Omni-directional for under 200 bucks?

Quick question- I'm broke but want to get Great sound for Digital Video by jay Rose- I found a used, older edition (2002) for about 5 bucks on line- that i can definetely afford right now. Is there any big difference between this and the 2008 version? If I can get this for 5 bucks, I can use the money I spent on a lighting book too.
 
thanks, but my last question was about an audio book someone suggested in this thread- just wondering about different editions.

EDIT: and not to get ahead of myself again, but do I understand correctly that to use an Oktava mk012 I would need to hook it up to a mixer?
 
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jpastuch said:
thanks, but my last question was about an audio book someone suggested in this thread- just wondering about different editions.

EDIT: and not to get ahead of myself again, but do I understand correctly that to use an Oktava mk012 I would need to hook it up to a mixer?
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I just did a quick look through the thread and didn't spot what camera you're using and what audio inputs your camera has affects the answer to your question. For top quality sound recording you *should* use a mixer but depending on the camera you have you may not *need* one. The Oktava uses a balanced XLR output and requires a source of phantom power. If your camera provides for mic-level XLR inputs and provides 48v phantom, you're good to go with just the mic, cable, boom, shockmount.

Rose's most recent edition does offer expanded information so I'd go with that edition. I have to say, setting out to gear up to film a movie when you don't have the budget for a $35 book to tell you how to setup and use the gear, how to understand what you're doing, just doesn't seem realistic or make much sense. If you don't know how to use it properly, spending even $5000 or $10000 on sound gear, much less the few hundred you're talking about, still won't do you any good. You can't just plug it in, turn it on, and let it go on autopilot - it doesn't work like that. If $35, or $50, or even $250 is going to break your budget you are putting the cart before the horse here.
 
I'm using the dvx100. And if I can save 30 bucks on a book, I can use that money for other things. I appreciate the concern and lecture, but I'll push the damn cart without a horse if need be. I'm poor, but that doesn't mean I can't make a movie.
 
jpastuch said:
I'm using the dvx100. And if I can save 30 bucks on a book, I can use that money for other things. I appreciate the concern and lecture, but I'll push the damn cart without a horse if need be. I'm poor, but that doesn't mean I can't make a movie.
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i think you're missing his point.
The physical book wont help you..
its whats in it...
meaning...you need to LEARN how to use the gear.

Here's a hammer, build me a house.
Oh wait you need to know slightly more than just having the hammer in your hands.
 
jpastuch said:
I'm using the dvx100. And if I can save 30 bucks on a book, I can use that money for other things. I appreciate the concern and lecture, but I'll push the damn cart without a horse if need be. I'm poor, but that doesn't mean I can't make a movie.
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Being poor doesn't mean you can't make a movie, but guessing instead of studying so you really understand everything you're doing and why you're doing it makes it damned hard to make a good one. And that means pouring knowledge into the old brain, knowledge that has to come from somewhere.

The DVX100 has balanced mic inputs so feeding the cable directly form the Oktava mic to the camera would work. Make sure your budget includes a good pair of closed-back headphones monitors - something like the Sony MDR7506 at about $100; computer headsets or iPod style earbuds with NOT suffice - and monitor your sound with them as you shoot. That's an absolute must!
 
I'm not just buying the book to keep around...I'm buying it to read it and try things out before I shoot my next movie...hence my question of how much new info is in the newest edition or if it's just minor things and filler. When did I say I was going to just buy the book and not read it? Sometimes book are re-released endlessly with no real new value.

If 25 bucks can be saved, why not utilize that money on other books or tools? Why would I pay 25 bucks for a new chapter that may not actually apply to me, for instance? Which, again, was the reason for my question, which was sort of answered in a weird, angry way. Some sound forum guys get antsy fast for some reason.

Yeah, 250 bucks hurts my pocket. I'm trying to SAVE MONEY without sacrificing quality. Sorry if that offends you or something- I don't think I can just buy some microphone, shove it in the camera, and go and shoot things. If I did, I wouldn't be on this forum, I'd be going out and doing that right now. :violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin::violin:
 
An omni mic is like a wide angle lense - think fish eye. It's designed to capture the nuance of an environment much like a wide angle lense is good for architecture photography. If you want to run a mic for picking up dialog you want something more akin to a telephoto lens, which would be a shotgun mic.

If you want an answer to the question of "What's a good omni for under $200?" the answer I would give is a Behringer ECM8000. It can be picked up for $50, and is a great little omni mic for the money. It's like a poor man's earthworks.
 
I'm sorry you took offense - it just seems that you were resistant to doing your homework regarding a fairly involved area of technical expertise and quibbling over pocket change. While we're all happy to help, getting great sound requires more knowledge than can be gained by just asking questions in an online special interest group. Most of the time good sound is more critical to audience acceptance of the movie than is good picture and it's harder (and often more expensive) to achieve. Yet new filmakers wll often devote a lot of care, attention, and budget to their camera and then deal with sound as an afterthought. In the pro world it's not at all unusual to see a set with $5000 in camera, $1000 in lights, and $15000 to $25000 in sound gear.
 
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No, I understand that about sound- which is why I'm trying to learn. I also realize I can't even drop 1000 dollars on sound equipment, which is why I'm trying to compensate with the best equipment for my range and at the same learning the best techniques I can use with what I have. I'm not aiming for anything fancy, just the clearest dialogue that I can possibly capture on location.
 
Aaron Marshall said:
An omni mic is like a wide angle lense - think fish eye. It's designed to capture the nuance of an environment much like a wide angle lense is good for architecture photography. If you want to run a mic for picking up dialog you want something more akin to a telephoto lens, which would be a shotgun mic.
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Comparing mic patterns to types of lenses tends to result in people putting a shotgun mic 20' away from the talent and wonder why their sound still sucks.
 
JordanBlock said:
Comparing mic patterns to types of lenses tends to result in people putting a shotgun mic 20' away from the talent and wonder why their sound still sucks.
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Nobody said you had to put the shotgun mic 20' away. MUST you stand 20 feet away when shooting with a telephoto lens? A 100mm lens would technically be telephoto. That would be great for tight shots of characters, or dialog in some cases -- 20' away? Really? Is that the natural conclusion you would come to?

If it tends to result in people putting a shotgun mic 20' away, then they have a lot more to worry about than audio.
 
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