• Audio

  Reality Show

  Posted by Launch on October 18, 2005 at 8:48 am

  Hi all,

  I am going to be directing a Community TV show filmed in a resturant. I will be uses two lapel mics and two shotgun mics.

  Could anyone point me in the right direction as far as what audio mixer or what setup i should be looking at????

  Cheers,
  Steve

  Ty Ford replied 20 years, 6 months ago 3 Members · 4 Replies
• 4 Replies

• 

  Bouncing Account needs new email address

  October 18, 2005 at 12:23 pm

  If you truly want an intelligent and helpful answer to this, you need to supply a lot more information.

  CAMERAS
  How many
  What kind

  PRODUCTION
  Live-to-audience
  Live-to-tape
  Straight-thru
  Retakes possible

  LOCATION
  Noisy, open-for-business
  Quiet, after-hours

  TALENT
  Actors
  Volunteers
  Whoever you find eating

  AUDIO OPERATOR
  Experienced
  Amateur
  No Operator

  BUDGET
  Can buy gear
  Must use available gear
  Have no gear

  Because your question is so basic, I suggest finding an experienced audio operator to set this up.
• 

  Launch

  October 19, 2005 at 12:22 am

  Yeh sorry,

  Brief (reality/talk show. 1 local band comes into the resturant for a chat they are the main focus. Cut-aways of the resturant, chaos and steps of service, of local band performing (different venue) and snips of Perth.

  CAMERAS
  1 PD170
  1 DSR 250
  approx 3 fix position cameras (not sure what model yet)

  PRODUCTION
  Filmed at the resturant 1-2 nights while resturant is open.
  Cut-aways of filmed around Perth during the weekend.
  Film 1 live gig of the feature band of the week.
  The show is filmed then edited and the given to the network.

  LOCATION
  Inside the resturant while resturant is open-for-business.

  TALENT
  The band members
  1 or 2 members of staff (chef and one waiter)
  General public dinning in the resturant

  AUDIO OPERATOR
  Studied at uni but would still be fairly amateur.

  BUDGET
  Own a sennheiser lapel and shot gun mic.
  Don’t have great deal of money to setup audio.
  Approx $2,000 AUD

  Thanks for your help.
• 

  Bouncing Account needs new email address

  October 20, 2005 at 11:49 am

  Under these kind of uncontrolled location conditions, your audio can make or break the show.
  If the camera-work is a bit frenetic, fine. That’s STYLE.
  If the audio is unintelligible, CLICK, the show is un-watchable.
  You’re going to need one (if not THREE) GREAT, experienced audio people.
  The band-members will shout, mumble, talk-over each other, and say at least a few things that should NOT go on the air (for whatever reason).

  If you have adequate set-up time for each interview segment, a LAV mic on each person who speaks in that scene would work pretty well (you would not need a boom-operator (or two).

  If you need to use booms, the operator(s) would need to be fast, accurate, and keep the mics out of the shot… not exactly easy if you’ve not had the proper experience.
  But hand-held boom-mics can get you tracks that otherwise would go missing.

  You asked what mixer?

  Buy any brand-name mixer with enough mic inputs.
  AND connect it with the best “accessory” in the audio business: a cool-under-pressure, get-the-track-on-tape, audio PROFESSIONAL.

  Your entire SHOW is ABOUT bands.
  Its ABOUT the SOUND.
• 

  Ty Ford

  October 20, 2005 at 11:32 pm

  [Matte] “You’re going to need one (if not THREE) GREAT, experienced audio people.
  The band-members will shout, mumble, talk-over each other, and say at least a few things that should NOT go on the air (for whatever reason).

  ***Count on it!

  If you have adequate set-up time for each interview segment, a LAV mic on each person who speaks in that scene would work pretty well (you would not need a boom-operator (or two).

  ***But count on ducking the mics not being used and hoping to get them back up when THAT person speaks or split track them with some dialog going to one track and soem going to another track. More work in post, but cleaner audio.

  If you need to use booms, the operator(s) would need to be fast, accurate, and keep the mics out of the shot… not exactly easy if you’ve not had the proper experience.

  ***Yah,

  You asked what mixer?”

  The Sound Devices 442 is a 4 channel mixer. Each input has its own limiter and you can feed two (well three in a pinch) cameras simultaneously. It also sounds great and has a direct out for each input in case you wanted to iso tracks to a DAW or something like a Fostex FR-2.

  Regards,

  Ty Ford

  Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com

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