This week will be 8 years in Los Angeles and a lot of how I support myself is being a Location Sound Mixer. I originally moved from Baltimore to follow my screenwriting and directing goals, but sound has been amazing for me and I hope I can help you with my experience.
So if you have any questions you wanted to ask a sound mixer, feel free to comment below and I would be happy to answer them. If you would rather it not be a public thing just throw me a like and a DM and I am happy to help you there as well.
Let's make amazing things together, even if I'm not on set with you.
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It's great to see you again, Cory Baker! How are you? Got any plans for Thanksgiving?
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Are you a fan of the movie "Blow Out" by Brian DePalma, Cory Baker? : ) If not you might enjoy the occupation of the main character in this 1981 thriller.
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Hi Cory, nice to meet you ! I'm into composing and sound also. I am almost finished with this Hip Hop Loops I created with Apple loops. It has great form and I added Sub Bass to the whole thing tonight. So, I'm on it. Hope to connect - Have a great week ! Almost to Thanksgiving ! Thankful for making it this far and opportunities through St. 32 & other networks.
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Hi Cory! That's great! Getting Sound right on location is Sooo important folks!!
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Hi Cory - its great to see you here on IYW! I was going to recommend BLOW OUT as well and Nick beat me to it. It's an awesome film. I also agree with Jack - there are few things more important than getting great sound on a shoot. Lots can be forgiven visually but I've always felt that sound is really what keeps people engaged when watching a film. For any beginning filmmakers out there, what type of sound equipment would you recommend for making a short or indie film?
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Maurice Vaughan Good to see you too! I'll be going over to a friend's thanksgiving since my wife will be out of town, so just a chill holiday weekend in LA. How about you?
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Nick Phillips It's funny I saw this comment this morning and it sounded familiar so I threw it on and rewatched all these decades later. It still holds up outside of the synth 80's score.
I would say the only difference is the exact job isn't quite the same since he was more of a Foley Artist in Post and I usually try and stay on set and on location, but it definitely has parallels. I'm glad I never had to cut tape and work with the Nagra though haha
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Kerry Kennard That's awesome! Feel free to message me if you ever need an ear on something. Thankful for the journey, and all the people I met along the way but the best is yet to come.
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Jack Binder Thank you so much!
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Sam Sokolow Yeah Blow Out was great, I'm glad I revisited it. Sometimes I like to pick a filmmaker and watch through the catalog in order, I feel I need to get De Palma on the list for sure.
As far as gear, It can vary a lot depending on what the project is and what limitations there are, but if you have patience you can get by with a lot of the "prosumer" gear like Rode for lav mics and Zoom recorders are more than capable of getting the job done. It's like filming with an iPhone versus a professional cinema camera, both are capable of a 4K image, but if you use the iPhone you aren't going to do as much, and it will probably take longer to do overall. If it's a backyard indie that's no problem but if you are on a bigger set you need guarantees the gear you have will work when needed. Finding a sound mixer early in the process can give you a better idea of what the particular project needs, and most of us already have gear we are used to we can rent to the production.
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Cory Baker I'm gonna spend time with family, watch movies/shows/sports, and maybe write a little on Thanksgiving. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!