run and gun shooting and sound..

C

CLD

Well-known member
hey everyone..

I need some advice if anyone can help me out..

so I have a shoot coming up which requires a 2 camera shoot with the fs700s. However is there any way I can rig or set up so that I can record 2 mics and a boom and keep it light and run and gun style? There might be 4 ppl in the shot and all 4 needs to be mic'd.. then just in case I would like to have the shotgun on camera used as well. There's no budget for a sound op recording seperate audio and since it's very run and gun, I don't think theres an option for that anyway.

Any thoughts are appreciated. I really wish this camera has 4 channel audio like other HD cameras. Thanks all..
 
Not sure if this will help...BUT,
A Pix 240 recorder will record four channels. You can set it up so it records two channels of on-board sound, via SDI, and two channels of sound directly into the Pix via XLR.
 
yea I thought about an external option, but it might be too clunky at that point. When I say run and gun, it's mainly the body of the camera, lens, small monitor/evf, 2 wireless mics and camera boom. I can go ENG style but not sure if that's an ideal situation given the style of shooting (travel/multiple scenes per day)

Is my only and worst option is to mix audio w a xlr splitter?
 
Use a Zoom H4N for the isos and the boom directly to the camera. I'm sure you can either borrow one or rent one really cheap. Small with great quality. I have used it many times in just this type of situation. ONE HINT!! If you do, make sure you use as much level as possible on the output on the wireless receivers. The Zoom likes hotter levels.
 
ksteiger said:
make sure you use as much level as possible on the output on the wireless receivers. The Zoom likes hotter levels.
Click to expand...

thats because the zoom has crap noisy pre amps....there are much better audio recorders around these days for same or less money - have a look at the Tascam range.....i agree that using a seperate recorder for the wireless may be a good cheap way to go though
 
I don't disagree that the pre amps are noisy but the H4s are cheap and easy to find and are perfectbly OK for wireless (It's not like the wireless signal is very pristine either usually). If you know of a better recorder for under 3 hundred dollars I'd love to hear about it. That's a quest I've had for 40 years, lol...
 
Four people on camera = four wireless lavs. Capturing all of that dialog with only two of the people wearing lavs and a mic far away on the camera is going to sound lousy, and it's going to be a long and muddy wrestling match for the post sound mix. Your best bet is to use a Tascam DR-680 recorder with four Sennheiser G3 wireless systems plugged into it. Use a good shotgun on your camera for b-roll. The DR-680 isn't small, so you'll need the Tascam CS-DR680 Carrying Case too, which you'll have to have slung over your shoulder. It's also strongly advised to have a pair of headphones plugged into the DR-680, and to monitor the audio the entire time.
 
Sam's suggestion is a good one: use a 4 track recorder to allow the most post flexibility and quality. The DR-680 is far better than an H4N (not recommended- have one: should sell it :) ). The Sound Devices preamps/mixers/recorders are on yet another level: hard to go back unless cost is a major factor (perhaps rent?). For simple and low cost, with no external recorder or post work, also consider using a mixer to get 4 channels into 2. You'll need to monitor it live, but can sound excellent and not require extra post work as with using an external recorder (post work still required for levels, EQ, dynamics, etc.). A rented Sound Devices 302 can do 3 channels into 1 for 3+1 = 4 channels, etc. A rented Sound Devices 552 could provide more flexibility (including writing a stereo mix internally, however the FS700 preamps are pretty good, especially if fed from an SD preamp).
 
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