audio for tv pilot

M

mikecentola

Well-known member
Hello,

I have to produce a section for a tv pilot at an automotive shop over labor day weekend, and I wanted to make sure I had an adequate set up. I'll be filming with our DVX100A, which has a sanken CS1 on it. I also have a canon GL2 that I have a audiotechnica AT897 on it, so I'm thinking I should get some form of a boom set up to record the talking while they are working on the car.

Do you have any suggestions or ideas? Should I get a mixer and mix a few shotgun sources to one XLR and input that into the DVX?

Thanks in advance! :)
 
tarionyx said:
so I'm thinking I should get some form of a boom set up to record the talking while they are working on the car.
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Yes.

tarionyx said:
Do you have any suggestions or ideas? Should I get a mixer and mix a few shotgun sources to one XLR and input that into the DVX?
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If you are going to have 2 or more people talking and you are only going doing one take using multiple cameras, then that sounds like a reasonable idea. You could also send one shotgun to one XLR and the other gun to the other XLR.

If you are going to do one camera with multiple takes for coverage, then you might be able to get by with one mic. Just make sure when someone talks and you need to have that line in that shot that the boom is pointed at them.
 
Booming a hyper is a good idea but with this type of environment you are going to want some wireless as a backup. The camera mounted shotguns are going to be borderline useless. Your boom op and mixer are going to have to be skilled to get usable audio. Your average garage is a very noisy place.

If you want a TV pilot to be taken seriously spend a few bucks and hire a sound guy.

Cheers
 
thanks for the insight guys. i've been a "sound" guy in the past. For me that means working with many audio apps and music composition, but I definitely understand the value of having a sound guy to do the mixing and recording, however, the budget is fairly low, and this will be unscripted.

I'm going to give it a shot using a wireless lapel mixed with the on-camera shotgun on one channel, and the boom mic on the other channel. I would think that would give a good mix of sound. The GL2 will get extra footage, using the on camera mics, which will be used in post to sync up.

Have any good suggestions for small mixers, that won't break the bank :)
 
tarionyx said:
I'm going to give it a shot using a wireless lapel mixed with the on-camera shotgun on one channel, and the boom mic on the other channel. I would think that would give a good mix of sound. The GL2 will get extra footage, using the on camera mics, which will be used in post to sync up.
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Since you have two cams, you have 4 channels of audio - you should use them wisely: e.g. two wireless lavs each on their own channel, one boom mic, and if you insist, a cam mounted shotgun on the fourth channel.
 
hmm i don't insist, but i thought that having that as a 4th channel would help. so you suggest filming with both cams at the same time, and utilize all 4 channels. However, I only have one wireless set up.

I will probably use the sanken on the boom on one channel then, and the wireless on the other. i'll have to mock up some setups so i can figure out the sound...


btw, i'm going to be purchasing a vidled in a few weeks also for a wedding we're doing in october! :)
 
I understand budget concerns but cinema verte audio is often the hardest to get right, even with a pro.

Understand that these:
tarionyx said:
but I definitely understand the value of having a sound guy to do the mixing and recording, however, the budget is fairly low, and this will be unscripted.
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are famous last words before, "Help, my audio is all noisy and uninteligable, what app/plug-in will fix this?"

Every TV show out there is cutting every possible corner. If they could find a way to junk the sound guy and still have a show they would have done it already.

I will second my suggestion of finding away to scrape up the cash for a proper sound guy....and will not mention it again. :)

If you have found a way to produce broadcast level audio without a sound guy in the past then I will resicnd my suggestion.

If you do mix yourself DO NOT put the lavs and camera mic on same channel. Lavs together, booms together; never the two should meet, except in post.

The mixer that won't break the bank is the one you rent for the weekend. Rent enough wireless to cover the main talent too.

Cheers
 
wabbit said:
I will second my suggestion of finding away to scrape up the cash for a proper sound guy....and will not mention it again. :)
....

The mixer that won't break the bank is the one you rent for the weekend. Rent enough wireless to cover the main talent too.
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Now that more details from the shoot have surfaced... I'd have to second wabbit. Remember, if you get a sound guy, he'll probably have multiple wireless and a mixer.
 
DO NOT MIX A CAMERA MIC WITH A LAV! Its like shooting yourself in the head! You'll end up with NOTHING if you do that - you're just bringing the lav down to the level of the mic thats 10 feet away!

Wabbit mentioned this already, but its super important..
 
thanks again for the tips :) I'm going to look to see whats available for sound guys and pricing for it. We're going to push the pilot shoot back a month or two, and shoot that weekend for promo footage of working on the cars, etc. We'll still capture some footage, but it'll probably be just them yelling similar to american chopper hehe.

Thanks again, and I'll keep you guys updated on what I find! :)
 
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