Looking for a Mic

Ki-Ki

Ki-Ki

Veteran
Shooting a short film with 2 basic camcorders, the ones you'd find at your local department store most likely. It would be great if we could buy a microphone to go with it. Though I have no idea which mic to purchase. Preferably going for the Cheapest for the Quality. I'd love to do some scouting around on ebay, amazon, along the web in town etc to find a bargain. Though I don't know what to go for yet.

60 Dollars is probably tops for the mic, if anyone could recommend a product I'd be quite happy :D
 
The forum stickies are a treasure-trove of excellent advice regarding mic and accessory selection.

For $60 you can rent a decent entry-level kit for three days. You may be able to get a full week out of the rental, if you can swing a deal with the rental house.

If you're actually looking to buy the gear, you're setting the ceiling pretty low. $60 will barely buy a decent shock-mount, let alone a microphone. You may be able to find a used wired lav for somewhere around that price, but that's a real long-shot.
 
Sadly there's no place around here to rent filming equiptment of any kind, we have to go about 100 - 210 miles away I think, for a good store of gear.

The camcorders do allow the access of external mic's =)
 
I can't think of any mic suitable for recording dialog that you can get for $60 - sorry, but that's just the breaks. You're looking at $150 to $200 as a rock bottom minimum for the mic itself, then you need some way to get it out close to the talent - add a boom pole, mount, extension cable and by the time you get done you're going to be looking at something between $300 to $500 all in all. Don't even THINK of putting a mic on the camera and attempting to record dialog that way - you'll hear something, sure enough, but it will sound like c**p. If you're serious about making films, even super low budget films, you need to understand from the very start that high quality sound is even more important than the picture quality if you're going to hold your audience's interest.
 
Ki-Ki said:
Sadly there's no place around here to rent filming equiptment of any kind, we have to go about 100 - 210 miles away I think, for a good store of gear.
Click to expand...
This particular issue has been touched upon in another recent thread. Rental outfits that specialize in film/television production sound can be few and far-between. For that reason, many companies will be happy to pack the gear into a flight case and ship it to your location via a fully insured and bonded courier company (eg. FedEx). Shipping and insurance charges will be added to your rental invoice, which you'll likely have to pay in advance of the rental.

If you're looking for a bare-bones, lowest possible cost equipment list for double-system recording (ie. recording the audio sepperate from the video) for production dialogue, then here's my $0.02:

Short-shotgun back-electret condensor microphone
9' boom pole
microphone shock-mount
microphone wind protection (if you're shooting exteriors)
2x 25' XLR cables
Sony MDR-7506 headphones
compact flash recorder with built-in microphone preamps (and recording media)
simple clap-board slate (could even be home-made)

If you can stretch $60 far enough to cover all that, then you're a far better bargain-hunter than I.
 
Steve House said:
I can't think of any mic suitable for recording dialog that you can get for $60 - sorry, but that's just the breaks. You're looking at $150 to $200 as a rock bottom minimum for the mic itself, then you need some way to get it out close to the talent - add a boom pole, mount, extension cable and by the time you get done you're going to be looking at something between $300 to $500 all in all. Don't even THINK of putting a mic on the camera and attempting to record dialog that way - you'll hear something, sure enough, but it will sound like c**p. If you're serious about making films, even super low budget films, you need to understand from the very start that high quality sound is even more important than the picture quality if you're going to hold your audience's interest.
Click to expand...

I am serious, and the audio makes 70% of the film etc. Which is why I know I need to get a mic, but pushed on both time and cash. I could spend my entire budget at the minute on a mic, but that would mean I couldn't actually then get the props for my film. Plus even the entire budget wouldnt be enough to get a good average mic.

SMuir, despite all the points you've raised, thank's for recommending me some bits and pieces. Been doing some researching on ebay & amazon. Im finally starting to understand the prices and equiptment in perspective now. Been searching around for the microphone you recommended. I found this on ebay;



SkyTronic Electret Condenser Microphone - BRAND NEW

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SkyTronic-Ele...225406386QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item260225406386

Battery1.5Vdc (1 x AA)Cable4mmØConnector3.5mm monoFrequency response20Hz - 16kHzImpedance1k Ohms (±30%)Lead length6.0mSensitivity-62dB @ 1kHz (±3dB)Dimensions164 x 29mmØ



Do you think something like this would be suitable for shooting? There would be a couple of shots outside. Just wanted to say I am appreciate peoples feedback =)

Thank you,
 
Ki-Ki said:
Do you think something like this would be suitable for shooting? There would be a couple of shots outside. Just wanted to say I am appreciate peoples feedback =)
Click to expand...

