Would this setup satisfy my needs?

nouou

nouou

Well-known member
I want to film a feature at the end of this year, that what I envision would be a very small crew with only a few actors total. I've heard that this setup would be able to supply me with all of my audio needs:

- Sennheiser G2 Wireless System
- Countryman B6
- Zoom H4

Do you think I could perform all basic audio needs w/ these items? Another question; Could I purchase as many mics as I needed, and have them all work with the G2 transmitter?
 
You need one transmitter/receiver set for each wireless lav. Lavs have to be placed and secured carefully or you will get muffled recordings and/or the clothing rubbing, etc. It is better to record each lav on a separate channel. In most situations (my personal opinion) a properly handled boom with the proper mic (lobar/shotgun outdoors, cardioid indoors) will sound better.

I'm not personally partial to the Zoom H4, although others swear by it; and lots of pros use it as a back-up in case their primary recorder goes down. My personal recommendations for a budget field recorder would be the Fostex FR-2LE, Marantz PMD-660 or the Tascam HD-P2.
 
i recently used the zoom h4 on a 48 hour film festival project to record my foley sounds. i was pretty happy with its results.

but a wireless kit is not the end all beat all needs for audio recording. i'd invest in a good boom, bimp and shotgun/cardoid before i would wireless.

here is a good link, the location sound package 4 with the 9' boom is an awesome kit, esp at $999.
http://www.dvcreators.net/rode-ntg-3-shotgun-mic/

and for an interior use mic, get the oktava mk12, $250
http://oktava.com/inc/sdetail/474

like bob said, wiring talent is not the easiest and can be left with unwanted sounds. booming is a much more safer route for audio gathering for the less experienced.

but if you must go wireless, the g2's with b6's are a nice setup. its what i use. dvestore has a kit with g2 and b6 for like $850. i've seen it on there ebay store but couldn't find a direct link to it on their site.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sennheiser-Evol...id=p4634.c0.m14.l1262&_trkparms=|293:5|294:30
 
Ditto what's been said. Also, the preamps on the H4 are the bane of sound. If you use a separate mixer and then run line level to it's 1/4" inputs, then it's okay, but I wouldn't recommend sending a mic straight to it (although the built in mics sound okay for quick and cheap sfx gathering). At least run some tests beforehand and listen to the playback on a decent sound system (ideally a studio if you can, but not on headphones) so you know what the compromise is.

The H4n made a big difference in preamp quality, and it's definitely worth it if you're looking to run the mic straight to a recorder. That said, if you're not using the internal mics on the Zoom, then having a dedicated recorder would be my recommendation as well.
 
From what I'm hearing, the new Sennheiser G3 systems should be available sometime in August....they are about $60.00 more than the G2 systems. FYI.

...and if you're looking at the Zoom...go with the H4n, much better than the original. (plus...the original H4 is going away)
 
i recently used the zoom h4 on a 48 hour film festival project to record my foley sounds. i was pretty happy with its results.
Click to expand...

Two little quibles. First it's Foley not foley (it's a persons name and it's always capitalized, and second I think you were probably recording FX with it not Foley. Foley is recorded in sync with picture. If you not performing a sound while looking at picture your recording FX. A hybrid is called WIFO (WIld FOley), which is really FX. It's recording what would normally be Foley (footsteps etc.) in the wild with out picture and will be cut in like it was regular Foley.


RE: OP's Q. I think one wireless Lav is really pushing the edge of a bad choice. It means you will ONLY be able to record a single actor at any time. A decent boom mic would be much more useful.
 
yes, i was recording Foley. doing footsteps while watching the footage on a laptop. and i usually never capitalize anything on a forum, just a bad, lazy habit.
 
manglerBMX said:
yes, i was recording Foley. doing footsteps while watching the footage on a laptop. and i usually never capitalize anything on a forum, just a bad, lazy habit.
Click to expand...

Well there you go. Didn't mean to give you grief. I keep hearing people referring to FX as Foley. If I was really looking I would have noticed that you hadn't capitalized anything...
 
Yup, the mic pres on the Zooms are definitely noisy. They are really aimed at amateur musicians where noise is not as much of a problem as it is on a film/video set. If you are going to need a mixer and the Zoom you may as well get the Fostex, Marantz or the Tascam. It will end up about the same price, the pres will be as good or better than a cheap mixer and there will be one less unit in your signal chain.
 
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