How to record good audio filming two people exercising in a gym?

I

IvanKostov

Member
Hello everyone. I am an amateur and I need a little help. :)
I am about to film a scene of two guys exercising in a gym. I can't use lavaliers because the talents will be moving constantly (right?). I am going to test several microphones mounted on the camera rig to see what sound they produce before the actual day of filming. I am thinking about testing out sen. me80 and me40? The camera has 26mm wide angle lens so I can get pretty close. Also the mics can stick out from the camera rig quite a bit. Am I on the right track with those mics?
Thank you
 
A lav isn't going to care if the folks are moving and if it's wireless you can have them be quite far from you. But depending on the work out there may be no good place to put them.

Any mic mounted to the camera is going to suck to some extent. If you are always going to be quite close (as in a few feet) it might not suck as much.

Do they have dialog? If it's just them working out then I personally would probably add those sounds in in post, but I'm a sound editor and that may not be a smart move for you if you don't have and sound editing experience.

So the best answer is probably a hyper on a boom pole with a boom operator.
 
Scott,
There will be dialogue.
I did experiment with shotgun on camera rig and the sound was terrible.Echo issues!
It seems to me you believe lavalier can be a possible solution. I am going to try that.
The two people will be exercising non stop. Pushes pulls ups crunches exercises of that sort. Some dialogue in between here and there.
God now that you mentioned editing I guess I can cut sound in post when they jump into exercises and don't talk to minimize lavalier noise.
Gosh thank you.
 
You might be able to hide lavs in their hair...
Otherwise a boom-op is likely your best bet.
 
Why wouldn't you use a boom pole (or two)? Even if you didn't have an operator, your sound will likely be better than possibly getting all the rustling and movement in their clothes, along with their heavier breathing as they start to exert. But maybe Brian is onto something.
 
You didn't mention whether this is drama (where you want to hide the mics)? or a documentary or "reality" or instructional, etc. where visible mics are OK or even expected.

Note that aerobics trainers who lead classes almost universally wear wireless systems with "headset" mics.

There is virtually no practical use for a microphone mounted on a camera. You can safely eliminate that "scheme" from your list of options.
 
I agree with others that a camera mic will not give good results especially if you wish to move the camera around to get the best shots.

Most gym's that have seen on TV (never used one myself as it looks like far too much work and risk of injury) have machines and fixed set-ups for training so a boom would be a useful way of getting the mic close to the action.

If people are running around or doing aerobic type work outs then a wireless will be essential but a good boom op would also be able to follow the action if the camera is close, watch out for mirrors though with reflections of camera and any crew.

Of course and it may be stating the obvious that such scenes by their very nature may need some form or setting up and making sure that all involved either side of the camera know pre-set boundaries and shooting is blocked out to suit the final edit. Just waving a camera and mic around in the hope of getting some useable footage will usually result in actually getting no useable footage, but we all know that as film makers don't we???
 
Thank you for responses!Great input!
It is a documentary.
I didn't want to boom because frankly it's a small and packed place (boom operator will have hard time) and the acoustics are just incredibly bad.
I think I am going to end up having each talent have a portable recorder in their pocket going into a lavalier.
( I don't know if this will even work I will test it tomorrow.Can't think of a major weakness yet aside from post sync).
The prices of dual wireless systems are scary :(
 
IvanKostov said:
I didn't want to boom because frankly it's a small and packed place (boom operator will have hard time) and the acoustics are just incredibly bad.
Click to expand...
IvanKostov said:
The two people will be exercising non stop. Pushes pulls ups crunches exercises of that sort. Some dialogue in between here and there.
Click to expand...
That´s actually a situation where I prefer to have a boom operator...
 
Well since you can't monitor the recordings the "major weakness" is that you might well end up with no usable sound.

A boom op is probably the best choice but IF they are going to be on stationary machines then you could set up a couple of mics on stands, probably.

There is one good use for an on camera mic and that is to record a guide track. You will only be using that track to sync sounds and to have a reference for what the scene sounded like. Since your shooting video that is no good reason to not get some sound on the video either from built in mics or one mounted to the camera. Just don't assume it will be of any use except for reference.

BTW if $1k for a couple of wireless mics gives you sticker shock you may want to rethink your career choice ;~)
 
The 1k is scary but so is the mixer and cables which will run for lots more money, and someone will have to operate them. Besides this is more of school project/hobby thing not a career choice hahaha.I appreciate the sarcasm. I agree camera sound is reference/ broll at best. You are right incase of a recorder failure sound will be useless so I will need a boom operator for this thing to be somewhat possible.
:)
Cheers.
 
Lavs always depend on situations...and on clothing.....But if they can be shown....do it so and don't make it yourself (or the soundguy) to much difficult.

It's a docu, but is it "push rec and let it go docu" ? Or is it with questions ?

If it's with questions (to make people talk) you could do close/medium shots so the mic can go close.
 
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