Question about where to go from here.

B

Bluebird

Member
I'm trying to learn as much as I can about sound recording on set for a small tv show production (personal project level thing). I've purchased the DVD, Sound for Film and Television and wondered if there was a next step that was easily accessible online that I could purchase/watch or read through. Something that goes through the next level of stuff a little more advanced than that DVD.

Any suggestions? I've found stuff out there but in that kind of business, it's hard to know which instructional things are legit and which are just grabbing for your wallet.

Thanks,

BTW, read all the stickies up top. Awesome collection of information.
 
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Once you get the basics down, then it really comes down to just "doing". If you are stuck with a situation you don't know how to deal with, then you'll need to get creative and figure it out. Every shoot is different. That being said, jwsound.com is a great resource for really tough issues to get solved. A lot of the folks on there have been around a LOOOONG time and have seen just about everything.
 
davefisk said:
Once you get the basics down, then it really comes down to just "doing". If you are stuck with a situation you don't know how to deal with, then you'll need to get creative and figure it out. Every shoot is different. That being said, jwsound.com is a great resource for really tough issues to get solved. A lot of the folks on there have been around a LOOOONG time and have seen just about everything.
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Great. Thanks for the advice.

I've done as much reading as possible on the internet abound sound recording in general and we have started shooting on set. It's definitely a learning experience. Is there another logical way to learn how to get better results out of equipment (mixers, recorders, workflow etc...) besides having to shadow someone that already knows? Are there legit classes to take or anything like that?
 
Do you have access to the equipment off the set? First-hand experimentation is the best way of learning how to use equipment and what their limits are.
 
Depending on your location, there are classes. I know that some are taught in Los Angeles on production sound. But, like Richard said, just playing with the gear on your own time is a great way to learn it. That's how I learned most of the high end field recorders. I'd just mess around with them for an hour or two to learn the ins and outs. Record EVERYTHING you can. Your refrigerator, your car...anything. Get used to using the gear and going through the setup. Get used to how your mics pick up sounds. Start developing your listening skills. I always liked working on projects with friends just for fun so we could all learn just by doing. We would shoot whatever...us sitting around talking..just something, and then edit it and do sound post just to learn the workflow. That way there was no money involved on a real shoot, and if we screwed something up it didn't matter
 
the most "common" things are: getting rid of shadows, knowing the frame and knowing when you have to kill someone who's talking annoying during a take and when it's not needed....

for example: airplane on a long shot, establishing without people in it... let the airplane fly
airplane during dialogue... demand another take and shoot the airplane

record as much ambi / setnoise as you can

do some tests first. check if it's recorded.... the 788 sound devices for example is a bit tricky because you have to tell him that he has to record on HD or CF or EXT...and also which track...
if you don't....no sound....
 
Richard Crowley said:
Do you have access to the equipment off the set? First-hand experimentation is the best way of learning how to use equipment and what their limits are.
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Yes I will have access to the equipment all the time. My plan is to spend a lot of hours recording "sound effects" when not on the set to increase my experience and knowledge of the systems. The dvd I purchased that's listed here in the stickies was pretty awesome. It was mostly the basics about recording sound but I did learn a lot of new stuff to me and also the section at the end on Post was AWESOME for my understanding of what's required when recording to get to that point.
 
davefisk said:
Depending on your location, there are classes. I know that some are taught in Los Angeles on production sound. But, like Richard said, just playing with the gear on your own time is a great way to learn it. That's how I learned most of the high end field recorders. I'd just mess around with them for an hour or two to learn the ins and outs. Record EVERYTHING you can. Your refrigerator, your car...anything. Get used to using the gear and going through the setup. Get used to how your mics pick up sounds. Start developing your listening skills. I always liked working on projects with friends just for fun so we could all learn just by doing. We would shoot whatever...us sitting around talking..just something, and then edit it and do sound post just to learn the workflow. That way there was no money involved on a real shoot, and if we screwed something up it didn't matter
Click to expand...

I play guitar and sing and so does my wife. I've spend a lot of time messing with tube amps and using recording equipment geared more towards music so I have SOME understanding and a decent ear I think.

Recording EVERYTHING like the fridge etc sounds like great advice. I will definitely do that. I'm actually excited now to record my refrigerator. Who would've known?

We also plan on doing a bunch of little side projects like tutorial videos and video gaming stuff to post on youtube mostly for fun and experience. I think that will help a lot.

Any suggestions on a book or two that deal with the details of how to get good signal/noise ratios out of a mixer/recorder/mic setup? Maybe something that deals with actually setting up an SD-302 (which is what I'll be using)? I know recording sound is such a dynamic thing because of the nature of sound and different locations and a lot of that knowledge will just come through usage of the equipment in these different settings.
 
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