Audio Set up

[Noah Kadner]

lavs, cabling, someone who knows how to use them.

I’d highly hiring a sound recordist with their own gear rather than renting sound gear and then figuring out how to use it. Your production will sound a lot more pro and you can concentrate on something other than recording sound. Which is probably not what you’re particularly exciting about doing on a film.

Noah

Unlock the secrets of 24p, HD and Final Cut Studio with Call Box Training. Featuring the Panasonic GH2 and Canon 7D.

[Elly Sheridan]

Thanks

Hmm, yeah it would be nice to have a sound recordist but they seem invariably expensive, the budget’s already been stretched by crew members, seems better to just figure it all out, can’t be that hard. I’ve got until september/october. If I can’t get good sound by then I’ll be forced to hire one

[Elly Sheridan]

Yep, will do, thanks. Funding is out of my control and is being determined by the producer, but it seems that it’ll probably be around $2000. For other equipment I’m going the DSLR route (5D or 7D), lighting is currently unspecified, will probably use available lighting when possible, and DSLRs don’t need as much lighting as film cameras. As for grip a dolly and tracks, a jib and a zacuto sniper rig

[Richard Crowley]

If you can identify and articulate the kinds of shots you anticipate for this production, you can probably get some more focused advice from the assembled experts here. Also identify the camera(s) and other key parts of your camera, lighting, grip, etc. equipment kits. And your proposed budget.

[Noah Kadner]

That’s $2K for the sound gear? You should consider renting if that’s the budget. What you want to have on hand at the barest minimum are kits like these:

https://www.allmobilevideo.com/rentals/R_audio_fk.htm

Most rental houses consider 3 or 4 days a week’s rental so 2K would get you the midrange kits listed there for plenty of time to shoot a super low budget project. On the other hand, if you were to purchase all of that stuff it would be a lot more than 2 grand. For example the 416 shotgun mic alone is $1,000.

So if I *had* to buy I’d go for something like the first kit listed on that rental page or get the closest used/or next best thing gear I could scrounge.

And again not to press the point but you really would do yourself a massive favor to at least get some training from a sound professional. Even if it’s a one-day crash course at the rental house. Sound is not something you just figure out osmotically from the instruction manual. There are tons of little techniques and tricks that make all the difference for what most folks around here would consider even ‘acceptable’ sound. Cuz if the sound sucks your movie sucks. 🙂

Noah

Unlock the secrets of 24p, HD and Final Cut Studio with Call Box Training. Featuring the Panasonic GH2 and Canon 7D.

[Elly Sheridan]

Yeah I was always considering renting, had a look around bhphoto, it’s all very expensive.

I’ve had help from some people one of them being a sound recordist themselves, learnt about room tone, levels, clipping, booming etc, and I’ll go see if there’s some sort of training I can get as well, thanks for the suggestion

[David C jones]

Hi Zohra,

Noah is right, that stuff will cost you A LOT more than $2,000…even used!

And while you can figure out how to use the equipment, you may not know how to record good sound. Let me present some problems you’ll run into: various hums and noises, RF interference, echo, low-end rumble (if you don’t know what to listen for on this one, than you may not realize you’re recording it until you get back in post by which time, it’s too late to fix it!). The question is, do you know how to handle each of these issues? If not, than AT LEAST a crash course is in order, if not outright hiring someone who can deal with, and eliminate each one of these problems as they occur.

Dave J

[Elly Sheridan]

Yeah I know of the main problems and solutions, like the ones in this audio scratch-the-surface introduction https://mubi.com/topics/30-minute-film-school-v-the-good-the-bad-and-the-audio. Plenty of time to get acquainted with the problems and the common solutions. If not I’ll hire a recordist with their equipment

[Ty Ford]

Hello Zohra and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

Drop the Nagra and consider a Sound Devices 744T. If you have no more than three simultaneous sources, and you don’t need to iso them, drop the 552 with it’s two channel recorder and get a 302 and a 702.

It sounds like you may be past this, but..
https://web.mac.com/tyreeford/Site/Ty_Ford_Audio_Bootcamp_Field_Guide.html

Having good gear is important. Knowing how best to use it is imperative. Having the right mic two inches closer that you think it should be can make all the difference in the world. Good audio is not trivial. Unless you know, you don’t know. 🙂

Regards,

Ty Ford

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field GuideWatch Ty play guitar

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[Rob Neidig]

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Wow, in 4 or 5 months you can learn everything there is to know about audio. I’m impressed. Can’t wait to hear how great your movie sounds. Silly me, I’ve been doing audio for 30 years and there are still new things I’m learning all the time. I guess I must be slow.

Have fun!

Rob

Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon