[Tim Dowse]

Thanks for the feedback. Like I said, I would dearly love to be able to hire a sound op, because I know they will get good location audio. Otherwise I wouldn’t want to hire one.

But money doesn’t go on trees, so I am trying to figure out the best way of working with what I’ve got, and what I can purchase to make my job the best it can be, even if that’s still below the standard of a higher budget project.

And if I have given you the impression that I don’t understand the finer details of their work, you are right. I am not a sound op, nor have I trained to be one. That is why I came here to ask for advice.

[Tim Dowse]

Thanks for all your replies, I really appreciate it. Perhaps I wasn’t clear…I won’t be leaving mics unattended. I will be monitoring levels at all times. I am just talking about mixing in real time vs monitoring levels.

Believe me, I would dearly love to have a sound guy, but I don’t have this option. I may have at other times on other projects. I notice that Nick Broomfield runs his own sound…if I must limit my success to that level, I’ll cope 😉

Maybe a better way to frame the question then. The scenario is:

A documentary crew, using two lavs taped to the main “characters” (using moleskin), and then using a boom as a backup, and to record other people who interact with my protagonists. As a matter of course, there is also a shotgun mounted on the camera. What would a sound-pro do? Would he prefer:

a) using a $700 mixer, with a Zoom H4n
b) an edirol 4-track sound recorder.

Bear in mind that the producer is perfectly happy to have the tracks recorded separately, and does not need the sound mixed in real time (because he has time in post), unless there is something about option a) that clearly gives the sound a better quality.

[Tim Dowse]

I understand the pros of mixers per se. I was wondering if those pros are worth the cost of not being able to record to separate tracks, given that I won’t be able to devote my full attention to mixing at all times.

With the Edirol, I’ll be recording dual system, syncing later (with pluraleyes, and slates as a backup). The Edirol also has a limiter, low cut filter, and some other effects. And of course more sample frequency and bit-rate options than a camera.

I am just wondering if the pre-amps on a $700 mixer will be that much better than the edirol, to the extent that I should give up the safety of recording to several tracks. Unless there was a seriously noticeable difference, I think I’ll go with the edirol.

[Tim Dowse]

Hi Ty,

Well, what I mean is that I don’t have a dedicated sound professional who makes his living doing sound. It’s me, directing and being sound op too.

I want 4 tracks to give me the flexibility for events that I have to cover where I use more than two mics. For some of the documentary shoots, I wouldn’t use all four all of the time, but I want to have the option for other shoots.

I am attracted to the 4 track recorder as opposed to the mixer because then I don’t have to make mixing decisions on location. I can just set the levels, monitor that they aren’t getting too high or too low, and then focus more attention on directing. Then I can worry about the mix later when there’s less pressure and less else to worry about.

I am just concerned that I might be missing something significant by not getting a mixer.

Tim

[Tim Dowse]

In a nutshell, no. I won’t have any overnight after the edit is complete. But it’s only 7 minutes.

[Tim Dowse]

Fair enough. I agree it’s not a major issue, but I want to do a multiclip edit. What I did in the end was time-remap the clip (just stretch the whole thing by one frame), export, then re-import the adjusted clip which I’ll now use for the multiclip edit.

Not so bad…

[Tim Dowse]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your reply. I do have a mixer of sorts, but I am wary of operating two cameras and a mixer at the same time. Firstly, because I’ll be trying to operate the camera, and secondly because as it will all be going into one channel, I can’t fiddle later in post with the levels. For example if one panelist coughs loudly, the audio is drowned out for all three, right?

Definitely a good idea to get the omni moved to the table after the intro…I’ll suggest that for sure.

I’ve ready that PZM/boundary mics are the best, but I don’t have any unfortunately. I have a couple of questions about them:
1. If I put them on the table where the panellists sit, won’t it pick up every nudge of the table, every shuffling of papers etc, in a really irritating way?
2. How good are these things? Do you know any videos where they are tested?

Thanks for your help though. I may well give the mixer a go.