If you can't afford something now, just use the on board microphone. The audio will probably be as good or better than that mic you linked to. I'm serious. You gain absolutely nothing by using that thing. Save up for a proper kit, and only buy once.
 
I have to agree with Huv Vu; the Skytronic mic will most likely give you worse sound than your camcorder's on-board mics. For starters, its omnidirectional, so unless the actors literally eating the mic you're going to get very reverberant sound. Secondly, with a frequency response of 20Hz-16kHz, that thing'll sound duller than a carboard sandwich. If a mic doesn't have a ballanced (ie. XLR) output, then its really not worth your money (unballanced outputs=hum).

There is no magic solution for good audio. Do you really think we'd all be spending thousands on our kits if a $50 mic would cut the mustard? If you can't afford to buy the neccessary equipment, then you're left with six options:

1) Shoot it anyway and live with unuseable audio.
2) Shoot guide audio and raise aditional funds for ADR and foley.
3) Borrow gear from local schools, co-ops, broadcasters, etc.
4) Rent the gear (either from local broadcasters or have it shipped from a large rental house).
5) Hire an experienced sound person at a reduced rate and make them responsible for the sound gear.
6) Shelve the production, write a proper budget, raise the neccessary funds, and shoot the film in a manner that will do justice to the subject matter.
 
Ki-Ki said:
... I found this on ebay;



SkyTronic Electret Condenser Microphone - BRAND NEW

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SkyTronic-Ele...225406386QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item260225406386

Battery1.5Vdc (1 x AA)Cable4mmØConnector3.5mm monoFrequency response20Hz - 16kHzImpedance1k Ohms (±30%)Lead length6.0mSensitivity-62dB @ 1kHz (±3dB)Dimensions164 x 29mmØ



Do you think something like this would be suitable for shooting? There would be a couple of shots outside. Just wanted to say I am appreciate peoples feedback =)

Thank you,
Click to expand...

Absolutely not. Not to mention that those specifications make absolutely no sense whatsoever ... that alone should give cause for alarm that it's a piece of junk. Whoever heard of a mic's impedance spec being "1kohm +/- 30%" ??? - the tolerance doesn't make any sense at all. And what possible interest could the diameter of the cable be???? I concur with SMuir and Huv Vu's observations. You really need to spend a few pounds and some time on "book learning" so you can judge and evaluate your options and understand the basic technology you'll have to work with and what it'll be called on to do if it's to produce decent results. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
 
Last edited:
Thank's, & I've taken your advice. Decided to hold off until I have more of a budget to purchase a mic. So far I've gotten $155. With a further $100 next week if need be.
 
Ki-Ki said:
Shooting a short film with 2 basic camcorders, the ones you'd find at your local department store most likely. It would be great if we could buy a microphone to go with it. Though I have no idea which mic to purchase. Preferably going for the Cheapest for the Quality. I'd love to do some scouting around on ebay, amazon, along the web in town etc to find a bargain. Though I don't know what to go for yet.

60 Dollars is probably tops for the mic, if anyone could recommend a product I'd be quite happy :D
Click to expand...

You have heard from pretty much everyone that your expectations exceed your budget. Won't be the first time on this board. The code "Cheapest for the Quality" tells all.

You are at the beginning of a very long learning curve. Take it easy and take some of the advice given here and grow slowly and surely.

Buying financially efficient camcorders from department stores may seem like a good idea. Those who do usually find those devices' limitations end up biting them in the butt.

$60 mics? There's only one I'd buy and you can't use it to make movies. The MCA SP-1.

Regards,

Ty Ford
 
Thank's, and I understand I have alot to learn.

I've got $170 at the moment, was considering getting a ZOOM H2, but the prices of importing one from the USA to the UK on top of the product itself is a little rough. Currently looking for something just as good that I can purchase in the UK.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top