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Recording Audio for Film/Video
I live in the Pasadena area and I get a good amount of calls to do sound
recording for video. I have done a couple of these gigs but I have no equipment which is where the real money is. I know generally what I'm gonna need to get if I start doing this but I could use some advice on the specifics. 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? 3. Small Mackie Mixer 4. A sturdy cart with wheels 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? How many outputs from the reciever will there be? 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. Neil R |
#2
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Neil Rutman wrote:
I know generally what I'm gonna need to get if I start doing this but I could use some advice on the specifics. 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? The HHb sells used at good prices. Most of the video guys will want you to feed their recorder rather than go double-system, but double-system is a huge advantage for everyone when there is a budget for it. 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? I like the Film Group. You can look on r.a.m.p.s and get different views on booms. Some folks like one brand, others like another. Hell, I still have a Gitzo kit around here that weighs a ton.... it's solid and silent but boom ops don't like me. 3. Small Mackie Mixer Definitely not. If you really need a mixer, get something designed for the job. Cooper, Sonosax, Audio Devices. If you have to cheap out, get the Shure FP33. 4. A sturdy cart with wheels You don't really need a cart the first time around. You can work out of a bag. The cart is nice, though, but it now requires you to have a van. 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? How many outputs from the reciever will there be? You will pay an arm and a leg. Sonosax and Zaxcom would be my first two recommendations. Vega if you can't afford it. If you just get a pair of them, you can rent others when you need them. All of this stuff is very readily rented. 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? The tightest hypercardioid you can find. The Schoeps is a good one. You want tight and you want clean off-axis response most of the time. Occasionally you will find a serious need for a shotgun mike, usually outdoors but every once in a while in some cavernous buildings. The Sennheiser MKH416 is the old standby and shows up used a lot. You will need zeppelins for both of these, although you may try and use the some one for both. If you do not have the budget, the Rycote baby ball gag is surprisingly good for the price. If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? You jam synch with the video camera. Then everybody just free-runs. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#3
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Neil Rutman wrote:
I know generally what I'm gonna need to get if I start doing this but I could use some advice on the specifics. 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? The HHb sells used at good prices. Most of the video guys will want you to feed their recorder rather than go double-system, but double-system is a huge advantage for everyone when there is a budget for it. 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? I like the Film Group. You can look on r.a.m.p.s and get different views on booms. Some folks like one brand, others like another. Hell, I still have a Gitzo kit around here that weighs a ton.... it's solid and silent but boom ops don't like me. 3. Small Mackie Mixer Definitely not. If you really need a mixer, get something designed for the job. Cooper, Sonosax, Audio Devices. If you have to cheap out, get the Shure FP33. 4. A sturdy cart with wheels You don't really need a cart the first time around. You can work out of a bag. The cart is nice, though, but it now requires you to have a van. 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? How many outputs from the reciever will there be? You will pay an arm and a leg. Sonosax and Zaxcom would be my first two recommendations. Vega if you can't afford it. If you just get a pair of them, you can rent others when you need them. All of this stuff is very readily rented. 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? The tightest hypercardioid you can find. The Schoeps is a good one. You want tight and you want clean off-axis response most of the time. Occasionally you will find a serious need for a shotgun mike, usually outdoors but every once in a while in some cavernous buildings. The Sennheiser MKH416 is the old standby and shows up used a lot. You will need zeppelins for both of these, although you may try and use the some one for both. If you do not have the budget, the Rycote baby ball gag is surprisingly good for the price. If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? You jam synch with the video camera. Then everybody just free-runs. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#4
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Neil, if you are in Pasadena, go over to Location Sound in North
Hollywood... They are on Riverside near Lankersheim... They are one of the major sales places for this kind of gear in LA. Beyond that, listen to Scott's advice... :-) --Ben -- Benjamin Maas Fifth Circle Audio Los Angeles, CA http://www.fifthcircle.com Please remove "Nospam" from address for replies "Neil Rutman" wrote in message ... I live in the Pasadena area and I get a good amount of calls to do sound recording for video. I have done a couple of these gigs but I have no equipment which is where the real money is. I know generally what I'm gonna need to get if I start doing this but I could use some advice on the specifics. 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? 3. Small Mackie Mixer 4. A sturdy cart with wheels 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? How many outputs from the reciever will there be? 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. Neil R |
#5
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Neil, if you are in Pasadena, go over to Location Sound in North
Hollywood... They are on Riverside near Lankersheim... They are one of the major sales places for this kind of gear in LA. Beyond that, listen to Scott's advice... :-) --Ben -- Benjamin Maas Fifth Circle Audio Los Angeles, CA http://www.fifthcircle.com Please remove "Nospam" from address for replies "Neil Rutman" wrote in message ... I live in the Pasadena area and I get a good amount of calls to do sound recording for video. I have done a couple of these gigs but I have no equipment which is where the real money is. I know generally what I'm gonna need to get if I start doing this but I could use some advice on the specifics. 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? 3. Small Mackie Mixer 4. A sturdy cart with wheels 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? How many outputs from the reciever will there be? 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. Neil R |
#6
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The big question here is what kind of work are you doing and how much does it pay right now? This will let you determine what you should buy and what you should rent.
