It's December 3rd. December. The high today in NYC was 66 degrees. Farenheit. What was I doing during this beautiful day? No, not running. I was sleeping. I spent what was likely the last gorgeous day of the year and a perfect day to inaugurate my half-marathon training, slumbering. Another reason why overnight shoots are inherently evil.
Alright, I'll stop complaining (especially considering my last few posts have been spent doing just that). What I really want to do is give an after school special type warning to all the aspiring sound mixing boys and girls out there. Yep, this is a serious one folks. The contents of this posting may save a life someday.
Last night/this morning I learned a very valuable lesson. When you're fading fast, and need a caffeine boost and happen to not have eaten anything in a while, stick to coffee. Never, NEVER, ever take a 5 Hour Energy on an empty stomach. Unless you're prepared to feel sick to the stomach for the remainder of the shoot, then stay as far away from those devilish little bottles as possible.
See, it takes a certain amount of patience to not go crazy as a sound mixer. As I've mentioned, most of your time on set is spent waiting for the rest of the crew to finish setting up the next shot. You wait and wait and wait and when everybody else is ready to go then you're expected to be extra ready. You kind of need a clear mind to make this happen. You can't by any means be agonizing over how sick you feel in combination with how you exhausted you are as it's likely to make you a little irritable, and nobody likes a irritable sound guy. I was the irritable sound guy this morning, and while I tried my best to conceal my irritation, I still realized that I had no business being irritated. Which was irritating itself.
So kids, if you're fading fast on an overnight shoot drink a coffee or soda, have a candy bar, go for a jog, but by no means should you drink a 5 hour energy.
The life you save may be your own.
Ryan the Sound Guy
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