“Behind the Sound Cart: A Veteran’s Guide to Sound on the Set” is a new e-book that details how the entire Sound team functions on today’s movie and television sets, while illuminating the overall picture of life on a production.
Patrushkha Mierzwa, one of the first female boom operators in Hollywood, has worked on over 80 movies and television projects for major directors including Robert Rodriquez, Quentin Tarantino, James Gray, and Robert Altman. She has been a judge for the Emmys, an IATSE Sound Local 695 director, and given workshops globally over her long career in the industry.
Editor's Note: I personally know the author, and can attest to her skills & experience in Production sound, as well as to the value of this book for anyone thinking about a career in sound.
Her Sound Oscar-nominated shows include “Ad Astra” and “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”.
Patrushkha takes you from the first work call to the final wrap, explaining the order of the work and the details that her decades of experience provides, so you can avoid mistakes that can sabotage your career before it’s even started. This book describes the job of the UST (Utility Sound Technician), a career almost invisible, yet extremely interesting, exciting—and paying up to six figures a year.
This book details how to act, how to relate to the crew, how to deal with and solve problems that are not just about sound itself—things you don’t learn at film school.
* Discover tricks for microphone placement.
* Understand how the UST interacts with the director, actors and producers.
* Learn why you can know a lot about film yet still not sustain a career.
* Get tips for balancing work and family life.
* Pick up pointers for managing life in a freelance world.
More than anything I've ever read, this has grabbed me. Amazing to say the least from the material covered to the presentation. Anyone who is anyone in the world of sound (but not limited to just sound people) should be required to read this. Any UST that's serious about their craft had better read this with the same gusto that a priest reaches for the bible during a sermon. A masterpiece!
— Allen Lee Williams III, SOUND SPEEDS
Your writing has this lovely, personal, honest style to it that I just haven’t seen in other industry-based literature. It is refreshing. And there is a SERIOUS amount of knowledge packed in there,
it’s impressive. You are a powerhouse of knowledge, insight, and entertaining stories.
—Monica Bannon, Recent film school graduate, Screenskills Program
participant, United Kingdom
Patrushkha has written the book I wish I could have read when I started out. This is my go-to reference and should be in every film school on the globe.
—Simon Clark, Head of Location Sound Recording, National Film & Television School, England
Available in paperback or ebook through Amazon/Kindle, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or please consider supporting your local bookstore. https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Sound-Cart-Veterans-Guide/dp/1736290002/ ref=sr_1_1? dchild=1&keywords=behind+the+sound+cart+by+patrushkha+mierzwa&qid=1613 836380&s=books&sr=1-1