As Scott mentioned, spend some time in rec.arts.movies.production-sound to get up to speed. Neil Rutman wrote: 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? I certainly wouldn't buy a DAT unless I had paying clients lined up to cover its cost in ~six months. Unfortunately, the next step up right now is the Sound Devices 744T at around $4000. Fostex is promising timecode for the FR-2 but I don't think it's shipped yet. 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? Location Sound Corporation, Coffey Sound (both are close to you, go spend some time with them) 3. Small Mackie Mixer Maybe. Do you really need that many channels? 4. A sturdy cart with wheels Maybe. What kind of work? 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? Sennheiser G2, at about $450 per channel plus a few outboard bits. But don't expect to get any work on 'real' shows with them. 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? Schoeps MK41 or similar hypercardioid. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? Maybe. There are a lot of variables involved. |
#7
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The big question here is what kind of work are you doing and how much does it pay right now? This will let you determine what you should buy and what you should rent.
As Scott mentioned, spend some time in rec.arts.movies.production-sound to get up to speed. Neil Rutman wrote: 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? I certainly wouldn't buy a DAT unless I had paying clients lined up to cover its cost in ~six months. Unfortunately, the next step up right now is the Sound Devices 744T at around $4000. Fostex is promising timecode for the FR-2 but I don't think it's shipped yet. 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? Location Sound Corporation, Coffey Sound (both are close to you, go spend some time with them) 3. Small Mackie Mixer Maybe. Do you really need that many channels? 4. A sturdy cart with wheels Maybe. What kind of work? 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? Sennheiser G2, at about $450 per channel plus a few outboard bits. But don't expect to get any work on 'real' shows with them. 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? Schoeps MK41 or similar hypercardioid. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? Maybe. There are a lot of variables involved. |
#8
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The big question here is what kind of work are you doing and how much does
it pay right now? This will let you determine what you should buy and what you should rent. There is a current hot topic on rec.arts.movies.production.sound about "Elimidate" offering $200/day (where day = 10 hours). Keep in mind they are assuming that you already *own* all the equipment and are bringing it with you (and likely insuring it too) within that budget. Needless to say, the professionals over there are decrying this trend. |
#9
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The big question here is what kind of work are you doing and how much does
it pay right now? This will let you determine what you should buy and what you should rent. There is a current hot topic on rec.arts.movies.production.sound about "Elimidate" offering $200/day (where day = 10 hours). Keep in mind they are assuming that you already *own* all the equipment and are bringing it with you (and likely insuring it too) within that budget. Needless to say, the professionals over there are decrying this trend. |
#10
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Go talk to the guys at Location Sound in North Hollywood.
Not only do they rent and sell new equipment, they continuously recylce good used stuff. Good folks to talk to, and they won't talk down to you, especially if you're just getting started. And as an extra bonus, they're literally in your back yard. They're on Riverside Drive. You know how to get there. TM Neil Rutman wrote: I live in the Pasadena area a If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. |
#11
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Go talk to the guys at Location Sound in North Hollywood.
