I need some sound help (originally hey barry)

[Wtemitim]

Since it seems you're the only one answering questions I'm going to direct this to you. I'm a complete sound virgin, the only real peice of equipment I carry is my shotgun mic (which I connect straight to the dvx). I have the money but not the experience, what should I buy to help me get rid of the amatuer sound? I want to get some wireless and a mixer but i don't know if i should spend the money.

[Barry_S]

Well, the forum is brand new, so give folks a chance to answer. No need to ask for me since we have a lot of members that are knowledgable.

The very first thing I recommend is buying Jay Rose's book, Great Sound for Digital Video.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1578202086/qid=1084634733/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-4000326-1346532?v=glance&s=books

Read Jay's book and you will know more about sound than 90% of DV filmmakers. It will also give you inforamtion about the type of equipment that fits your needs.

So you've already got a shotgun mic? Are you using a boom pole? The cardinal rule is to get the mic--any mic--close to the source of the sound. If you're recording dialogue and the shotgun is further than 2 ft from the talent's mouth--your sound is not going to be optimal. So a boom pole and high quality 25' or 50' XLR cable would be a great start. Add a shockmount that isolates the boom handling noise from the microphone and you should have a setup that will record professional quality sound.

I'd recommend a wired lav before a wireless lav. It will sound better and cost less. A wireless lav can be useful, but it should be the mic of last resort. When you get the basics down, you can start thinking about when and why to use a mixer. Start with the book and a basic boomed shotgun setup and work from there. Good luck.

[Wtemitim]

Where can I find a boom pole? and when i'm ready the wired mics? I don't mind getting used but i don't want anything to break on me.

[Terry_Lasater]

http://www.evsonline.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=3C3

[pete23]

okay, so I shot something and I was a little more than 2 feet away and the sound came out like we were in a barn. Do you have any suggestions as to the type of filter I could use in editing (FCP), to equalize this out. I'm trying my best right now and am open to suggestions.
I am going to get some wired mics, but budget was what it was... as they say.... * :-X I love you guys

[Barry_S]

Well, I'm not exactly sure what a barn sounds like--I grew up in Chicago :-). I guess you mean your recording has a lot of reverb. Unfortunately, reverb is easy to add, but very difficult to remove. You can try using a parametric equalization filter to find where the room echo frequency maxes out and then attenuate the hell out of it, but nothing is going to work miracles. I suppose you used a shotgun mic--everybody seems to think they can't live without a shotgun, but they pick up way too much reverb in small reverberant spaces. Try using some moving (aka sound) blankets next time you record. They're great on wood floors, over windows, or hung vertically between lightstands. When you point the mic at talent try to make sure the front and rear of the mic aren't pointing at reflective surfaces. Anyway, good luck with post.

[Barry_Green]

Barry_S rocks! That advice is absolutely spot-on, as always.

Echo/reverb is the enemy in location shoots. Lavalieres can go a long way towards minimizing it, but then your sound all sounds like it's coming from lavalieres, which may not be good.

For echo-fighting, you have to have soft surfaces, like furniture pads/sound blankets. You can also try carpet remnants if you're really, really broke. I'll sometimes rig up a moving pad right in front of the speaker, just out of camera range, so their projected voice goes into the blanket, instead of hitting a hard surface and bouncing all over the place.

[pete23]

Actually the barn comment was coming from someone raised in the Bronx, so I was just being colorful with what I guess is that hollow sound. I was in an old prestigious society club, filled with carpets and comfy sofas and chairs and paintings and books and chandelliers and birds in cages. They had birds in cages! There was no way I could touch anything... Or set up more than I had. I was waiting on a shipment of lavs. Unfortunately poor timing took me down a road I knew all too well. The truth is, the client doesn't even care, I just can't put something on the tube sounding like that. I will try playing more with the parametric EQ.
;D thanks for the info.

[Barry_Green]

A vital part of location scouting is listening to the sound of a place. Unless you're making a silent film, sound's going to be just as important as the look of the place.

That doesn't help you in your current situation, but whenever looking for a place to shoot, take the time to factor in what the place sounds like, and whether you can do anything about it. Fixing sound in post can be dreadfully painful.