[Richard Crowley]

No. The difference between computer CRTs and video CRTs is even more pronounced than the difference between computer LCDs and video LCDs. The big problem/difference is the gamma curve which is dramatically different between video and computer displays.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_curve

[Richard Crowley]

I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t be able to do this in Final Cut. There is no reason you should need to use a specialty audio application for something as simple as adding crowd noise to the PA mix.

[Richard Crowley]

“The XLR end is a microphone, the 3.5mm is an solid state recorder.”

It may not be that simple. This is not necessarily a generic solution. WHAT microphone? WHICH recorder?

Specifically: Does the microphone require phantom power? If it does, then the cable will not work, no matter how it is wired.

[Richard Crowley]

Does “short films” mean scripted drama on location? Presumably something where visible microphones are not acceptable?

What is your budget? How big do you anticipate the “worst case” scene to be (number of speaking parts)? Do you have dedicated sound crew? These are just a few of the questions that you need to resolve before you can think about what to look at for sound equipment.

[Richard Crowley]

Cell phones are notorious generators of RFI (RF Interference). As Ty mentioned, it even affects hard-wired connections when close enough. The reason is that you have the better part of 1 watt of high-frequency pulsed RF in a small, convenient pocket-size package. It is essentially the same kind of technology used for decades in eastern Europe to jam radio signals. It should come as no surprise that such broad-band RF noise should affect wireless microphones of most any quality, and in most any radio band. They are simply bad news everywhere.

It is reputed that a major film producer carries a hammer and nails on the set. If any cast or crew is caught with a cell phone causing interference, either audible or RFI, the device is confiscated and nailed to the nearest doorpost or fence post. Perhaps someday I will have the kind of clout to make that kind of scheme work.

I have abandoned using wireless mics in some live venues because it is impossible to get an audience to turn off all RF emitting devices with 100% compliance. It doesn’t even happen on commercial airplanes.

[Richard Crowley]

There are the handy little boxes made by RDL:

RU-UDA4 Stereo Audio Distribution Amplifier – 2×4 – RCA jacks, $150
https://www.rdlnet.com/product.php?page=36

We have no idea what “inexpensive” means in your context with actual digits. The RDL things are inexpensive to some people, but I’m too cheap for RDL. I would use other means.

[Richard Crowley]

I have done several live concert videos this way, WITHOUT using cameras or recorders capable of timecode.

My workflow is: Record the music ensemble multi-mic, multi-track audio (I have been using Alesis HD24 hard drive recorder). And then mix-down the audio the way you want it (as if it were an audio-only production).

The cameras will pick up a “scratch track” audio with the on-camera microphones (likely the only time the on-board mic is handy). Or, if you are particularly ambitious, you could create a live stereo “scratch mix” and feed that to the cameras, but IMHO that is more trouble than it’s worth.

Then take the mixed-down stereo track and put it into your non-linear editor (NLE). THE MIXED-DOWN AUDIO TRACK IS NOW THE MASTER FOR THE WHOLE PRODUCTION. Now you can take the video from the cameras and lay them into the video tracks in the NLE. You can use the sound from the camera video to slide the video forward and back to get it perfectly in sync with the master audio mixed-down track. Don’t worry about the video going out of sync. Since you are using multiple cameras, any place you switch from one camera to another, you can use that edit point to “pull up” the video to sync with the master sound track. Of course, after you get everything synced, you mute/remove the audio from the cameras, leaving only the master mix-down.

This sounds more difficult than it is to actually do it. Of course, this would not be efficient if you were doing this all the time, or if you were on a very tight editing schedule, etc. Professionals doing high-end productions (feature film, prime-time TV, etc.) use timecode to automatically handle the synchronizing task. But with modern NLEs it is ever so much easier to do manually, on the cheap.

There is even software available as a plug-in for the NLE that will analyze the audio tracks from the cameras and slide them into place to sync with the master audio track.

If you can find another camera or two, it would be very advantageous. It is nice to have a locked-down wide shot as a “safety” to cut to if you don’t have anything else appropriate. It is also nice to have a hand-held camera to get reverse-angle audience shots, or shots from behind the musicians (up-stage, if accessible) etc. And camera operators who know the music is also a plus, so they can make shots and moves appropriate for the mood, style and tempo of the music.

[Richard Crowley]

Dunno where you are (or if it matters?) [Hawaii?] but out here on the left coast…
https://hollywoodragsbackdropsinc.vpweb.com
https://www.filmtools.com

[Richard Crowley]

Not sure what “make it sound like it was recorded outside” means?
Do you mean…
1) The studio recording is not “dead”, there are some echoes and other audible cues of interior location?
or….
2) The studio recording is totally dead (for dialog that is a GOOD thing) and it sounds completely neutral/unnatural.

For #1, as others have suggested there may be gating, filters, etc that can recover a less-than-optimal studio dialog track. (And/or you can “cover” them with…

For #2, add background SFX as appropriate. Whether it is a service pit at the Indianapolis 500, or the wind whistling across the peak of Mt. Everest or whatever.

[Richard Crowley]

I will reinforce the fact that the Sony MDR-7506 are far and away the preferred headset for live production sound, at least in North America. And the Sennheiser HD280 in Europe.

You should be able to get TWO pair of MD-7506 for your $150. I just did better than that from an eBay seller in Hong Kong. I own several pair of 7506 and also some Sony MDR-V6 which are less $$$ and essentially indistinguishable.