What does my soundguy need....

legrevedotcom

legrevedotcom

Veteran
...to do a good recording in a shot that is seamlessly cut from greenscreen to city location?

Basically 95% of the film is dialogue taking place in a car in a studio.
But for 3-4 shots I have to shoot on location as the actor leaves the car.
Im no audio guy so Im worrying how to pull this off, or atleast giving him the best opportunity to get it right so the viewer doesnt notice.
 
Step #1 - use the same mic.

If you don't have a real great talent working for you in audio post then matching will be problematic.

It sounds like those 3 or 4 shots getting out of the car will be brief. How long can one spend getting out of a car? (Wait...I just thought of my wife...nevermind that question.)

From studio to inside the car there's no issue using the same mic. It's just wind that'll get you on the location. There are small versions of the Rycote Softie that are for shorter mics - that will probably do you fine unless it's "blimp-windy" out that day.

Then just have your audio person stay as close in to the actors as humanly possible - this will eliminate most of the outside issues that would usually favor a separate shotgun mic.

This is how I'd come at it FIRST.

If the headphone monitor is telling you there's just too much wind or too much background noise for the out-of-the-car dialog to be heard, then you'lll have to swap the mic out for a shotgun. Now you have to deal with sound matching.

ALSO: Plan out the boom-op's choreography like they were a steadycam-op or another actor. Look for, and then practice, where they will be and when in order to get the mic in the best spot possible.

== OR ==

Do the location dialog as ADR.
 
No environment is likely to be totally quiet and cars are not 100% sound isolating. I would record some environmental audio at the outdoor scene to mix with the studio audio at a lower volume (doors closed) to higher volume as the doors open.
 
Put a hidden mic on the talent on both shots. A secondary mic (on separate track) can be placed in the vehicle (visor or other out of frame place) and a boom mic for the exterior car exit. Yes indeed, record some exterior atmosphere to use in post for the in-car sound stage takes.
 
The truth is that your sound guy should know what he needs, if he's experienced. The producer and/or director are not responsible for micromanaging the sound department.

What you can provide for your sound guy is:

- a detailed script in advance
- a thorough scout so he can listen to the live location and note any potential trouble areas
- a pre-pro meeting, where you both can discuss what he needs to get his job done and deliver usable material to post (your audio post person could be in this meeting, too)

The more you communicate with your team in advance, the more they can all be prepared for what's coming. There will likely still be a curveball or two, especially outside of the studio, but those can be minimized with good pre-pro.

If your sound guy is a noob and you're all just figuring this out together, then go with the detailed advice above regarding mics, placement, etc.
 
It's not so much what your "sound guy" needs as what you need. The only way you pull this off and fool the audience is with sound post. Unless there is dialog as they get out of the car then I would just record the exteriors as a scratch track. Even if there is dialog I would record that in the studio (a bunch of times) and still just record scratch track in the exterior.

Then your dialog will match and you can add the sound of the "world" in in post and everything will sound unified. Otherwise the quality of the sound will change so drastically that you won't be able to sell the cut.

I hear the "same mic" argument used a lot but the same mic in a different environment doesn't sound the same. In this case it probably doesn't get you very close to where you need to be. Not that it's a bad idea but if you try to match the interior dialog with the exterior dialog having the same mic is not going to help a lot.
 
Actually the argument would be you forgot about post. So after eating the pizza and being happy about being "done" all you have is a bunch of raw footage and some sound files, not a film. And if you are like 80% of the micro budget filmmakers you also have no money left.

Oh well there is always Craigs List...
"Looking for editor with great reel to do my film for IMDB credit, because it's all about the art". "No pay and you have to buy your own pizza but it will be great for your career!"
 
Noiz2 said:
Actually the argument would be you forgot about post. So after eating the pizza and being happy about bejing "done" all you have is a bunch of raw footage and some sound files, not a film. And if you are like 80% of the micro budget filmmakers you also have no money left.

Oh well there is always Craigs List...
"Looking for editor with great reel to do my film for IMDB credit, because it's all about the art". "No pay and you have to buy your own pizza but it will be great for your career!"
Click to expand...

Post is another 100% :-p

I'm not that good in math :-p
 
Last edited:
"Well the argue could be about which pizza....or take away chinese...or kebab....."
- How about a Subway sandwich, another fav of the low-no budget crowd.. who could turn that down along with IMDB credits.. and don't forget, I'm sure.. "it's a fun project" . Where do I sign up, I love workding for nothing on sh_t projects with a bunch of idiots.
 
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