real life example of audio recording?

S

-Sandro-

Well-known member
Where can I find video examples of audio recording in movies?
I've always asked myself how they can record audio in some odd situations. Example: wide shot with camera very distant from the subject. The actor is in a bath suit so no clothes to hide the lavalier near the actor mouth so how do they record audio in an open space where a boom mic is impossible to use and the sound (not only the dialogue) is not added in post?

Thank you
 
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First your assumption that sound was not added in post is probably wrong. Any commercial film after the first few years of "talkies" has had sound added in post.

So the answer is probably A) ADR, B) a plant mic, C) boom with a matt shot for the BG.
 
You could always use one of these
karaokesoaponarope1.jpg
 
Noiz2 said:
First your assumption that sound was not added in post is probably wrong. Any commercial film after the first few years of "talkies" has had sound added in post.

So the answer is probably A) ADR, B) a plant mic, C) boom with a matt shot for the BG.
Click to expand...

I think B could be the answer
 
Plant mics can work, sometimes. The problem is unless you can get the plant mic close enough to the talent to get a decent signal to bg ratio, then you're still dealing with too much room sound in the dialog. Plant mics work best in sound dampened environments such as sound stages or tv studios. Even living rooms or bedrooms with lots of soft goods around can help. For the scene you described (bathtub, bathroom, wide shot where sound blankets would have to far back from the sound source), I'd bet on one of two approaches: Get the dialog during a close up, even if in the final cut they use the long shot, or ADR. In these shots, I often ask the AD if I can get wild lines with the boom right after a camera take. This sometimes saves the day.

-Sandro- said:
I think B could be the answer
Click to expand...
 
Sorry! Typo, I meant he was wearing a bathing suit not suite!
What's the most used way to record audio? It seems to me that lavalier mics can basically cover every* situation ? Why bother using boom mics ?
 
There are three inherent problems with lavs:

1. Typically, the actor is moving and therefore requires a wireless pack. Even the best wireless rigs are prone to the occasional drop-out or RF hit.

2. Placing lavs on talent in such a way as to be hidden and at the same time not experience clothing rustle takes practice and experience. Typically on set I'm allowed somewhere around 2-3 minutes for each actor to wire them, set level, dress cable, and clear up any clothing noise problems. As a location sound mixer, I may or may not be allowed to participate in wardrobe discussion, and are often faced with silk and sythetics which sound like sandpaper without application of moleskin and strategically placed toupe tape.

3. Most importantly, lavs have a close-up sound which does not sound as natural as a properly positioned boom.

I personally prefer the sound of a boom used correctly. However, more and more I'm working with directors who are choosing not to shoot close-ups at all for some dialog scenes, and I'm slowly having to embrace the idea of lav only shots. As a result, I am sometimes running as many as 7 channels of wireless lav and because no matter what you do, you may still get RF hits and clothing rustle, each lav has to be tracked to a separate recording channel.


-Sandro- said:
Sorry! Typo, I meant he was wearing a bathing suit not suite!
What's the most used way to record audio? It seems to me that lavalier mics can basically cover every* situation ? Why bother using boom mics ?
Click to expand...
 
-Sandro- said:
Where can I find video examples of audio recording in movies?
I've always asked myself how they can record audio in some odd situations. Example: wide shot with camera very distant from the subject. The actor is in a bath suit so no clothes to hide the lavalier near the actor mouth so how do they record audio in an open space where a boom mic is impossible to use and the sound (not only the dialogue) is not added in post?
Click to expand...

They can always put the lav. mic. in the hair. Can't see it, close enough to mouth. As long as the actor has one side of the body that doesn't face the camera, you can tape the body pack to them (for wireless), or you can tape the cables down their body to the floor (for wired). Not the most elegant solution maybe. But it's been done.
 
I've talked with sounc mixers that did nude scenes where a sennheiser SK5012 (which was the smallest transmitter at the time) was taped to the back of the actor's neck and the lav was hidden in the hair. They were shooting wide and tight at the same time, so a boom didn't work so well. Every scene is going to be different and can call for a different approach, so it's best to be armed with all the tools you can have to get the best sound possible.
 
davefisk said:
I've talked with sounc mixers that did nude scenes where a sennheiser SK5012 (which was the smallest transmitter at the time) was taped to the back of the actor's neck and the lav was hidden in the hair. They were shooting wide and tight at the same time, so a boom didn't work so well. Every scene is going to be different and can call for a different approach, so it's best to be armed with all the tools you can have to get the best sound possible.
Click to expand...

And this works because most people aren't paying attention to either the sound track or the actors' hair when watching the nude scenes! :-)

- Greg
 
How would you record a scene in the water (with faces out the water) in a wide shot without ADR.

Now whenever I watch something I ask myself: "how did they record the audio?" "how were they able to hide the boom mic" etc... :)
 
The lectro water proof transmitters with countryman lavs, although I wouldn't rely on that. I'd get a long shotgun mic, like an 816, and put it at the end of a long boom pole. I've seen some pretty wide shots boomed and sound good, as long as the boom op is good and the set conditions are right.
 
-Sandro- said:
How would you record a scene in the water (with faces out the water) in a wide shot without ADR.

Now whenever I watch something I ask myself: "how did they record the audio?" "how were they able to hide the boom mic" etc... :)
Click to expand...

I think the first thing to do is stop assuming what you see is what was shot.

The most likely scenario for a film with a budget is that it was shot on a sound stage and the BG was matted in.
It is very unlikely that a well planned film with a budget would shoot that scene in the wild. If they did I would give it a 99% chance of being ADR. Done right you will never pick out the ADR.

If I were doing that shot on the cheap I would probably ADR. If it's a wide shot you have a lot of wiggle room on sync.

So before you ask "how did they mic that?" you need to ask "how did they shoot that?".
 
Actually there is a third possibility that would also work on the cheap. That is you get your sound guy out there in waders and boom it. Then remove him after in post. Depends on the BG but as long as it's not too turbulent it would be a fairly straight forward rig removal job.
 
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