[Scott Dorsey]

Donovan Digital wrote:
I'm a live/studio cat in the NYC burbs looking to dip his toes into
location recording. My stepfather, a semipro videographer, asked that
I specify two lav kits (mic, belt pack, reciever) and a mixer for
direct input to his handheld DV cam. Mic kits should be ~$300, mixer
should be ~$1.5k .

You aren't going to get mike kits worth anything in that range. If you
have to go cheap, I would consider doing the Countryman Isomax thing.

You will need a boom, a boom operator, a shotgun mike and good hypercardioid.
And a couple of pairs of good headphones. And some isolation boxes.

Called full compass, they suggested I look at shure pgx series and
sennheiser freeport series. Will talk with them more tomorrow.
Went on ProductionHUB and looked at some of the loadouts on offer.
This clued me in to TRAM, and while most of their stuff is not in my
budget Full Compass are selling unterminated mics for ~$150. Now, my
electronics skill 0n a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being Michael Faraday) is
I would say a 4. If I could terminate these myself I would come in on
or close to budget.

You need additional electronics to connect those to standard XLR inputs.
The outputs are unbalanced and require differential powering. They are
intended for direct connection to a wireless mike.

for mixers I am looking at shure FP line.

You could do worse, but I would avoid telling potential customers that you
are using a SHure.

Specific questions;
What are everyones thoughts re mics and mixer?

I would not wish that stuff on my worst enemy. Also, you will be expected
to supply wireless. And good wireless, not crappy wireless.

Is it a reasonable expectation at my skill level to terminate mics?

No, it's more than just putting an XLR connector on the end. I can sell
you some electronics packages that will do the job but you'll have to find
cases for them.

Is it, on balance, a rational strategy to attempt to get work in the
city in the next year? Two years? Three years? I'm semifamiliar with
the onramps; student projects, internships, etc.

Well, the good news is that this is a sector of the industry that is still
growing, even in spite of the lousy economy. The bad news is that, and
especially down at the bottom of the market, there is also increasing
competition.

On spending additional $;

Give him $ for better lavs;
Pros; cheap, build a strong base.
Cons; work options still limited;

Spend the money, get Lectro packs. They are expensive, but customers will
ask if you have them.

Boom/shotgun
Pros; in demand
Cons; expensive, not immediately useful

A boom mike is far more useful than lavs, and you can't really use lavs
effectively without a boom mike for ambience. Otherwise you get very
unnatural and isolated sound. You probably want a good hypercardioid, which
is much more versatile than a shotgun. An AT4053 is a good first pick but
it will not get you business the way the Schoeps will. Potential customers
will ask if you have a Schoeps.

Recorder
Pros; many uses
Cons; expensive if w/sync. Also, he already has a couple(2-track & 8-
track), dont know if they sync or not.

Again, customers will expect it. These days, everything will crystal synch
even if they don't have timecode. You can get something junky and get away
with it if you're just using it as a safety, though.

Clapboard/sync generator
Pros; pays well
Cons; not everyone needs it, a long time before its useful

If you are working on a multi-camera shoot with timecode, you will need one,
and you can rent it then.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."