AGDVX100AP sound questions

M

Mr. Durden

Active member
I want to buy this camera for a independent film, but my main concern is the sound. Cause we all know half of the movie is the sound. So basically most of the movie is narrated, but there is scenes in which the actors speak. If I bought the undirectional mic, would this be good enough. OR should I invest in a boom mic. Im kind short on money.. so yeah. :grin:
 
Tyler said:
we all know half of the movie is the sound.
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Then, why not spend half your budget on sound? (Camera=$3000, Sound $100?)

Your only hope for getting good sound is obtaining professional equipment and finding someone who knows what to do with it, to be quite honest with you.
 
Well I know how to work the boom mic, but im on a very small budget. Errr, do you or anybody have any good suggestions on some inexpensive boom mics that give good quality of sound?
 
Define "good quality of sound"
Every environment requires specialized equipment which costs a lot of money. One mic simply won't do.
 
Durden, you gotta do a search. This topic is covered on a nearly daily basis. There are hundreds of threads that address this very topic. Your situation is not unique, it has been discussed a lot.
 
Mr. Durden said:
Well I know how to work the boom mic,
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:) No I won't tell you booming properly requires a BA degree but it faaaaaaar from as simple as it looks. Keeping the sound consistent requires some experience.

Not saying you don't know how to work the boom but I have witnessed several students that claim they can/have boomed before hold the mic 2 feet out of frame with no consistency, more often then not holding it flagpole style, and not following the action or a step behind the action. All these guys thought they were doing a fine job.

Again it's not that hard but if you hope to get some good sound, don't attempt your first time booming on a critical project. Go out and practice. Listen to your results, see if they can cut, and learn from your experience.

Beyond that, there is a lot more to getting good sound then booming. If you can't find someone who is knowledgeable about location sound then read Jay Rose's book http://www.dplay.com/book/pgs2e/index.html and get up to speed. The above mentioned thread will also help.

Good luck :)
 
Well thanks for everything, and all the help. But I do have one more question if I were to do voice overs would I need all this equipment or can a good undirectional mic work just as good?
 
Mr. Durden said:
Well thanks for everything, and all the help. But I do have one more question if I were to do voice overs would I need all this equipment or can a good undirectional mic work just as good?
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Yes, if not more. Voice over requires excellent studio insallation in order to provide the most realistic sound.

Check out the thread One Mic To Rule Them All: http://www.dvxuser.com/V3/showthread.php?t=35667

Good information in there too

Happy searching
 
Okay so after reading over everything, I find it that i'm unsure of what to buy/rent. TheYankee you seem to know a great deal about what im asking, so I was just wondering if you can recommend a set of mics that would be good for what I am trying to achieve. 75% of the movie will be narrated, while 25% for the movie will be using the voices of the other actors. Approximitly 15% which will be indoors, and 10% which will be outdoors. Do you have any suggesions on mics? Thank you so much for your help.
 
Hmm, im thinking now around the $1000-2000 range. But, I'm also thinking of renting out a sound system for 20 days (thats how long the shoot will be).

So maybe even if you could tell me whats best for maybe $500, $1000, $1500, and $2000. If you don't mind I mean if you don't want to name everything then the $1000, and $2000 dollar should be fine.

Oh yeah btw it's still going to be 75% narrator, and 25% actors voices, but im thinking when they talk it'll mostly be inside, buildings, cars, etc. So outside isn't much of deal, but if you could suggest an outside one too that would ne grande.

Thank you!!!! :D

EDIT: Im also interested in using Scheniser (sp?), too me they sound the best IMO.
 
OK, Jeremy is getting on a soap box...

Sennheiser makes good mics and they make crap mics. I'm gonna break it down really simply for you. If your budget is $2000 then what you want to do is to exit the audio section, scroll down to the jobs section, and post a thread looking for a sound person for $2000 for your gig. A good sound person will bring their own equipement, quickly determine the best method for recording sound, and will provide a 500% better quality of sound capture than you could hope to do on your own.

I've made this point in the past, but I will state it again. For my small projects that are >$500 I will run sound myself or give a friend a crash course in sound booming, monitoring, and microphone placement. For anything that exceeds this budget, it makes no logical sense not to hire someone because of the difference in performance that you will receive. I am currently in preproduction on a $4000 short film that I am looking to shoot in March-April (need to get my dates locked down). 1/4 of my budget, 25% of my budget is being designated for hirnig a sound person. 25%! I do not pay my actors, I pay my sound person. Why? Because sound is that important.

On a daily basis I continue to be amazed at how people do not take sound seriously or simply think that by purchasing gear you will obtain quality sound. I am not a professional, and I have no desire to be a professional. I buy and sell microphones, recorders, mixers, wind protection, shockmounts, cables for one reason: I find it interesting.

In my opinion the most important element of any movie is the sound. You could have the greatest story in the world, but no one will know what is going on because of the sound (this goes beyond the dialogue and continues with foley and music).

You want to know what to buy? Buy a sound person to do the work.

Are you determined to buy some microphones? Get the AKG SE300b, CK93, CK98, 2 Sony 77 lavs, and the appropriate wind protection for these microphones.

Determined to get Sennheiser? Well, I am not a professional, so I sold my MKH416 because the pattern was too tight for an amatuer like myself and I opted to invest in something more forgiving like the AT4073a.

This is the biggest point I make. You can buy all the equipement you want, but unless you are in the position where you have the experience using it, it doesn't matter. Hire someone. There are a lot of people, even on this board who would be available for hire for that budget. OK, I'm done now.

Now Jeremy is getting off his soap box (maybe I'm becoming like Terrel Owens and I'm going to start just talking about myself in the third person... Wow, if I could be like TO)
 
I have decided to go with the AKG SE300b ck93, ck98 system. For the time being going straight into the DVX. I know in the near future I will need to pick up a mixer and or recorder. The problem I have now is finding a place to purchase the mics at some of the prices I have heard on this board. RVACanada.com website is fairly messed up (AKG section) and I cannot find pricing at all. The toll free number does not appear to be in service. I sent Rush at evsonline.com an email asking if they carry the item but at this point have not heard back. It is not on the website as far as I can tell. Bhphoto is a special order and does not seem to even carry the ck98 cap. So, any suggestions?

Thanks,
Reno
 
email the people at RVACanada... I have had no problem working with them in the past and they have excellent service. EVS doesn't carry this line of microphone, and as you mentioned, it is a special order at BHPhoto.com.
 
Hi Reno, you should have received my email earlier today around 4pm. That is true, I don't carry that mic, but I do have the other accessories you asked for.
 
EVS is the ideal place to get your boompoles, cables, and shockmounts from. They have a really good line of Rycote supplies as well.

Also, if you end up in the market for a shotgun beside the one that you are getting with the blueline system from AKG then they also carry the Audio Technica 4073a. That is a wicked little mic.
 
Thanks Rush, Jeremy.

As I mentioned before, my son is just starting out. He knows to produce any kind of decent sound he is going to need a hyper and a shotgun. I am some torn on whether it is better to have two inputs (M12/4073a) but think the se300b is a good choice. Neither one of us are sound guys or plan to be. He will hire when the time comes but until then he can’t get by with the internal mic.

Cheers,
Reno
 
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