Low Budget Audio Starter Kit for Short Films

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pmk396

Well-known member
This is just an assumption guys and I have no first hand experience with using either but I was wondering how the Zoom H1 with the Rode VideoMic would play out as a VERY basic audio starter kit? Together they can be bought for less than $300. I'm thinking that they would be the next level down from something like the Zoom H4n with AT875R.

As for the downsides, I know that the H1 doesn't have XLR sockets. I also understand that the VideoMic would have an unbalanced signal but that doesn't mean that they won't work ok. The VideoMic is also designed to be mounted one a camera but I'm sure that it could still be used on a short boom pole or positioned in such a way that a short distance is maintained between the H1 and the VideoMic so it doesn't leave the signal open to too much external interference.

As I said, I'm only guessing that these might work as at basic/amateur level in the world of audio recording. What do you think?
 
Give it a try- You're only out a couple hundred & you can always re-sell them if you don't like them... Figure the loss during resale as rental on equipment you couldn't actually rent (unless a friend/coworker has a set).
 
Sound will be 50% of your oeuvre. Sometimes I even think it's more acceptable to have a not so good picture quality than having bad sound.

Do it like me. Plan a short film from A to Z, then worry about equipment. Once you reach the worrying-about-equipment-stage, you're not even going to look at super low-end stuff for sound. If you do, your story/idea isn't strong enough. Even if you're dead broke like I am, you'll find a way to borrow a bit of money for a couple of weeks. Buy something decent like a Sennheiser 416 second-hand and resell it when you're done shooting. If you're clever you might even make a profit. If you must steal, by all means do so. You're a filmmaker, they'll forgive you when they see their names included in the credits during Cannes... ;)

You won't make a short film every month, at least not something on a certain level, so why keep stuff in your basement for 350 days a year? If you manage to make one short a year, you're more productive than most Dvxusers. If you make one short every 5 years, you're still more productive than most Dvxusers. You get my point.

All this goes under the assumption that you have certain ambitions. If you don't, just ignore me... :)
 
Pharao,
I appreciate your feedback. Generally I might make two ot three short films a year. My last short had a voice-over/narrative throughout (it was only 2 and a half minutes long) that I recorded on Pro Tools so it kinda got me outta the recording audio on set issue. Prior to that, my friend and I filmed on his Canon XM2 and we recorded audio on the camera's onboard mic and the audio was absolutely rubbish.

As for using my gear, my girlfriend nags me about having my camera (Panasonic GH1) and only using a few times a year so I'll probably get the same grief from her if I get audio equipment too.

My issue comes down to this. I am shooting a short in January/Febraury next year and I need decent audio equipment that I can afford. I can afford to splash out on audio equipment no more than $300-$350. It leaves me in this predicament; I can get a Zoom H4n but I couldn't any extra for a mic OR I could just get the Zoom H1 with the VideoMic as I stated above. Bottom line is that THIS IS ALL I CAN AFFORD to spend on audio between now and then. I was thinking that I could always get the H4n with a cheap-ass shotgun mic for this up and coming short and then afterwards, around May or June of next year, I could afford a decent mic like the AT875R.

And renting the equipment is outta the question because the schedule for this short needs to be very flexible for the actors as they all have other full-time jobs, so I can't be running to and from the rental shop hiring equipment, especially when there'll be a lot of changes to the schedule to facilitate the actors.
 
pmk396 said:
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My issue comes down to this. I am shooting a short in January/Febraury next year and I need decent audio equipment that I can afford. I can afford to splash out on audio equipment no more than $300-$350. It leaves me in this predicament; I can get a Zoom H4n but I couldn't any extra for a mic OR I could just get the Zoom H1 with the VideoMic as I stated above. Bottom line is that THIS IS ALL I CAN AFFORD to spend on audio between now and then. I was thinking that I could always get the H4n with a cheap-ass shotgun mic for this up and coming short and then afterwards, around May or June of next year, I could afford a decent mic like the AT875R.
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Or you could delay your shoot until June or July until after you can acquire the kit to do the job right. Just a thought ...
 
$350 are 265 Euro. With that money you could buy a used Sennheiser 416 T on Ebay, which sounds the same as the P48 model. Only difference is that the T version requires 12V phantom power vs. 48V. An adapter will take care of the 48V problem. Of course your audio kit isn't complete with only the mic, but you get an idea of how close you are with the little money you've got. You say you have a GH-1 and I suppose at least one lens - rent it out and make some money. Ask your neighbours if they're willing to make a donation and in return you'll credit them at the end of the movie. I don't know, there are so many ways, get creative. It's all in your hands.
 
The 416T requires T-power, NOT Phantom power. They're completely different ways of supplying power. Because of the way the power is supplied, running T-power to a mic that doesn't require it is more likely to cause damage to the mics than phantom power is.

If your recorder doesn't supply T-power (basically if it's not pro-grade gear intended of use in film) You'll need an adapter to convert phantom to t-power.
 
This question has been posed by the indie film community for years. "I just spent every penny I have on a camera. I know that sound is important. However, I don't know anything about sound, and I want great sound, but I only want to spend $1.99."

I could toss out some suggestions for ultra-low budget pieces of gear, and you will then get dozens of contradictory opinions about what will and will not work, and there will be an endless debate over minutia that in the end is relatively meaningless. But with your budget, no matter what you get, you will end up with marginal sound quality. The reason is two-fold; the equipment, because of its low price, will not perform nearly as well as its more expensive cousins, and your lack of audio knowledge and experience will work against you in getting the most out of the cheap equipment that you do get. I also predict that, once you get onto the set, you will be in such a rush that you will not put the effort into the sound you currently say that you will.

This probably comes across as - and indeed is - a harsh indictment. The entire mindset has become "if you don't see it you don't need to spend money on it." But you are not to blame, no one impressed upon you how important sound is to a film. Solid sound makes your film look better. Solid sound allows your audience to hear and understand the dialog easily, which means that they will stay more involved. Solid sound completes the illusion of reality that engrosses the audience.

"But I'm only a beginner, just learning how to shoot!" Well, you should learn proper habits from the beginning. Put in the effort, put in the time, make the trip to the rental house every time you're going to shoot. Or, better yet, find an up-and-coming production sound mixer/boom-op looking for experience.

Thump! The sound of me jumping off of my soapbox.
 
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Perfectly said Bob. You should just start copying and pasting this in most of these types of threads.
Trying to get the beginners out there to stop thinking a piece of gear is going to be the answer and instead try to get them
to understand the real issues they will have is definitely the way to get them to learn how to ACTUALLY improve their sound.
 
pmk396 said:
And renting the equipment is outta the question because the schedule for this short needs to be very flexible for the actors as they all have other full-time jobs, so I can't be running to and from the rental shop hiring equipment, especially when there'll be a lot of changes to the schedule to facilitate the actors.
Click to expand...

I think the point was to buy the gear and then resell it on eBay. The money that you lose from depreciation from the time you buy it until the time you sell it can be chalked up as a sort of pseudo "rental cost".
 
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