foley recording?

D

DustinR

Member
I recently purchased a m-audio mobile pre on ebay so I could record voice overs for a school project without wearing down my heads. It worked pretty well considering I downloaded some junk audio record program and used a $30 dynamic mic. My question is, do you think this unit (having phantom power and xlr inputs) with a good recording program (please name some for me) would work with my powerbook to record foley sounds? and if so, what type of mic should I get for that objective? Like I said, i got the unit for one purpose, and I plan to get the audio technica at2020 for doing my voice overs in the future, but will this work for foley sound well? and if so what mic should I get? thanks alot
Dustin
 
Foley is one of those areas that really draws attention to the shortcomings of an audio setup. Unless you're using very high quality mics and preamps, you'll find that any subtler sounds are lost in the noise of your equipment. You'll also need to control the accoustic noise floor of the room, so you'll have to keep your control room well isolated from your recording space. In particular, that laptop'll have to be in another room altogether.

Mic-wise, you should start with a good short-shotgun condensor that will allow you to match the characteristics of the mics used to record the film's dialogue and still stay out of the mic's self-noise. I use a Sennheiser MKH416, although some recordists prefer Schoeps mics. To provide more control over perspectives, I like to have a large diaphragm cardiod mic such as a Neuman TLM103 ten to fifteen feet from the foley artist, which I can mix in with the drier sound of the `416 (which is maybe two to four feet away from the artist). All mics will need shock-mounts, or you'll wind up picking up low-frequency vibrations from the mic stands.

Although you can probably use the built-in mic preamps on your audio interface, you're better off with a good analogue mixer with a clean preamp and plenty of headroom, as well as a high-pass filter (100 Hz is ideal, although Mackie board's are usually around 75 Hz).

In terms of multitrack recording and mixing software, you have plenty of options. Preferences differ, but ProTools is the standard.
 
No need to match mikes in foley recording , this is not dylog which have to be recorded with same characteristic microphone to get the same feel and color of the sound . So ,as long you are using quiet mics , cardioid or hyper you will be ok , since it will never be sound as it was recorded on the spot first place , so usually you adjust it and berry under background noise ( room tone and cetera)
 
I'm afraid that I must respectfully diagree with ExilOnTheMainStreet. Properly recorded foley blends transparently with the production sound tracks. Ideally, foley shouldn't sound like foley, but rather like an an additional layer of detail that adds dimmension and texture to the dialogue. To that end, perspective and mic'ing are very important.
 
Yes , but no need to use exactly mic that was in the field , i can guaranty you no one will know :-)
 
Point taken. I recall speaking with another foley artist who swore by his DPA 1003 mic, using it to record everything. That said, the session recordist had some twenty years of experience in matching perspectives. Generally, though, high-end shotgun mics are better suited to matching production tracks. Perhaps noone would notice MKH416 foley when the production mixer used an MKH60, but it would take very careful placement and plenty of EQ to match AT2020 foley with MKH60 dialogue.
 
My plan was to use the at2020 for dialogue, not foley work and then I posted here wondering what mic to get for foley work. After reading your responses it seems that I should get a shotgun for that. I am very new to the audio world so alot f the things you said are confusing me but I plan to research each thoroughly to understand it. Possibly get a book on audio recording? any suggestions?
 
David Yewdall's book "the Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound" is a good place to start. It covers pretty much the entire audio post-production field, including foley. Of course, the best way to learn a discipline like foley is to apprentice with an experienced crew; a book will tell you how to record foley, but an experienced foley crew will teach you how to record foley well. Contact as many foley artists as you can, and offer to bring them coffee and pastries if they let you sit in on a session or two. Buy them lunch, and they'll probably answer any question you can come up with.

If you're considering building your own foley recording space, then I would strongly reccomend consulting with a very experienced foley artist early on in the design phase.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top