puredrifting
Major Contributor
I would ALWAYS prefer to hire a sound pro, it is so much easier to direct and shoot without having to deal with and worry about sound but the reality is, on these small little impromptu lifestyle shoots, we aren't going to have a sound mixer. So the quest is to see what can be done with some clever rigging, gear and ideas to still record usable audio. Yes, the Tascam DR-10L doesn't sound great but it can sound good with the right mic. Have been shooting a lot of lifestyle footage for our documentary lately with the Fuji X-T3 with the Crane 2. We literally have zero budget to hire a pro sound mixer but we need usable audio. Our sound package is decent (Audix SCX1 HC, AT-875R, Røde Video wireless, SD Mix Pre 3) but often, there is nobody to man the equipment as it's been just me and my co-producer hopping in and out of cars, following talent, often shooting with two cameras. We shot from the back seat of a tandem bicycle the other day of our talent doing a 26 mile training run for an upcoming ultra marathon we're covering in Florida and I put one of the Tascams on her to see if having it on her would bug her while running, it didn't, she couldn't even tell she was wearing it. A lot of people discount using the Tascam because "I can't hear what it's recording", true, but I am finding some things out about it that make it pretty useful for situations like this.
1. The stock Tascam mic sucks. Buy an Oscar SoundTech 801, which is their Tram-like capsule that has a nice little boost in the highs.
2. Mount it using the Rycote Overcover to the inside shirt or blouse of talent, the little boost in the highs offsets the highs lost from being mounted under a furry cover. Rig it correctly and yes, you can't hear what you are recording but it will record usable audio in most situations.
3. The Tascam's limiter and auto levels are not terrible. Not perfect, not great, but for many situations, good enough
4. In a documentary shooting day, here is what makes the Tascam sometimes superior to any wireless. It's a recorder, turn it on and leave it recording, all day.
We are discovering that we are capturing audio only moments when the cameras are not rolling that can be VERY useful in telling the story. If we had a sound mixer and wireless, we would not be recording every moment of the day.
5. No dropouts, RF hits, Mosquito noise and to date, the units (we have three and are buying more) have been 100% reliable and can record 6-8 hours on one AAA battery.
6. They have an option to record a safety channel at -6dB or -12dB under your main channel. Very handy as a safety net.
7. The audio sync using multicam feature in FCP X makes using these a breeze, even without timecode. If you have a six hour audio clip, you can drop in various video clips and the sync feature finds and syncs pretty well, just trim away the none picture portions you don't need. Sure, the Tentacle Sync E and using the Mix Pre is better but just using the Tascams with the gimbal camera is working pretty well, surprisingly well.
8. Shooting this way is giving us the best of both worlds, usable audio and set it and forget it when you are shooting, interviewing standups, etc. Sure, it's not the "right" way to record your sound, it's a hack but it can work surprisingly well and keep in mind, I am a sound snob of sorts. Usable is usable and good enough is good enough for these situations.
These things are the darling of the wedding crowd and I can see why, they are cheap, effective, small, light, efficient and sound good enough for many uses, especially run & gun documentary shooting. They are also cheap enough, at $189.00 to be semi-disposable if one is crushed, lost or shorts in water.
Another caveat, these things do not use larger than a 32GB micro SD. I tried to use some of our 64 and 128GB Go Pro cards and they were a no go. I am using the ultra cheap Kingston 16GB cards and they work great.
1. The stock Tascam mic sucks. Buy an Oscar SoundTech 801, which is their Tram-like capsule that has a nice little boost in the highs.
2. Mount it using the Rycote Overcover to the inside shirt or blouse of talent, the little boost in the highs offsets the highs lost from being mounted under a furry cover. Rig it correctly and yes, you can't hear what you are recording but it will record usable audio in most situations.
3. The Tascam's limiter and auto levels are not terrible. Not perfect, not great, but for many situations, good enough
4. In a documentary shooting day, here is what makes the Tascam sometimes superior to any wireless. It's a recorder, turn it on and leave it recording, all day.
We are discovering that we are capturing audio only moments when the cameras are not rolling that can be VERY useful in telling the story. If we had a sound mixer and wireless, we would not be recording every moment of the day.
5. No dropouts, RF hits, Mosquito noise and to date, the units (we have three and are buying more) have been 100% reliable and can record 6-8 hours on one AAA battery.
6. They have an option to record a safety channel at -6dB or -12dB under your main channel. Very handy as a safety net.
7. The audio sync using multicam feature in FCP X makes using these a breeze, even without timecode. If you have a six hour audio clip, you can drop in various video clips and the sync feature finds and syncs pretty well, just trim away the none picture portions you don't need. Sure, the Tentacle Sync E and using the Mix Pre is better but just using the Tascams with the gimbal camera is working pretty well, surprisingly well.
8. Shooting this way is giving us the best of both worlds, usable audio and set it and forget it when you are shooting, interviewing standups, etc. Sure, it's not the "right" way to record your sound, it's a hack but it can work surprisingly well and keep in mind, I am a sound snob of sorts. Usable is usable and good enough is good enough for these situations.
These things are the darling of the wedding crowd and I can see why, they are cheap, effective, small, light, efficient and sound good enough for many uses, especially run & gun documentary shooting. They are also cheap enough, at $189.00 to be semi-disposable if one is crushed, lost or shorts in water.
Another caveat, these things do not use larger than a 32GB micro SD. I tried to use some of our 64 and 128GB Go Pro cards and they were a no go. I am using the ultra cheap Kingston 16GB cards and they work great.
