In August 1990, I started working as a Production Sound Mixer for a weekly entertainment show. My tool was a three-channel field mixer, which had two inputs: a boom microphone and a wired lavalier. Tethered to a half-inch camcorder, the mixer fed it two channels of audio. Most of our work was sit-down interviews, press junkets and “red carpet” premieres. We seldom used wireless lavaliers.

My colleagues on the film side were using reel-to-reel recorders, occasionally using one or two wireless microphones for challenging or unusual scenes. This was considered a luxury, typically reserved for abundantly budgeted projects.

More than 25 years have passed since then. Wireless devices are commonplace today, even on the most modest film sets: on a typical shoot day, you often see a handful of wireless mics, a wireless feed to the camera and two-way wireless communication between the Production Sound Mixer and her crew – and even one or two more channels for the Director, Producers or the Script Supervisor.

The difference between the mixer I first slung over my shoulder in August of 1990, and the production sound cart I spend my days hunched over today is staggering: I can mix and record up to 12 isolated tracks. I can also handle up to 16 channels of wireless signals. I’ve had to master a whole new set of skills. The management of RF (radio frequency) signals is hardly “plug-n-play.” Frequency selection and coordination, antenna preference and placement, cable choices and many other arcane topics are routinely discussed among Sound Mixers in mailing lists, at impromptu meetings and social media groups.

As a matter of fact, in order to legally operate our RF equipment, we all have to apply for a “part 74” FCC license. Most of our clients aren’t even aware of this requirement – though, in truth, it’s seldom enforced. In any case, a production mixer who has obtained a part 74 FCC license is sure to be proficient in what has become an essential part of our work.

Since every minute counts on a film set, all departments –and Sound is no exception– have to be at the ready to deal with any eventuality. If anything goes wrong, we must be able to get back up to speed within minutes. In 1990 that meant having a backup recorder, a few extra microphones and cables, and a soldering kit. The level of readiness we’re expected to have in 2018 is quite a bit higher. We’re recording a higher track count, which means more devices to route the sound signals, more cables to connect everything and, yes, more wireless equipment - batteries die, antennas bend, lavaliers get damaged. The possibilities, sadly, are endless.

Deploying more wireless equipment brings on an additional problem: the greater the number of RF signals, the higher the potential of interference. We use costly equipment to scan for available frequencies, and carefully coordinate them so they don’t interfere with each other. And yet, if we’re filming on location, anything can change from one moment to the next: Police or Fire Department activity can cause sudden –and intermittent– interference, which can easily ruin a good take.

If the interference persists, we start looking for alternative frequencies. Eventually, the frequencies on one or two lavalier transmitters have to be switched, which is when a good Utility earns his keep, as he’ll have to walk over and physically change the channel on each actor’s transmitter.

A Utility person is, naturally, helpful in other ways: he can operate a second boom when needed, as well as speed up the set-up and wrap process every day, among other things.

Most proper narrative projects budget for a three-person Sound crew: the Production Sound Mixer, a Boom Operator and a Utility. However, there’s an increasing tendency to demand a two-person crew, and even a single person (we call it, somewhat ironically, “One-man-band”) on small, shorter shoots.

Considering how expensive film production is, I believe a three-member Sound team is not only good for morale and efficiency - they will work faster, more methodically and less stressed-out; but, more importantly, it’s good for the bottom line. Let’s say you have a five-million-dollar project on an eight-week schedule: working 12 hours a day, you’re spending more than $10,400 per hour, or around $174 per minute. If I told you having a third person in my team would save us 15 minutes –or $2,610– per day, what would you say? We’re talking about $104,400 in savings for the whole project!

How do you go about making these staffing decisions? Please share!