One-man documentary audio on a tight budget?

[Supertramp]

Hey, any chance someone can help me out? I'll be buying equipment in a few months time for documentary work, and I'm quite ignorant when it comes to audio, though I know how important it is and fully intend on doing my homework. Rental doesn't give me the flexibility I need - and for similar reasons, a sound operator is not a realistic option. Microphones are something I am happy to buy anyway, as I will continue to use them in the future. As I will be doing much of the work by myself, I currently have my eye on the just announced Canon XA10 for my camera, which seems like a good compromise between image quality and convenience. It has two XLR ports on the body. What is the best option for an on-board mic that is useful both indoors and outdoors? Would I be better off using different mics? I'm guessing a lav is a must have, but I was also thinking that the AT4053b would be good for controlled indoor interviews. Are the on board XLR ports worth it in my situation? Is attaching a mic to the camera terrible as people make it out to be? I can't see any other way seeing as I'm on my own. I could in theory get a model without the XLR ports for $500 less - and a H4n instead. I suppose what I want is a kit that allows me to capture audio with certain degree of competency in a variety of situations. Indoor seated interview, indoor with a group of people talking or indoor/outdoor ambience/background, outdoor walk and talk. I know I'm asking too much, but as with the camera, I'm looking for a compromise between quality, convenience and versatility...and to make matters worse I really can't afford to go over $1000 on my audio kit. Sorry for bombarding you guys with questions, but I'm just trying to figure out how to divide my $1000 in the smartest way possible.

 

[manglerBMX]

i did a short doc on a falconer. all i used was on board shotgun mic for camera, i think it was a rode ntg1, and a sennheiser g2 wireless with a tram tr50. there wasn't a lot of "in the moment" dialog so most of the story was told from interview and VO. and the only "in the moment" thing i shot was lav'd anyway. but it wasn't dealing with multiple people, only 1 person so it was easy to just use a lav.

every situation is going to be different so its hard for us to say, "use this, this and this and you'll get perfect sound". its far from that. but if you're doing this as a 1 man thing, i'd keep it simple and keep audio to camera. that new canon looks to be a good tool for such a job. but when you know that there are going to be very difficult audio setups i'd look to hire out the sound work to a professional. its going to cost, but i feel being a professional also entails knowing what your limits are within your skills. and when you step out of that zone hiring someone else is always going to be better than risking it. that is, if its that important. if its something not as important and you can risk losing it, then by all means attempt it.

the minimum lav most of us would suggest is a sennheiser G3 ew100 kit. we would also suggest replacing the included lav mic with something better. the countrman emw, b3 & b6 are good. as is the tram tr50 and sanken cos11. also the new rode lav mic has had some good reviews.

for shotguns the Audio Technica AT875R is cheap and has good reviews. i use a rode ntg1 as my on camera shotgun, i feel it is adequate for what i need it for.

but do yourself a favor. buy the sound for film and tv dvd from dvxuser and watch it, more than once.

then read all the stickied posts in this here sound forum.

then practice and continue to look for ways to improve your sound.

it takes skill, knowledge and sound friendly locations to get great sound.

 

[Supertramp]

Thanks very much for the response - that DVD looks like a perfect tool for educating myself before I splash out. I have books on my amazon wishlist, but reading about sound doesn't seem particularly satisfying, I guess this really demands an audio-visual approach. I look forward to watching it. I guess I need to set some ground rules for myself - discipline I suppose. I don't really need to be able to do everything as ultimately I would use interview audio to drive the narrative. So I know that's probably the most important part. I'll buy that DVD sometime so, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. The G3 is one I was already looking at, but didn't think about changing the mic. Much to learn!

 

[dre83]

I also would advice the G3 ew100 (or similar). If you realy need to replace the delivered mice... They're not that bad.... but there are better ones also

If you use interviews only... you can help yourself with that.

But sometimes it's better to have a soundguy, it will cost you more....But...you can easely ask more money for it to your clients. Telling them it's more professional, will look more professional
will sound more professional. And that they will have more succes.

 

[Supertramp]

I also would advice the G3 ew100 (or similar). If you realy need to replace the delivered mice... They're not that bad.... but there are better ones also

If you use interviews only... you can help yourself with that.

But sometimes it's better to have a soundguy, it will cost you more....But...you can easely ask more money for it to your clients. Telling them it's more professional, will look more professional
will sound more professional. And that they will have more succes.

My problem is that I will likely be filming in Japan and I won't be anywhere near a soundguy. It's not just that I can't afford it, but it's impossible. This is really a personal project for the time being. This Canon camera is the gift that keeps on giving however, I'm just after reading that they will release a wireless mic set designed for use with that model and a few others. It uses Bluetooth, which seems a bit odd - does this mean poorer quality? It might suit me as then I won't have to worry about the frequency. If this gets decent reviews I guess I could pick it up for $250 and attach a mic of my choice. Apparently it's good for up to 164 feet.

 

[Alex H.]

I'm skeptical about Bluetooth-based mic systems. Bluetooth tends to limit range and mobility much more than traditional radio mics. And that 164-foot range would be under isolated, ideal conditions which you will not encounter outside of a testing lab.

 

[JordanBlock]

My problem is that I will likely be filming in Japan and I won't be anywhere near a soundguy.

You may be surprised to learn that there are sound people in Japan, too.

As for the bluetooth wireless, it's not worth it. Do a search for bluetooth here and you should find several threads where the technical reasons for bluetooth being a bad idea for professional sound. $250 will buy you a good wired lav.

Regarding your camera choices, if you're planning to one-man-band it a lot, going with a camera with XLR will give you one less device to deal with.

 

[Supertramp]

You may be surprised to learn that there are sound people in Japan, too.

As for the bluetooth wireless, it's not worth it. Do a search for bluetooth here and you should find several threads where the technical reasons for bluetooth being a bad idea for professional sound. $250 will buy you a good wired lav.

Regarding your camera choices, if you're planning to one-man-band it a lot, going with a camera with XLR will give you one less device to deal with.

You may be surprised to learn that a lot of places in Japan are quite remote!

Yeah I'm thinking the XLR input is a must have. I know I'll need a wireless mic so that's the G3 then, but I'm going to have to buy that DVD and do my research for the rest. Might increase my budget.