I'm going to have my first audio experience

M

Mr. Mandarino

New member
Hi, this is my first post.
Next summer I'm going to shoot the sound for a documentary and it would be my first job.
I've read a lot on this forum, but I'm still very scared.
I've bought a Fostex FR-2LE recorder and a rode boompole and I'm going to buy the Oktava mk012 with the three capsules, a shockmount and the rycote baby ball gag with its windshield.
Also the school where I'm working will provide me some lavaliers.

So, I think I have all that I will need, am I right?

Maybe I'll have to buy a shotgun?


I'm also a bit confused about mixers: do I need one or can I do a good job without?
Should I send the sound from the mic also to the camera or just to the recorder?

Sorry for the newbie questions, but I have a lot of confusion in mind.
 
Send the sound to the recorder. Never to the camera directly.

The thing you really want to do is go out and check to see what the operating ranges are for the mics. See where the audio pickup fails and know that by heart.

Sound is interesting. Not my favorite thing. But it's an adventure.

You really want to go out and work with the mics before you go to the shoot. Best of luck!
 
Mattykins said:
Send the sound to the recorder. Never to the camera directly.
Click to expand...

I would say the opposite in SOME cases, depending on the camera your using and proximity to the actual shot from camera. Modern cameras are light years ahead of where they used to be and capturing direct to cam is not only feasible for a quality recording, but saves time in post syncing sound. THis is why I run mic to field mixer, mixer to camera in 99.9% of situations.
 
Noel,

I guess it's more personal preference. I came from the school of teaching to always do a dual system. It was the way I was taught. But you do bring up some great points with saving time in the sync.
 
What I do whenever possible is record what comes into my mixer with both the camera and my recorder. My camera often has pops in the audio so it gives me a back up copy if I absolutely need it and it is then very easy to sync everything in post.
 
Mattykins said:
Noel,

I guess it's more personal preference. I came from the school of teaching to always do a dual system. It was the way I was taught. But you do bring up some great points with saving time in the sync.
Click to expand...

And, I often forget I record into the HPX500 or XDCam on occasion, which are both really set up for this better than some others.
 
Thanks all for your answers.

And what do you think about that microphone?

Will I need a shotgun or can I use the three Oktava capsules in most of the situations? (I don't know if we have the money to buy something more, I will do only if necessary)
 
Mr. Mandarino said:
Thanks all for your answers.

And what do you think about that microphone?

Will I need a shotgun or can I use the three Oktava capsules in most of the situations? (I don't know if we have the money to buy something more, I will do only if necessary)
Click to expand...

Get a shotgun. You have until next summer (though give some lead time to get used to the mic) to save up for one. The hypercardioid will be great for indoors, and certain outdoor situations. But the shotgun will cover more outdoors than the hyper.

You can, theoretically, do this without a mixer. The pre-amps in the FR-2LE are getting great reviews, but you only have two of them. And only two input channels. If you have more than two mics running at any given point, you're out of space. A mixer allows for more than two inputs. And most respectable mixers have multiple sets of outs so that you can run to the recorder and to the camera at the same time.
 
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