One man band documentary - audio advice and tips

L

leeburnett

Active member
So I'm going off to Africa to shoot a documentary for a week, I'll be conducting interviews (one person at a time) and shooting various scenes, I will need audio and I'll be a one-man band. I know it's going to be tough as I have barely any audio experience beyond reading as much as I can, but I think I know enough to give it a good shot.

I have bought the DR70D and will be shooting on a 5d III, there wasn't a budget for rental of anything better, so I thought I'd do the wise thing and invest in some decent audio gear (which I will need in the future anyway).

So I have a few hundred pounds. I bought the DR70D as it seems like a decent recorder and comes with (dubious) inbuilt mics for ambient noise when filming. I'm buying an external battery for it as well.

I am considering the NTG-2 as a mid-range shotgun to use that I can either mount on camera when I'm shooting moving shoulder rig shots, or can mount on a tripod if it's static, and for interviews.

I bought the sennheiser ME2 lav, and was considering getting a wireless system, but not sure now.

Basically, my question is this:

What advice would you give to make life a lot easier for me when I'm shooting?

Is there anything you could tell me to do, either how I set up kit, utilise the dr70d, or some format for how I structure my shooting that will render the best results.

For instance, I could record all the audio separately, conduct interviews, get some ambient recordings etc with an NTG-2, then mount the shotgun on camera and get rough audio of scenes this way... I know it's not ideal, but at least this way I could have a solid audio track of vocal narrative from my main subject, then other audio can be music and sometimes some ambient sound from on-camera mic. I don't necessarily need talking heads, and I don't need perfect audio from every single shot.

Sorry if this seems a bit silly, I'm just trying to work out the best method of getting good, clean audio that will be a basis for the story, rather than try and get everything and miss clipping on my tracks, or have a terrible position for my mic because I can't focus on it.

Thanks
 
For a OMB operation in unfamiliar territory, I would recommend a more traditional type video camcorder w/ XLR inputs. Less gear, no double-system sync/issues and the additional files and storage. The camera's on-board preamps would likely be good enough for interviews and the camera mic OK for nat sound (B-roll and such).
FWIW, while the Sennheiser ME2 lavaliere may be .. usable... , it's not considered a good sounding mic by most folks.
 
I agree with Rick. You have enough on your plate already that having to deal with double system sound is just going to be a total pain in the arse.
Right tool for the job and depending on how structured your shooting is, you're going to have a nightmare amount of files to sync later.

Since you say you already own the 5D and DR70 we know you wont listen to us (even though we are right)
so my advice to you to make your life easier is come up with some kind of slating system so on every video clip
you either have a visual reference or audible reference to the name of the separate audio file.
That way later you can find the matching files much easier. Obviously also send a reference track to camera from the audio recorder.
 
Just a suggestion before you go is produce....not just shoot a 10minute Doco on the subject you intend to be shooting on. Interview people on their thoughts of the subject, some background and history as well. Edit it up and get the double system technique down to a fine art, this will also give you an indication on battery and recording media usage. The shooting ratio should be at least 5:1, this will give an indication of what to do while you are away.
 
OzGizmo said:
Just a suggestion before you go is produce....not just shoot a 10minute Doco on the subject you intend to be shooting on. Interview people on their thoughts of the subject, some background and history as well. Edit it up and get the double system technique down to a fine art, this will also give you an indication on battery and recording media usage. The shooting ratio should be at least 5:1, this will give an indication of what to do while you are away.
Click to expand...

This. Better to find out the practicalities (and perhaps fix any minor problems) while in Cornwall rather than while in Africa :)

I like Rippie's idea of a visual reference or audible reference, both for keeping track of all those files and matching them. Perhaps a good old-fashioned clapper board, or the smart-phone app equivalent, would work?
 
Great advice from everyone. I am not sure if you are using a tripod much, but this is just a small gear suggestion, I used a GH4 and a DR60D to shoot about 8 days of a documentary, and trying to balance everything on the tripod drove me crazy, until I found this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B7QNE5E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

View attachment 95392

you can mount it like this, or with the recorder on top left or put a field monitor on the left side also if you had one

View attachment 95393

it really helps with balancing the load, keeping the center of gravity low, and avoids floppy Israeli arms. This setup works well on a monopod too if you are running and gunning. And Plural Eyes is also a huge time saver when synching up audio from the Tascam with your footage from the camera.

I always like to use both a shotgun and a lav for interviews simultaneously. You can mount the shotgun on top of the camera with a hot shoe shock mount (like a Rode SM3)

Have a great trip, and safe travels.
 
It's not that I wouldn't listen to you, if they had any budget at all (I'm paying towards this out of my pocket, they're a fairly new charity that I respect) then I would rent an FS700 straight away, but considering the fact I need audio gear anyway, I thought it was best to put my money towards that and lump the dual system.

The dual system is going to be a right ball ache, but the advice here is brilliant, so thanks.

I'm thinking that I might just record interviews with no camera, as far as docos go it's going to be on the simple side in terms of there being only one main subject, other interviews, if any, will be short.