Not only do they rent and sell new equipment, they continuously recylce good used stuff. Good folks to talk to, and they won't talk down to you, especially if you're just getting started. And as an extra bonus, they're literally in your back yard. They're on Riverside Drive. You know how to get there. TM Neil Rutman wrote: I live in the Pasadena area a If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. |
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#13
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#14
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Richard Crowley wrote:
The big question here is what kind of work are you doing and how much does it pay right now? This will let you determine what you should buy and what you should rent. There is a current hot topic on rec.arts.movies.production.sound about "Elimidate" offering $200/day (where day = 10 hours). Keep in mind they are assuming that you already *own* all the equipment and are bringing it with you (and likely insuring it too) within that budget. Needless to say, the professionals over there are decrying this trend. The post guys think it's great. The post guys are raking in money hand over fist, fixing up and looping over tracks made by the kids these productions bring in. Save ten bucks on the set, spend a hundred in post. Sounds great to me. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#15
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Richard Crowley wrote:
The big question here is what kind of work are you doing and how much does it pay right now? This will let you determine what you should buy and what you should rent. There is a current hot topic on rec.arts.movies.production.sound about "Elimidate" offering $200/day (where day = 10 hours). Keep in mind they are assuming that you already *own* all the equipment and are bringing it with you (and likely insuring it too) within that budget. Needless to say, the professionals over there are decrying this trend. The post guys think it's great. The post guys are raking in money hand over fist, fixing up and looping over tracks made by the kids these productions bring in. Save ten bucks on the set, spend a hundred in post. Sounds great to me. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#16
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You guys are great. I appreciate all the input. I'm off to Location Sound!
Neil R "T Maki" wrote in message ... Go talk to the guys at Location Sound in North Hollywood. Not only do they rent and sell new equipment, they continuously recylce good used stuff. Good folks to talk to, and they won't talk down to you, especially if you're just getting started. And as an extra bonus, they're literally in your back yard. They're on Riverside Drive. You know how to get there. TM Neil Rutman wrote: I live in the Pasadena area a If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. |
#17
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You guys are great. I appreciate all the input. I'm off to Location Sound!
Neil R "T Maki" wrote in message ... Go talk to the guys at Location Sound in North Hollywood. Not only do they rent and sell new equipment, they continuously recylce good used stuff. Good folks to talk to, and they won't talk down to you, especially if you're just getting started. And as an extra bonus, they're literally in your back yard. They're on Riverside Drive. You know how to get there. TM Neil Rutman wrote: I live in the Pasadena area a If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. |
#18
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Richard Crowley wrote:
The big question here is what kind of work are you doing and how much does it pay right now? This will let you determine what you should buy and what you should rent. There is a current hot topic on rec.arts.movies.production.sound about "Elimidate" offering $200/day (where day = 10 hours). Keep in mind they are assuming that you already *own* all the equipment and are bringing it with you (and likely insuring it too) within that budget. Needless to say, the professionals over there are decrying this trend. They'll get what they pay for, most likely a very budget production. IME that pay is quite low. I just got off a 3 month reality show shoot and while I was the video engineer this time many friends worked as ENG audio mixers and made quite a bit over 200/day(more than 2x that). The audio supervisor made more over that. The only piece of gear they owned was the harness to carry the mixers/rf receivers. Brian |
#19
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Richard Crowley wrote:
The big question here is what kind of work are you doing and how much does it pay right now? This will let you determine what you should buy and what you should rent. There is a current hot topic on rec.arts.movies.production.sound about "Elimidate" offering $200/day (where day = 10 hours). Keep in mind they are assuming that you already *own* all the equipment and are bringing it with you (and likely insuring it too) within that budget. Needless to say, the professionals over there are decrying this trend. They'll get what they pay for, most likely a very budget production. IME that pay is quite low. I just got off a 3 month reality show shoot and while I was the video engineer this time many friends worked as ENG audio mixers and made quite a bit over 200/day(more than 2x that). The audio supervisor made more over that. The only piece of gear they owned was the harness to carry the mixers/rf receivers. Brian |
#20
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Neil Rutman wrote:
