Recording footsteps running

Gohanto

Gohanto

Veteran
I have a thriller short film coming up and I'm curious about what the best way is to record the sound of an actor running is. I haven't had much trouble recording sounds before, but I realized with the camera and boom operators running as well close to the actor, it'd be nearly impossible to record the footsteps without hearing all of them. I need this sound to be recorded while on-location as we don't have the time for anything later (granted I'm not sure how to get realistic running in a studio either).

I'm working with an external recorder, ME66 shotgun, and two lavs.

Any help?
 
Wild sound. Have the recordist stand with the mic near the ground and have the actor run around in circles. That's what they did on a movie I gripped on last year.
 
There is even a word for it WIFO (WIld FOley). Depends on what shots your doing but circles are good for steadies and you should also probably pick up some by's while your at it (actor running up to and past the recordist) they will probably come in handy.
 
This is also a good time to have a nice long boom pole. Extended it out, and keep the mic down closer to the actor's feet. Keep the sweet spot pointed directly at the actor's feet and try to position the boom so it is away from all the other feet in the shot.

Phil
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

Having the actor run in circles sounds like a good idea, but the running takes place down a narrow hallway so that isn't really possible. And maybe I've just got a cheap boom, butt running with the boom gives a lot of noise doesn't it?

Any other ways to do it? Or would running in extremely small circles work well enough?
 
Your boom should not give you any noise problems, as long as you have the cable tied down appropriately. Also, your boom op will need to absorb some of the shock in his/her arms, which isn't as hard as it sounds. A little practice will make it easy.

Phil
 
Depending on the length of the shot I have used packing blankets on one side of the hall where the sound operator can have a long boom down low and he and the camera operator stay on the blankets. Not the best scenario but it has work out before. Depends on how you need to frame your shot. You can buy them from any moving company for about $8 to $12 a piece. We folded them in half and had them on one side of the hallway. We also recorded the running at the same speed for a longer period of time with no video so we could add it later in post if we had to. We were far enough behind the actor so we were able to capture the sound we needed clean enough to use. Good luck.
 
for indie i'd say definetly foliage. if you have to do it on-location just playback the clip you just filmed on the camera, put a mic near your feet and treadmill it in sync.
 
Are you tracking the action in the shot or is the talent running from or toward the camera? I'd try to wild the sound on-set with totally silent, room-tone style takes with only sound rolling.

If you're only concentrating on sound, the rest of the crew neeed not be moving during the sound takes.

e
 
Are your lavs wired or wireless?

If wireless, I'd try strapping one good and tight to the actor's ankle, pointed at the foot == maybe in the inside of the ankle. It might pick up only the actor's footsteps.

If the lavs are wired and you still want to try this, invest $199 in a Zoom H2 recorder. Connect the lavs to the Zoom, which the actor can wear while running.

Keep in mind I'm no audio expert, but if I were needing to capture footsteps this is something I would try.

Good luck!
 
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