to pay for your ride.
When we were expressing awe about them recently with Jose Baptista, Triomf's sound engineer, he said, "Yes, but you can only use a credit card, or you can get a Vélib' card but you must have a bank account to do so. The rental machines don't take cash or coins. So that means that poor people can't rent them." Interesting point. We tried to rent a bike with an American MasterCard debit card but it didn't work, nor did an American Express card. So we may be out of luck also.
This was Michael's first ride on one of the bikes. He and Lyndon Plant, Triomf's executive producer, used the bikes to get to a meeting with the French accountant for Triomf. Michael customarily bikes all over Paris on a daily basis, whereas Lyndon, who lives in London, was more in the mode of the typical tourist. Both of them ended up quite delighted, a near-universal experience, if the faces of all those riders on the street are to be believed.
