Need sound advice for my first HD project please!

S

shawn.w

Active member
Hey everyone,

So this project will be a promotional video for a local college, lots of shooting, in terms of audio probably lots of interviews, classroom situations, walking and talking shots, etc. Its also important to know that I will likely be solo shooting this most of the time, although i could call on some friends to hold the mics or monitor levels for harder days.

The audio equipment i currently have:
The Azden SGM-PDII short shotgun that came with my HMC150 from B&H
Azden | SGM-PDII On-Camera Short Shotgun Microphone | SGM-PDII

A H4N zoom recorder. and the on board mic's of the HMC150.


Seems to me that some wireless lavs would work best to round out my beginners package. But since i will be filming around a college perhaps this may not be a great idea as there could be a lot of interference? I really know nothing about wireless sound, or maybe i want wired lavs? If someone could run me through the key elements and options i should look into when checking out wireless or wired lavs that would be great. Or perhaps there is something even better?

I have very limited experience in sound, so please feel free to explain things as if speaking to a total beginner. Thanks!

- Shawn
 
At the very top of the audio forum is a stickie about lavs and wireless. Start there.

You don't say where you are. You would have more problems with RF interference if you are at Columbia in the heart of NYC rather than, say, Princeton which is in a more suburban setting.
 
The most important thing with sound is "listining", not only hearing but realy listing as you never have listned before :p (with headphones of course)

Try to have someone to hold te mic (try also having a good boom) also watch that the boomer is holding the mice in the good position. Directed to the mouth, and as low as possible. Most first mistakes are holding the boom way to high (yards and miles) and holding it directed after the head. It's bether to hold it a little bit more in front. Don't be afraid (for the boomer) to come as low as possible (in the image) and then go up till you're out of image, little higher for safety. (a little means inches, not miles :p)

Record your interviews NOT during "playtime" (break) or lunchbreak or arriving or departing. When you hear a bell, wait and ask to answer again.

If you have some people in the back chatting and shouting, it might look very nice, but in the end they wil get all the attention...and that's not good.

With your zoom, record some background noise of students, but also of empty rooms... classes, place to eat, outside,.... this will be very helpfull.

About lavs, can the be visible or not ? It's not easy to hide lavs... and avoiding sound of moving clothes (schschhhhhhschh). In mics and lavs --> expensive = bether but this wont say you have to buy the most expencive things. Rode mics are cheap, not the best, but not that bad for things like this.
 
its a rather small down and i guess you could say rural setting, however the college is large and may have lots of equipment that would cause interference so i cant say. but its deff no city or even large town in terms of interference i wouldent think.
 
could still use some info on wireless or wired lav options as the shoot is quickly approaching. Thanks!
 
dre83 said:
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Record your interviews NOT during "playtime" (break) or lunchbreak or arriving or departing. When you hear a bell, wait and ask to answer again.

If you have some people in the back chatting and shouting, it might look very nice, but in the end they wil get all the attention...and that's not good.

With your zoom, record some background noise of students, but also of empty rooms... classes, place to eat, outside,.... this will be very helpfull.

....
Click to expand...

I see you're in Belgium. Just FYI ... "college" in North America refers to a post-secondary university level school for young adults (and also older "mature" students), usually offering Bachelor's degree programs or professional programs such as medicine, law, nursing, engineering, or teaching. The equivalent of some European countries "college" or "collegiate" school with students ranging in age from around 14 up to around 18 is commonly called a "high school" here, though sometimes "collegiate" is also used in the name here in Canada, especially if their curriculum is geared toward preparation for admission into university. I only mention this because bells, noisy students in the background, defined arrival and departing times, breaks, playtimes, and lunch periods, etc, that you mention in your advice are really phenomena of the elementary and secondary school environment and would virtually never be found at the college and university level. At the college level, places to park your car, tricks for navigating your way around the campus efficiently, the availability and locations of student services such as a bank branch or ATM machines, career placement centres and the location of the infirmary, the operating hours of the research library, and the best pubs in the neighborhood to grab a beer after class or to join classmates to cram for the organic chemistry exam are going to be of much more interest than where to sit and eat during lunchbreak.
 
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Rather than buying you should rent. You will get much better quality and reliability.

You can rent a Sennheiser G3 wireless trans/rec system with Countryman B6 lavs for about $70/day (possibly cheaper in the current economy). If it doesn't matter that the lavs are seen (you said that they were interviews) you can get larger lavs.

Did you read the sticky on lavs?
 
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