field recording gear input

R

raciere

Member
I will be in Malawi this July shooting a doc and a significant portion of acquisition will be sound - music, choirs, and ambient sound. We're on a tight budget - what would you recommend in terms of gear and setup? We're shooting with a CANON HD camera, so I could:

- purchase two mics and a mixer and run sound direct to the Canon camera.

- purchase a separate hard disk recorder of some sort (there are a variety), w/ mics

What would you do?

- what mics would you use?

Essentially, we're looking for a lower cost, versatile set up. Recommendations for mics, mixers, or other thoughts??
 
canon never was my choice for the sound on camera , have heardthta the hd ones do not
acsep nicely line level signal . so what is your budget ?;-)
 
Unless that's the rental budget, it'll be pretty tight.

Choral recording places different demands on your kit than dialogue and interview applications. While dialgue is generally recorded with super- or hyper-cardiod mics, cardioid and omni mics are better suited to music. Rather than one catch-all mic kit, approach the musical and non-musical sepperately and pack accordingly.

If you're recording accoustic folk music or small church choirs, a well-placed stereo pair may well see you through most of the project. Sennheiser MKH40's are used to great effect on a number of Smithsonian/Folkway's excellent folk music recordings, and an X-Y stereo pair of these would prove extremely versatile (not to mention rugged). Alternately, an MKH40 and an MKH30 M-S stereo pair would more easily fit inside a single rycote, and would be far easier to set up.

Add to those a couple more mics to catch solos, several stands (with X-Y brackets and mid-stand clamps) and a good field mixer (at least 4-channels), and you'll be in good shape for most of the music recording. The solo mic selection will really depend on the instruments or vocals you'll be recording, although I would reccomend bringing along a couple of Shure SM-57's and SM-58's.

Given Canon's reputation for compromised single-system sound, you'll definitely want a portable recorder with you. Whatever recorder you use, bring far more recording media than you anticipate needing; that way, you'll be able to roll rehearsals as well as wild effects and off-camera interviews. Recording 24-bit will give you more flexibility in post, and there are several great low-cost recorders that'll accomodate higher bit-depths.

If you can swing the cost, a Sound Devices 744t paired with 442 is a great mixer/recorder combo. The 744t gives you 4 discreet tracks of timecode-stamped hard-disk recording (great if the director wants surround sound), and the 442 combines 4 discreet channel outputs with a stereo output for the camera.

Here's the bare-bones kit I've brought along for low-budget live music shoots:
MKH416t shotgun mic in Rycote zepplin (for dialogue), with a boom pole
Stereo mic pair (MKH40/MKH30 in Rycote zepplin)
Extra-heavy mic stand with a counterweight (for the stereo pair)
a couple of mic stands (one with a round base, one with a tripod base and a short boom)
lots of 5-pin XLR cables (again, for the stereo pair)
lots of 3-pin XLR cables (for the other mics)
a couple TRS (male) to XLR (male) patch cables (for any mixer feeds)
4-channel PSC mixer
Sony MDR-7506 headphones
Fostex FR-2 stereo recorder
Shure SM-58 vocal mic (just in case)
Shure SM-57 mic (for vocals or instrument)
spare batteries and recording media (plenty of both)

I've found that this is enough to get the job done most of the time, and although the two Shure mics aren't always needed, they've proven to be inexpensive peace-of-mind.
 
that is quit a no budjet for normal work
look for at 835 st mic , maudio recorder , boom pole and zeppeline
probably 1500over all incl headphones and cables
or check used
 
well, for interviews i have a senn evolution wireless kit, a countryman b6 mic, AT shotgun, zepp, boom, cables galore, etc... what i need is a dedicated audio kit - separate from the camera - for live field music. i dont want to use the canon as a recorder. i also have a nice edirol 2 channel mixer... an rnc compressor (small and incredible)... and could record directly to a mac. just wanted to see if there are mic and external recorder recommends... i'll check out the options you all have mentioned. thanks!
 
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