2K to spend on mic for Indy Film

JacksonCade

JacksonCade

Member
I see a lot of posts on cheap mics around $300 or $500 dollars. I'm looking to spend a bit more to get a high quality mic, does anyone have any recommendations for microphones in the $1500 - $2000 range? I could even go $2500 but I want to make sure I get the best quality mic and not just spend money needlessly. Thanks a bunch!
 
What kind of mic are you talking about? Are you looking at a lav and wireless system? A mic for boom use?

Wireless systems from Lectrosonics and Zaxcom are top-of-the-heap, and can run $2k/channel. The CMIT5U from Schoeps is kind of the "Cadillac" of boom mics, and the Colette from Schoeps is a good dialog mic for interiors.
 
Do you already have the other audio gear needed as well as a qualified operator, so that $2000 microphone is working at it's optimal level of operation?
 
JacksonCade said:
I see a lot of posts on cheap mics around $300 or $500 dollars. I'm looking to spend a bit more to get a high quality mic, does anyone have any recommendations for microphones in the $1500 - $2000 range? I could even go $2500 but I want to make sure I get the best quality mic and not just spend money needlessly. Thanks a bunch!
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In the range you're talking about there are really no dogs and the differences between various mics of similar type are rather subtle. It's not that one is "better" than another but one may be more suited for this type of voice while another is more sutied to someone else. And first and foremost, before anything else, you need to clarify exactly what the mic is to be used for. A $2000 shotgun in a highly reflective environment is likely to sound lousy while a $2000 hyper could be just the ticket for the shot. And if you're going for close mic'ing of cannon fire, a $200 Electro-Voice dynamic would be a far better choice than a $2000 Schoeps condensor.
 
A $2000 mic in the hands of an unskilled audio crew will likely sound just as bad as a $200 mic.. maybe worse.
 
Also, what kind of environments will you be shooting in? While schoeps is seen by many as the top choice, if you will be in places of extreme humidity, heat or cold then the sennheiser MKH-series might be a better alternative.

If I was spending that amount I wouldn't go with just one mic, but at least two (a shotgun and a hyper). That is, if you don't already have one of them.
 
Use the money to hire a sound guy. If you're asking this question, you're not ready to benefit from spending $2000 on mics.
 
And also: if this is just for one project... indeed just rent or hire a soundguy.

It's not only the mic... it's cables, plugs, mixer, recorder, batteries, bag, boompole, "rycote",....
 
I also agree that hiring a qualified sound person with gear with this money...that is if you are looking to buy for a specific project. If you are looking to get one just to have one for when you need it and you need it quickly, then we need specifics, such as: wireless or wired? Shotgun?
 
Jema said:
Also, what kind of environments will you be shooting in? While schoeps is seen by many as the top choice, if you will be in places of extreme humidity, heat or cold then the sennheiser MKH-series might be a better alternative.

If I was spending that amount I wouldn't go with just one mic, but at least two (a shotgun and a hyper). That is, if you don't already have one of them.
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90% of the film will take place inside an office building (city hall). We have a couple of outdoor scenes which take in the parking lot of the building. I live in a rural area and finding a professional sound person to hire is proving difficult. You recommended purchasing a shotgun for the exteriors and hyper for the interior office shooting? I'm a bit new to the world of audio equipment but understand if it's done poorly it can wreck an otherwise promising project so I want to purchase quality equipment (and hopefully find a quality operator to utilize it).
 
To be clear again: Quality equipment won't help you. Quality operator will have decent equipment. So focus on the quality operator. You WILL NOT GET GOOD AUDIO without a good sound person.
 
If you really want a good mic for video/cinema and have $2500 to spend: Sanken CS-3e. One of the best short shotguns there is (not the cadillac, but mercedes...), and also usable indoors, as it uses a 3 capsule matrix construction to control the directivity better than ordinary interference tube microphones. With Sanken CS-3e you need no hyper for indoor shots.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/406096-REG/Sanken_CS_3E_CS_3E_Short_Shotgun_Microphone.html

Actually you have enough left from $2500 for wind protection, suspension and boom.
 
ullanta said:
To be clear again: Quality equipment won't help you. Quality operator will have decent equipment. So focus on the quality operator. You WILL NOT GET GOOD AUDIO without a good sound person.
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I second this. Finding and hiring a GOOD sound tech will be much better for you than just deciding to spend $2.5k on a mic. Honestly I read the title of this thread and kind of laughed inside at how ridiculous it sounded. There's no reason so spend more than $300 on a shotgun mic if you don't even have someone competent utilizing it.
 
Send me the money and I will send you a mic.
Or a deed to a bridge.

OK seriously

First off four points just for actually putting some money out there for sound. Your getting a touch of grief but really we are all MUCH happier that you are starting out with some realistic $ for what you are looking for instead of "what's the perfect mic under $100".

But since you took a good step in the right direction we also want to have you spend those dollars in a way that you get maximum good for the buck.

By "profesional" rates $2500 isn't a lot BUT you are in a place where it should go pretty far in hiring someone.

For instance I know of a feature that paid the location sound person by giving them the equipment used in the film. Kept them around and showing up since they didn't own it till the shoot was over. They were semi experienced but dedicated to getting decent sound. I did post and they did a good job, first day was a bit rough but the rest was very good.

You should also be thinking about sound post because you really want to have someone doing that. Location you do need a local but post could be done remotely. It's not the best way to work but it can be done. I've done a number of shorts and a ton of ads where I never met the director and we were time zones apart. I've also done features that way. We did two Jackie Chan films with a crew that was working remote on the sound editorial and then they mixed locally and I did a lowish budget feature where the crew was all working on their personal systems at home and we met only a few times, and again it was mixed locally. It helps a lot if your around for the mix but even that can be done remotely, it just takes longer.

So I join the rest in saying your better off hiring than buying equipment. If for some reason you have to buy I probably would go for good inexpensive than trying to up the price since with out the rest of the chain getting upped also and a good operator you are not going to get much effective difference between say a Rode NTG2 and a $2500 shotgun.

But you have some money to throw at it and you should be able to get a body. Negotiate, that's what the producer is for. Get him or her on it and find a body who knows what they are doing and sell them on your show. Good people are always looking for a good show to work on. If they are not working for $$$ at the time or you can be flexible and work around their schedule AND you have a script they like or a very persuasive producer you should be able to make a deal.

BTW "points" are a much better incentive than "deferred" anything. Odds are that in a low budget project neither will ever pay out but ownership trumps getting paid (generally at a low rate), someday maybe.
 
Depending on the duration of the shoot, you could even hire someone from out of town to do sound for you with that budget.

Noiz2 gave you some really great advice, as has most others. I can guarantee, if you buy that mic, and not have real experience and all of the audio gear/signal chain at that same level, you will NOT be pleased with the results and wont sound any different than if recorded with low-end gear (which you can get great results with if you use it right).
 
Yep, for $2500 or so you could probably hire a sound guy, with gear, even if you had to pay him travel expenses from the nearest big city. A competent, not expert, but competent, sound guy with gear can be hired for $150 a day all day long.
 
wbrock001 said:
$150 a day sounds like a gift if they have any skills/equipment at all.
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Maybe I work in an area with a glut of sound guys, but it's the going rate for a "semi-experienced" guy trying to break in to the business. Is he going to bring a massive sound cart with him, no, but you can get a guy who pretty well knows what he's doing with a pro level recorder and 3 or 4 decent mics for that rate easily. He won't have 100 films under his belt, but he'll have a dozen or so, and as I said, be WAY better than handing the boom to a PA.
 
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