Need some audio!

F

Film Newbie

New member
Hey guys, I'm needing some audio for my DVX100b.

I currently shoot short films / personal entertainment / internet entertainment 0 whatever. I plan to get more into film making ... but not right now.

So i have around 400 $, prefer shooting outdoors, though I shoot indoors a lot as well.

I haven't done too, too much research into Audio, so I was just looking for some opinions.


I was looking at the Rode NTG-2 Shotgun Mic for starters. Any opinions on that and any others in my price range?

Thanks a lot!
 
I have the Rode NTG-2 and it is a truly awesome mic for the price. Sounds good and is extremely sensitive. Fairly directional but not extremely-- makes it easier for a beginner. Can't really be beat for the price.

I don't own one, but from what I've heard on this forum, the Oktava MK-012 with a Hypercardioid Capsule makes is a very good microphone for indoor work.
 
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please do some searches on the ntg1 (which is the same as the ntg2, but doesn't run on battery [you can use your cam's phantom power to run it]) and the oktava.

You will need a proper boom, shockmount, wind protection, headphones and xlrs. You may want to be looking forward to a mixer in the future.
 
Thanks guys,

I did some more research, and decided to go with the Rode NTG1 Shotgun, Rode Boompole.

So I'm looking at this, and this, and am wondering if these two are compatible. I believe they are, but I'm a bit of a newbie and just want to clarify.

So, if it all works, I have: Shotgun mic, boompole, XLR cables, and I can get a windscreen whenever.


Question about headphones: I'm not really sure what they do other then monitor the audio.

So are they just their so you can listen to the audio? Are you supposed to be listening so you can make adjustments?


Thanks a lot guys.
 
Compatibility between the pole and shockmount shouldnt be a problem at all. Not all shockmounts are created equal though and you definitely get what you pay for. The KSSM is perhaps the quietest mount I've ever seen. I've got the sm3 as well (came with my ntg1) and its ok. and thats about it. Its also half the cost. I still use it for a fixed boom pole where its not needing to do much int the way of isolation. If you are going to be outside at all you need wind protection. The foam that comes with the mic is pretty useless. I love my ktek zeppelin. Cuts out all the wind I'm willing to stand in. After 25mph I'd just as soon go inside and wait. I dont know much about that pole but its cheap and you get what you pay for. Just keep that in mind. The Gitzo 13' carbon fiber pole is fantastic for the money and I and many other here love it. Its light, its quiet, and carbon fiber makes you really cool.

Think of headphones as a viewfinder for your audio. If you dont wear them how do you know what you are capturing? How does your boom op know how close to put the mic? Sony 7506's are the best thing in the world as far as I'm concerned and they're cheap.

And add some sandwiches or pizza to your list to bribe someone into being your boom op. And some gloves for that said boom op. I went with the gardening gloves with the dots based on some others reccomendations on the forum and havent had a problem with handling noise. Hope that helps. You may also want to look into rigging a return line for your boom op so they can monitor directly from the camera. The SD MM-1 would also make a nice single channel mixer / headphone monitor for the boom op if your budget can handle it.
 
I own that shock mount as well. It has threads on the bottom for a standard boom pole as well as the ability for you to mount it on the hotshoe of your camera (god forbid.. haha).

Its a good shocckmount but in all honesty the KSSM is better.

Unless you have a mixer buy a 20 foot or so 1/8inch headphone extension cord-- so whoever is booming can move away from the camera a bit.
 
A couple of suggestions -

First, read through the stickies at the top of the forum. They will go a long way to getting you started in understand how audio works and why you need the equipment recommended.

Also, get a copy of Jay Rose's books on audio for video. They are great primers for those just getting started.

Welcome!

Phil
 
grant-o said:
I own that shock mount as well. It has threads on the bottom for a standard boom pole as well as the ability for you to mount it on the hotshoe of your camera (god forbid.. haha).

Its a good shocckmount but in all honesty the KSSM is better.

Unless you have a mixer buy a 20 foot or so 1/8inch headphone extension cord-- so whoever is booming can move away from the camera a bit.
Click to expand...

ptalsky said:
A couple of suggestions -

First, read through the stickies at the top of the forum. They will go a long way to getting you started in understand how audio works and why you need the equipment recommended.

Also, get a copy of Jay Rose's books on audio for video. They are great primers for those just getting started.

Welcome!

Phil
Click to expand...

Thanks a ton guys!

I'll make sure to go through the stickies and look into that book.

And thanks for the headphone cord tip, I never actually thought how long the headphones cords are.

Edit: will this be ok for an extended XLR cord?
 
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Since an XLR cord is a balanced connection you can go for quite long runs without additional noise-- provided the cable is decent. The optimal setup would be for the boom operator to have a small 2-4 channel mixer on his person. Headphones would plug into the mixer as well. You can feed the boom as well as wireless lav's to this mixer and then out to the recorder/camera.

Its really important, in my opinion, to make sure the boom operator has headphones. It allows for them to watch for any audio mess ups and level problems. The headphone extension doesn't provide quite the control as an on person mixer (since you have to walk over to the camera to adjust levels.. also lack of EQ) but it should be good enough for most beginner purposes.
 
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