BWAV utilities for Apple Mac

BWAV Lister, Reader and Writer for Apple Mac OSX are three excellent audio file management utilities from Quesosoft. The Writer and Lister are very useful when transfering BWAV files from a hard disk recorder (like my Sound Devices 744T) to a computer before burning to DVD.

The Writer allows you to change the Meta Data which goes with each file. You can, for example change the names of individual tracks within the files and user bit values. Very useful if you have not had a chance to do this in the field when changing set ups quickly. You can also play the files direct from the edit window to check content.

BWAV Lister simplifies the task of making sound report sheets (screen shot above). Import your files into a folder and then scan that folder within the program. Lister will then generate a list of info including file name, time code and user bit info, duration, track names etc. You can then chose which information you want exporting to a text file, and in what order. I then cut and paste this information into a sound sheet I generate in word and then add notes.

Lister and Writer are a bargain at $70 for both ($30 for Writer alone, $50 for Lister). Reader is freeware and allows you play BWAVs and to view the metadata but not change it.

I'm using Writer V 1.05 for mac (there is now a Beta version for PC) and Lister 1.5.1b. More info and downloads from the Quesosoft website.

Borderlines Film Festival

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (PG)

Director: Kim Longinotto
Starring: The children and staff of the Mulberry Bush school
UK, 2007, 1 hour 40 minutes

Wednesday 9 April - BAFTA&SWM Special Gala Drinks 7.30pm followed by Screening 8.15
Thursday 10 April 6.00pm
Friday 11 11.00am
The Courtyard, Hereford

From the best British documentary filmmaker of her generation comes this fascinating insight into the workings of the Mulberry Bush school that caters for troubled kids. Where emotional trauma and violent confrontation are never far away and the staff appear positively saintly. Asking vital questions about how best to deal with difficult children Longinotto, offers no pat answers or facile analysis, just observation of good people helping damaged kids. This is food for thought for anyone who thinks that poor parenting is a crucial social issue. Quietly positive.

On Wednesday 9 April BAFTA and Screen WM are proud to host a special gala screening of Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go in association with Borderlines Film Festival.

In partnership with Screen WM, this event is part of BAFTA in The Regions; a programme of screenings and events throughout England run in partnership with the Regional Screen Agencies.

The BAFTA and Screen WM screening of Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go will be preceded by a drinks reception open to all ticket holders.

Visit www.bafta.org and www.screenwm.co.uk

Screen WM is the regional agency working to support, promote and develop the screen media industry in the West Midlands.

"Remarkable... shot with clarity and human kindness." The Observer

Winner of the Best British Documentary Award at BRITDOC

Text from the Borderlines Website

Sound Devices Combo

On my current documentary project I'm using a combination of equipment that is new to me. It's mostly a "run around" with lots of different characters popping in and out at random so it's mainly been recorded on a boom.

I've chosen to use the Sound Devices 744T for my recorder and put the boom straight into that. I can leave it switched on for hours waiting for that important scene to happen and it's quite light on battery use. I've not used more than 2 lithium NP1's in a day so far.

My main gripe about the 774t was that it only has two full size XLR inputs (the other two inputs being miniature TA3 sockets) and two level controls on top. I was hoping not to carry a full size mixer as well so for situations where I want to use one or more radio mics I have a Sound Devices MixPre connected to the TA3 pair. The mixer is very small and light so hardly adds anything to the weight of my bag. Also in the bag is a Hawkwoods APR1 rack which powers my radio mic receivers as well as mixer and recorder. The whole thing weighs about the same as the SQN4S and APR1 rack I use regularly to send sound down a cable to a camera but it records up to four discreet tracks as well.

The system has worked out very well and allows me to switch the mixer off when I'm not using extra mics and save battery power. The whole rig is in a bag made especially for me by KT Systems (talk to Ian, he's very helpful). It's a kind of mini organiser bag, big enough to contain everything, but not so ridiculous I can hardly get through the door.

Disadvantages? Well the 744 gets VERY hot. Fine in the winter cold of England but in South Africa it's adding to the general discomfort of boiling hot days. Honestly, you could fry an egg on the thing (or me once I have been carrying it next to me for a bit) but the unit continues to work just fine. You have to watch out, if you turn the unit off for more than two hours the time code is lost. You won't waste much battery leaving it on, but I tend to turn it off for a while every now and again just to let it cool down.

Johnny's New Kingdom

There are three episodes left in the series, most of the sound is by Tony Jones, but some of it is me!