How about routing the audio out from the DR70d straight into my 5d? Obviously this won't be possible all the time, but will it render decent results? I know it's possible with the dr60d, but always try and steer well clear of the 5d's in camera audio.

Thanks again.
 
I forgot to mention as well that they have someone out there that can help me, so might try and teach him as much of the audio gear as possible so that for some shots he can pistol grip the shotgun.

Does anyone know how good the dual system recording is on the DR70D? At least this covers my arse if anything clips? What levels would you normally use for the lower level? -12db?
 
This EXACTLY why I suggested that you do a practice Doco to start with..... To get the settings right and to see how far you can push things (either way up or down) with audio levels.
 
OK, well I have maybe 3 days before I go which I was going to dedicate to a practice run with all the kit. It's cutting it a bit fine if something is broken or annoying but I run well on a careful balance of stress and excitement with a touch of ticking clock.
 
Lee, don't stress it. I've been in this situation many times. Don't take too much gear, learn the kit you do take and you'll be fine.

I bought the DR60 for precisely this type of job. Make sure you set it to dual level recording. Mount it underneath the camera and send a feed into the camera. Monitor the camera.

Which part of Africa? It's a big place...
 
Heading to Gambia, right on the coast.

That's exactly what I need to hear. I realise that our brains work this stuff out as we go, nothing is as stressful as it seems beforehand, once I get out shooting it always just happens and works. I just want the correct gear before I go, but think I've got the right things.

Any idea whether the dr70d comes with the output cable to route to the 5d? If not what cable should I get?

Also, is monitoring audio on in-ear earphones a really bad idea? I think I'll only really have the time to make sure levels aren't peaking, so big can headphones will just take up unnecessary space.
 
leeburnett said:
Heading to Gambia, right on the coast.
Click to expand...

That's a nice spot! If it was the DRC or Somalia I'd give you some other advice. But, that part of Gambia is a tourist area, so it's pretty cool.

leeburnett said:
Any idea whether the dr70d comes with the output cable to route to the 5d? If not what cable should I get?
Click to expand...

No, pretty sure it didn't. I think it's a 3.5mm Jack - don't quote me. A quick trip to Maplins...

leeburnett said:
Also, is monitoring audio on in-ear earphones a really bad idea?
Click to expand...

No, I do it all the time.

The biggest issue running double system sound is usually to make sure both systems are recording. It's very easy in the heat of battle to just hit record on the camera and stand-by on the recorder. Find a method that allows you to double check everything is running.
 
Yea, I realise I need to get the habit of recording to tascam before camera record. If routing out to camera, does it always record to the tascam SD, AND to the 5d?
 
Liam Hall said:
The biggest issue running double system sound is usually to make sure both systems are recording. It's very easy in the heat of battle to just hit record on the camera and stand-by on the recorder. Find a method that allows you to double check everything is running.
Click to expand...

I would totally monitor the levels with in ear headphones as often as you can, and if the DR70D is the same as my DR60D you have to hit record twice to actually start the recording. Make sure the record light is solid red, I messed this up a few times myself. Getting comfortable with the tangle of cables, and routing this as best you can before you leave is important too, all the bits hanging everywhere can be really distracting.

I found my DR60D to be really conservative at audio levels, so even though the meters said the general levels were right at -12db and peaks were around -6db, I always had to boost everything in my editor later because the levels we always too low. The meters would say -12, but the end result was more like -20 or lower.

My brother has been to Gambia twice, and he loves it there, have a great trip.
 
I have both the 60D and 70D - with the 70D you no longer have to press the record button twice; also the gain with 70D is much more robust (60D has very weak gain). I'd definitely take some kind of usb powerbank, because these Tascams eat batteries like there is no tomorrow; however, if you get a decent quality powerbank, like an Anker of good capacity, you'll be good to go all day and more - there's nothing worse than worrying about battery life when you're out there shooting. Also, I just had a bad XLR cable - whatever cable you're going to be using with the 70D, take an extra one just in case... there's nothing more stupid than being in the middle of nowhere and you find your cable is bad.
 
I got a 16000 mah anker usb device... what's the best way to attach this to my rig for both shoulder mount and when the audio system is on a separate tripod?

I think the set up I will go for when in shoulder rig will be dr70d above the 5d, with the ntg2 on top of that, that way I can still use viewfinder on the 5d and should hopefully reduce noise picked up from teh camera by the shotgun.

I've purchased a 25cm XLR and 4m XLR for the shotgun mic to dr70d... hope that should be fine.

As for pushing levels on the tascam in post, how was it with noise levels when pushed up? I've heard mostly great things about this, so would rather stay slightly conservative and avoid clipping, although the backup recording solves this.
 
Also, does the anker just charge up via usb, or is it battery powered? I'm a bit confused by the amazon page??

And with the 3.5mm cable that runs from the dr70d to the 5d, is the beachtek the only version of this, or is it just a normal 3.5mm to 3.5mm aux cable?
 
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