To use a DAT recorder....?

L

LloydC

Veteran
I got a hold of a shotgun mic and a DAT recorder for my up-coming shoot.

I have never used a DAT recorder, nor have I had any experience with attaching a shotgun mic to the DVX.

Do you recommend using the DAT recorder?

Or just hook up the shotgun to the DVX?

Will there be any problems syncing sound from an external recorder with the 24p image?
 
While shooting double system is always beneficial if you don't have the crew to man the equipment it could be more trouble then it's worth.

Assuming you don't have a TC DAT synching is just a matter of lining up the waveform and/or slate at the start of takes. You will most likely get drifts after a 10 to 20 minutes continuous take but it's rare you don't have a cut in that amount of time.

Lastly, you are going to need a lot more then just a mic and DAT to get good sound.

Good luck
 
It depends a lot on what kind of project you are making and how much post audio capability you have. From a purely technical stand point, most quality DAT recorders have superior recording circuits (mic pre-amp especially) than all the pro-sumer level camecorders. However, the sound from the DVX is excellent and probably the best in it's class. I have found that the most important thing, for recording fictional narrative dialog, is a well placed good mic. Booming a good shotgun mic into the DVX is, IMO, a great way to get location audio for the low budget filmmaker.

That being said, I would still use the DAT recorder on set. Us it to record your wild lines, on set sound effects, ect,. You will save a lot of time in post if you have these sound elements available at the end of production.
 
It sounds to me that you are a bit inexperianced with doing sound on a shoot. That being said ditch the DAT and use the Shotgun. Your lack of knowledge of the DAT is only going to slow things down and get you dirty looks. As said before, if you had the personell to do a dual system shoot, that would be different.
 
As far as the drift goes, if you are really running 10-20 minute takes, tail slate your take and then you can calculate the actual drift and adjust more accurately. But, if you're doing 10-20 minute takes, also be sure to get a C stand and boom holder, because you will never find a boom op that will stand still for 20 minutes. ;-)

Phil
 
ptalsky said:
... because you will never find a boom op that will stand still for 20 minutes. ;-)
Click to expand...

When shooting run and gun (I do this less and less now) I have boomed for upwards of an hour. My back is not what it once was but a good boom op can pull out these times if needed. :)

If you remember a boom buddy then your legs will give out before your back.

For lighted sitdown interviews a mic stand or boom holder is your best friend.

cheers
 
Hey,
I did double system on the feature I just finished. We logged camera & DAT timecode and slated everything. I had 28 camera tapes & 26 DATS. Alot was dolly & Steadicam. Well after Digitizing & syncing all that God Darn tape I bought 2 Senn G2's and have been pissed I let the sound guy even talk me into it in the first place. I come from a film background where you must do doube system, but Video ... Not so much.
The audio pre's on the DVX are pretty nice, but more that anything the 50 hours syncing the stuff really bummed me out. If you go DAT, you may (like me) have very little to even hear on the camera tape to sync with anyway. So you must have a feed from the DAT, in my case wireless.

Big pain for little gain I think.

See yea,
Steve
 
Well, Steve, the way I usually run the double system with the DVX is to run the internal camera mics as well as the standalone recorder. This way the editor/director gets "dailies" and footage with a scratch audio track that is "good enough". I log every take for them (and some NLE's like Vegas will even break each take into a separate file when capturing). So, they edit using the scratch audio, then sync and switch only the audio they actually need. Saves much time and effort. But, I always have to remind both the director and the editor that the scatch audio is just that -- scratch, as in, throw it away.

This is also a good reason, if you can afford it, to switch to a recorder that records on hard disk or CF chip. You then hand off the audio files on CD or data DVD, and there is no tape capture (as there is with DAT).

HTH,

Phil
 
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