March 25th 8.30pm BBC2
Episode Eight - In The Midst Of Life…
Summer has finally arrived and Johnny conquers two of his greatest fears – flying and horses! And at his land he’s delighted when a heron visits the pond. Everything is going well until suddenly he receives some shocking news about his close friend Tony Thorne.

April 1st 8.30pm
Episode Nine - The New Beast Of Exmoor?
The time has come to cut the wheat on Johnny’s land and he’s made an intriguing discovery. It looks as if he has wild boar living there. They must be from the herd that escaped onto Exmoor two years ago. Johnny is determined to film them.

April 2nd 8.30pm
Episode Ten - Home At Last
It’s autumn; Johnny’s favourite time of year and as always he wants to film a roaring stag! But he’s got his work cut out judging a bizarre competition on Exmoor and entertaining the people he met whilst filming in Scotland. He’s looking forward to a quiet winter on the land with his wife, Julie.

TX times are subject to change, check listings!

MAD - Dir Leo Regan

Coming soon...
To be broadcast on Channel Four during April 2008









The Doctor Who Hears Voices
Drama documentary, 70mins Kudos/Ch4




Starring - Ruth Wilson & Rufus May
Director of Photography - Johann Perry
Sound Recordist - Mary Milton
Editor - David Hill
Director - Leo Regan


Dr Rufus May is a maverick psychologist.
He thinks madness is a good thing.
Last week Ruth Fielding* came to see him for the first time.

Ruth’s a junior doctor who’s hearing a voice telling her to kill herself.
Most doctors would say Ruth is a danger to herself and others, and have her sectioned.
Rufus is different.
He doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with hearing voices.

Rufus May is one of the most controversial doctors working in the NHS today.
He thinks all mental hospitals should be shut down, there’s no such thing as schizophrenia and medication destroys lives.
He says we should learn to love mad people.
He does.
He was mad himself once.

To protect Ruth’s identity an actor is used to tell her story and some details have been changed.
Everything you see with Ruth is based on original transcripts, recorded over twelve months.
Everything else is documentary footage, filmed as it happened.


This is an unusual project where documentary and drama are used together. I recorded only the drama sections of the project with Johann Perry as DOP. The documentary sections had been shot by director Leo Regan previously over a period of months. Drama reconstruction was used to protect the identity of the real "Ruth" here played by actress Ruth Wilson. Rufus May appears as himself across documentary and dramatised sections which gives real continuity to the piece. We wanted to match the shooting style of the drama sections as closely as possible to the documentary style. The documentary had been recorded almost exclusively with radio mics placed outside the clothing of characters. To match this I put radio mics on the outside the clothing of both actors in situations where we felt Leo would have done this had it been documentary. These weren't always the mics I actually used for recording the sound, most often this was done with radio mics which were concealed under clothing to protect them from wind noise. Hence on most of the exterior shots the Ruth and Rufus are wearing two mics, one functioning and one as a prop. On the interior shots most often they both wear only one mic which is on top of clothing and functioning. There are also a few times where Ruth wears only a concealed mic, for situations where we thought Leo would not have had a chance to mic her up in a pure documentary situation and would just have used his camera mic.

The programme was shot in standard definition on a Sony Z1. In order to stay cable free sound was radio linked to the Z1 from my SQN. Johann carried two radio mic receivers in a bag around his waist which was linked with short XLRs to the camera. Sound was also backed up on a Sound Devices 744T which was also very useful for making wildtracks while free of the camera.

*Ruth Fielding is not her real name.

Rycote In-Vision mounts

Rycote have just brought out a new range of shock mounts designed for in vision use. There are several different versions for use with different types of microphone. I tried out the Schoeps CCM version (above) and found the isolation to be very good. The mount has a cable retainer at the back which holds the cable very tight stopping vibration noise being transmitted back up the cable to the microphone. The head can be easily adjusted to the desired angle, and the mechanism is strong enough not to "nod". The actual suspension is made from flexible plastic which allows quite a lot of movement of the microphone. This does remain quiet though and you have to give the set up quite a shake before noise is transmitted to the microphone.

I thought it all looked rather fragile at first but after seeing Chris Woolf at the IBS training weekend take one of these and twist it round I was very impressed to see it all just swing back into place. He then proceeded to throw it on the floor, which it also survived. It's also survived being carried around in my rucksack for the last few days along with my spare kit and batteries.

The mounts are designed be used, as the name suggests "in vision", they suit this perfectly as they look neat and tidy and are very low profile. Their smallness will also make them handy for mounting microphones out of vision where space is tight. All in all a very useful addition to the sound recordist's kit bag.