Steve Crow
Forum Replies Created
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I have that mic and I can tell you it’s not appropriate for your needs to record actors moving around on a set, it’s more basic than that.
That mic does have a useful purpose however, it is most often used to simply improve the quality of the sound captured directly by your DSLR.
The basic point is that there is no one mic that is going to work in every situation for your films.
Since you are wanting to do narrative films (not interviews or video profiles) I think what you want is a mic that is suitable for use on a boom pole (the one you linked to isn’t really designed for that) – since your budget is limited you might look at the Audio Technica line of mics, maybe something in the shotgun style but definitely with an XLR output. In addition you will need a boom pole, a decent length of XLR microphone cable and some way to monitor your sound as it being recorded.
The Zoom H1 MIGHT work for that….you’d have to buy a XLR to mini-plug adapter in order to plug in the mic cable into your recorder and since it does have a headphone jack the boom operator should be able to monitor the sound just fine with that setup.
Remember that you are going to have to sync your H1 audio to the audio captured by the DSLR and without an external mic attached to that DSLR that audio is going to be pretty bad.
So go ahead and buy the Mic you linked to but just use it to plug directly into your DSLR so that you can capture better scratch video to sync your good audio to…that’s what I do and it is the “professional” solution.
All this gear I’ve mentioned is still only scratching the surface – for instance, most boom operators also have some kind of field mixer that allows them to monitor and modify the sound being captured by the mic on the boom pole. I assume you understand that the boom pole solution I am recommending for you requires a separate skilled person to operate and move with the actors – you can’t do this kind of audio capturing yourself while filming with the DSLR
Bottom line, you have lots more to think about but it will be fun and now is a great time to get into HD DSLR video – all the best luck to you!!!!
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
They make a cheaper version without the head which might work for you, has the same legs as far as I can tell
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
I’ve purchased LensFilth from LensAnarchy.com and I think it’s a good deal – easy to use – it’s just a collection of light leak clips that you overlay on top of your footage.
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
Your only options for getting more light are:
1. Raising ISO to the highest numbers
2. Decreasing the shutter speed – slower than 1/1000
3. Filming with a wide open aperture (fstop) – the smallest number
4. Adding light to the scene artificially – either using physical lights or reflectors
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
I think the broadcasters you have seen doing this were using much more expensive RF transmitters than the kit you propose using – I don’t know anything about the Azden however the price is very very low so either it’s a great deal or it’s a risk that the sound quality won’t be great or will drop out.
I would try renting the Azden package and seeing if it works the way you expect before buying.
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
The cost of needed accessories is going to be pretty much the same no matter what DSLR you select so I would suggest the Canon 7D or if that is too expensive you can go for the Canon T2i or T3i – the T2i is only $650 with kit lens and has basically the same video performance as the Canon 7D.
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
Bring a softbox light on a stand for your key and then a reflector…the reflector can be an effective fill.
But really the problem isn’t with you bringing in one two or even three lights, it’s a problem with the PR company thinking this is too big of a pain in the butt….if you make things very easy for them, don’t complain about the conditions but solve problems professionally I think you wil be okay. To be honest I’d have all my lights with me (and then to start off just bring in the one on a stand and a reflector to see what you can do. If the vibe is cool, maybe add a small background light – don’t have to make a big deal of it…I think this can be worked out – bottom line, the PR company are not filmmakers and don’t really understand WHY certain things are needed in – but if you can schmooze them a little and make their day easy they will LOVE you even if you brought every light in the world with you.
I hope that helps you!
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
I know I’m not nailing focus constantly in this shot, but there are parts where I am aswell, but nothing ever seems super sharp?
Well, you can try turning up the sharpness one or two notches but where you have it is where I set mine.
I know my shutter is quite high in this particuar shot…
If you buy yourself some ND filters for your lenses then you reduce the light hitting the sensor and can use a 1/50th shutter speed which is recommended when filming at 24fps versus the 1/2000 – I think you will like the look much betterOnce you have your ND filters, maybe try going to that same church when you have a free moment (if that’s convenient) and trying different pictures styles – I did that same test with my T2i to compare how all the different Picture Styles looked – you can find the test that I did on Vimeo.
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
I think Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Quick Looks fits that description but I don’t believe Instagram has that capability yet although they say in the future they would like to.
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
Any one of a hundred color grading tools like Magic Bullet, Apple Color or filter sets could have been used to change the color temperature/white balance of the clip to a “cool” (blue) look – just a couple of mouse clicks is all it takes.
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com