ENG vs Film /TV

F

felixlee

Member
Hey guys, what are some of the more signficant differences between ENG and FILM/TV work?

In terms of equipment and field environments?

Please correct me if I'm wrong,

The only thing I can see in terms of gear is greater off axis rejection would be more beneficial for ENG work and more mobility orientated. But a film set could demand that exact setup because of the way the shot is taking place that day.


The way I see it is ENG and Film/TV are two separate circles where parts of those circles overlap each other so leaning towards one or the other but keeping both in mind is okay.

I was just wondering about the extreme cases where they do not overlap.
 
ENG is much more run-and-gun. You'll see the same gear as in other TV and film production, but usually in a lighter package.

Mostly, ENG runs with a portable mixer that feeds a camera as opposed to a separate recorder. Primary mic tools are shotgun, a couple wireless mic systems with lavs, and probably an omnidirectional dynamic handheld for standups and man-on-the-street interviews. You're also more likely to see the shotgun in a shockmount with windjammer as opposed to a full zepplin.

EFP and major TV and film production may use the same shotgun mics, wireless mics, and mixers. They may use more of them. On smaller productions, you may see a mixer/boom-op who's running with a bag, similar to ENG. On larger productions, however, you'll have a sound mixer with a large cart that contains a large mixer, several wireless receivers, multi-track recorder(s), audio and video monitors, mic drawer, and a few other choice items. On top of that, you'll have, likely, two boom ops who have their own headphone monitoring/talkback connection with the mixer. *edit* And the shotgun isn't the only tool in the arsenal (not counting lavs for wireless): you'll see a wide selection of shotguns, hypercardioids, probably some plate/boundary mics, and anything else that the individual sound mixer likes to keep on hand.

The other major difference is in the intent:

ENG's job is to get the audio quick and audible, and some background noise is actually desirable in many cases, since it helps set the scene.

Film/TV productions seek to get audio as clean and isolated as possible since all the background noise is going to be added in post.
 
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That should be part of a production sound 101 FAQ. Well said and well written especially those last two sentences. Can I quote you on that?
 
C2V said:
ENG is much more run-and-gun. You'll see the same gear as in other TV and film production, but usually in a lighter package.

Mostly, ENG runs with a portable mixer that feeds a camera as opposed to a separate recorder. Primary mic tools are shotgun, a couple wireless mic systems with lavs, and probably an omnidirectional dynamic handheld for standups and man-on-the-street interviews. You're also more likely to see the shotgun in a shockmount with windjammer as opposed to a full zepplin.

EFP and major TV and film production may use the same shotgun mics, wireless mics, and mixers. They may use more of them. On smaller productions, you may see a mixer/boom-op who's running with a bag, similar to ENG. On larger productions, however, you'll have a sound mixer with a large cart that contains a large mixer, several wireless receivers, multi-track recorder(s), audio and video monitors, mic drawer, and a few other choice items. On top of that, you'll have, likely, two boom ops who have their own headphone monitoring/talkback connection with the mixer.

The other major difference is in the intention:

ENG's job is to get the audio quick and audible, and some background noise is actually desirable in many cases, since it helps set the scene.

Film/TV productions seek to get audio as clean and isolated as possible since all the background noise is going to be added in post.
Click to expand...

Ahhh.... I see. Thanks for clearing this up for me!
 
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