$200 audio solution?

J

Johbule

Member
So, here is the deal. I am low on money. I also know that in order to get good sound, you can't be too cheap. Well, I might be braking the rules here a little. I Have a film(narrative) i need to shoot coming up, but i don't have the audio gear to make the sounds halfway decent...infact i have no audio gear. (p.s. i shoot on a dvx100a). So, here is my thinking, I know i need better sound, and I also know that $200 won't get me great sound. So my question to you is, with the budget of $200, what would you recomend? I know on-camera stuff doesn't sound great( from experience), but is that my only choice with my price limitations?

Also, this would be a temporary solution, until I have the money to buy better, BUT i would like this to be something i might find myself using again.

Thanks,

-Matt
 
Ya, you are screwed.

You can get a mic for 200 (oktava mk012 w/ hyper cap from sound-room.com)

You would still need an xlr, headphones, a boom, shockmount and wind protection
 
Use a Rode VideoMic for $150 and get a mini-plug to XLR adapter for $15.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/363083-REG/Rode_VM_VideoMic_Camera_Mounted.html

The thing is, with this mic you have no room to grow. It's a one time solution to the need of one project. You'll eventually have to spend money to buy all the boom, shockmount, hyper/shotgun mic and all that other stuff if you want to do it right. So spending $200 on this right now is pretty much a waste unless you absolutely need it. Might just want to borrow/rent decent audio and save as much money as you can for the future.
 
You could DIY a boom out of a fishing pole, theres a how to on the net, same goes for a shockmount and wind shield, than add the octava...
What are you planning to do?
Maybe just get a partner and let him cover the sound...
Ask around at schools/universitys nearby, sometimes they have decent equipment...
Anyways don´t go cheap on sound, you´ll always regret it..
 
Put the $200 towards decent food and see if you can get someone with gear that will do your shoot for the practice.

People will tolerate a bad picture long before they will tolerate bad sound. Even having the right gear is useless without the practice and experience to use it properly.
 
Rent.

Around here, $30 per day can get you a very solid low-budget sound package.
 
Really? Where about may I ask do you rent your stuff from? I'm debating whether or not to buy or rent sound for my film set to shoot in August. Where in Toronto, or the GTA are good places to rent any sort of equipment from?

-Kegan
 
haha, thanks guys. and ya know, decent food doesn't sound so bad!

I might just go ahead and rent equipment, i am just worried that i won't have time to actually learn how to use it!
 
get Jay Rose's Book and read it ahead of time, you will know pretty much what to do then.

http://www.dplay.com/book/index.html

Get them through the links on this page and jay gets about $5 more per copy sold (read instructions on the page) He deserves it! These are the best books you can get! I loved them.
 
Last edited:
Post a listing on Craig's List and offer the $200 to an experienced mixer. I will often work below my standard rates if I think the script is good and it seems like I will have a good time.

Don't bother buying gear. Anything you buy in that price range will have no resale value.

Phil
 
You can rent from Vistek in Toronto, an ME66 (i'm sure you've heard of it) for $35 a day and $35 for a whole weekend. Check out the rental section at vistek.ca
 
I somehow managed to get an AT815B for $40 a month from a place that primarily rents musical instruments. As far as I'm concerned I'm pretty damn lucky.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top