I live in the Pasadena area and I get a good amount of calls to do sound recording for video. I have done a couple of these gigs but I have no equipment which is where the real money is. I know generally what I'm gonna need to get if I start doing this but I could use some advice on the specifics. 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? 3. Small Mackie Mixer 4. A sturdy cart with wheels 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? How many outputs from the reciever will there be? A buddy of mine does Audio sup work for reality shows which can consist of many rf channels. He uses lectrosonics exclusively. The last show we had 16 channels of rf lavs and transmitters and it worked well. Covered a 8000 sq. ft. house and the immediate property with only a few antenae. They are expensive though. All the antanae fed a 'combiner' (I cant recall the appropriate make or the box) and then diversity outputs from this fed the 16 channels of receievers. Brian 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. Neil R |
#21
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Neil Rutman wrote:
I live in the Pasadena area and I get a good amount of calls to do sound recording for video. I have done a couple of these gigs but I have no equipment which is where the real money is. I know generally what I'm gonna need to get if I start doing this but I could use some advice on the specifics. 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? 3. Small Mackie Mixer 4. A sturdy cart with wheels 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? How many outputs from the reciever will there be? A buddy of mine does Audio sup work for reality shows which can consist of many rf channels. He uses lectrosonics exclusively. The last show we had 16 channels of rf lavs and transmitters and it worked well. Covered a 8000 sq. ft. house and the immediate property with only a few antenae. They are expensive though. All the antanae fed a 'combiner' (I cant recall the appropriate make or the box) and then diversity outputs from this fed the 16 channels of receievers. Brian 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. Neil R |
#22
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"Neil Rutman" wrote in message ... I live in the Pasadena area and I get a good amount of calls to do sound recording for video. I have done a couple of these gigs but I have no equipment which is where the real money is. I know generally what I'm gonna need to get if I start doing this but I could use some advice on the specifics. 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? 3. Small Mackie Mixer 4. A sturdy cart with wheels 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? How many outputs from the reciever will there be? 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. Neil R Hi. I have been doing location sound for film and television for a lot of years now, and this is what I use for the vast majority of work. 1 - Mixer. SQN4s. It has four inputs at powered mic (48 v phantom, T powering) or line level. 2 - Mic. Neumann RSM190 stereo shotgun. Works either L/R stereo, or M&S 3 - Boom. Many of these available from many sources 4 - 2 Radio mics. Microns with Sony lavelier mics, or you can plug in any non powered mic to the transmitter. 5 - A decent pair of headphones. I use Bayer Dynamics DT48. Heavy but the best (the original cans) 6 - DAT recorder Fostex PD4 with T/C. I only use with film as doubling up simultaneously with the video camera is not normally required. Items 2 to 5 are carried around in a bag which also has an NP1 battery to power up the whole lot. It allows you to be in a go situation in seconds, ideal for news gathering situations Hope this helps Peter |
#23
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"Neil Rutman" wrote in message ... I live in the Pasadena area and I get a good amount of calls to do sound recording for video. I have done a couple of these gigs but I have no equipment which is where the real money is. I know generally what I'm gonna need to get if I start doing this but I could use some advice on the specifics. 1. Portable DAT w/ timecode. Any good value options here? 2. Couple of telescoping booms. Where do I get these? 3. Small Mackie Mixer 4. A sturdy cart with wheels 5. Several lavalier mics with transmitters and reciever(s). This is where I'm really in the dark. What system can support several wireless mics without frequency overlap and won't cost me an arm and a leg? How many outputs from the reciever will there be? 6. I have a pretty extensive mic collection to go on the booms. What works best for a boom application? If I am missing anything please fill me in. Is my DAT w/ time code recorder gonna be in sync with the video during recording? How does that work? Thanks for any help on this. Neil R Hi. I have been doing location sound for film and television for a lot of years now, and this is what I use for the vast majority of work. 1 - Mixer. SQN4s. It has four inputs at powered mic (48 v phantom, T powering) or line level. 2 - Mic. Neumann RSM190 stereo shotgun. Works either L/R stereo, or M&S 3 - Boom. Many of these available from many sources 4 - 2 Radio mics. Microns with Sony lavelier mics, or you can plug in any non powered mic to the transmitter. 5 - A decent pair of headphones. I use Bayer Dynamics DT48. Heavy but the best (the original cans) 6 - DAT recorder Fostex PD4 with T/C. I only use with film as doubling up simultaneously with the video camera is not normally required. Items 2 to 5 are carried around in a bag which also has an NP1 battery to power up the whole lot. It allows you to be in a go situation in seconds, ideal for news gathering situations Hope this helps Peter |
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