two man doc

scorsesefan

scorsesefan

Veteran
I've been shooting a documentary film with me directing and a cameraman. Up until now I have been using a wireless to mic the "main" subject and using the onboard mic on my dvx to capture wild sound and (unfortunately) other subjects that join in. This is primarily a behavioral doc, shot on the fly, where I encourage interaction among the subjects. Problem is the onboard has been less than adequate for picking up dialogue (surprise!). Been thinking about still using the one wireless, and using the shotgun either as an onboard, or using a pistol grip, but I'm afraid of being wired to the camera.
Any opinions? Thanks.
 
A good shotgun (like the Sennheiser 416) going into the other channel on the camera should serve you fairly well. Problem is then the cameraman has to monitor the levels.
If you have the $$ you could do sound while directing with a small mixer and recorder. Feed both the lav and the shotgun thru the mixer so you can monitor levels. Then the onboard can be used for scratch purposes and for additional sound elements for the mix.
 
Ditto to TVSound, find a way to get the mic in close; a boom being the most obvious. On-camera mic is never gonna get you the dialog track you want.

Generally on a two man doc crew the director takes the cam with the second working sound.

Good luck
 
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