The Schurr Sound Philosophy

This diagram shows that I can bring the right kind of attitude to your production from very fussy and particular with every aspect of the sound recording to a very relaxed approach; a team player who goes with the flow while still maintaining good sound results.

I approached my business advisor, David Samuel, with the conundrum – “how do I get the best sound without interrupting the flow of the shoot”.

I needed a solution that would allow me to be flexible on a job by job, director by director, basis without compromising sound.

True to form, David came up with a creative approach (and perhaps a dash of tongue in cheek).

After sending this off to my clients by email, my inbox received an unending stream of supportive replies for the next three days. It had certainly hit the mark. I thought this response was particularly insightful:

I have been so frustrated over the years by cameramen and soundies disrupting scenes and ‘reality’ and the on-screen talent through being overly dogmatic about technical perfection. People fail to see that directors and editors live with the shoot and the edit for a long time and they look at content in general far more than an element of perfection.

From a director’s point of view – managing time pressure, non-actors, and crew can be really draining. The one thing that can really make a difference is the feeling that crew have one question in mind – “how can I help you?” Unfortunately most of the time the question is “How can I make myself look good.”

My philosophy with sound and camera is perfection can be found in moments but most important is not slowing the process down and being so fast and unobtrusive that you become chroniclers of reality rather than the focus.

Well done on your philosophy, it is a breath of fresh air.

Reuben Pillsbury, TV Drama and Doco Director, www.real-tv.co.nz