re: audio suggestions

sonicboom wrote on 8/27/2002, 2:58 PM

hi everyone, thanks for all your help in me completing my first really major project
it was a tennis instructional video for a friend
i did NOT mic him, in the future what mic should i use?
and do i hook it up directly to my camera?
i have a sony 2000xv digital camcorder
also, i am video taping a friends wedding next month---my gift to him
i will hire a high school student to shoot and i will edit
do i need a mic for this too?
maybe mic him at the ceremony?
also, do i need to mic the actual party?
if so, what mic?
sorry for these questions but i have no clue
thnx in advance
sb

Comments

vinmangraphics wrote on 8/27/2002, 3:56 PM

Picking the right microphone depends a lot on a few factors:
what kind of sound
how close can you get
does mic visibility play a role
do you need to move it
and many more.

For your example (wedding) you'll definitely want to be able to capture audio effectively, or else your friend may just get to see what's going on.

You don't want to be too obtrusive at a wedding, so you won't be having the bride and groom holding onto Shure SM-57s throughout the ceremony. You also probably won't want to ask the bride to run a wire up inside her dress, so lavalier mics are out of the question.

Most churches nowadays have a mic at the pulpit and that may do. Otherwise, you can likely put a PZM somewhere in the vicinity of the area they'll be on a hard flat surface (PZMs use the surface they're on to amplify/collect the sound - they look like a flat metal shovel)

Another option would be to mount a shotgun mic in a balcony, or to the stage left/right that you can aim at the center of attention.

As far as connecting to your camera, if you do RF transmitters, you may be able to do it, otherwise, you're going to have to run some long wires. This would mean you'd most likely want to run balanced mic wires and run them through a converter so that they'll plug into the camera. (I didn't look up your camera, so it may have balanced inputs, but most non-pro cameras do not.)

An option would be to record the sound separately, and try to sync it later, but that can be tricky.

--

For the reception, you'll have some of the same issues. A lifesaver for that situtation would be to have a good 10-20 minutes of ambient room noise recorded (people talking, milling around, etc). You can use this later to help cover the seams in your other audio by putting this on a track and running it at a lower volume. (Try to edit it so you can loop it)

--

Along the lines of syncing the sound. You can probably record the ceremony with a single room mic that can pick up the spectators and the music. Then have a separate mic that records the minister/priest and bride/groom. You can then cut the dialog in only when needed. You can most likely get the dialog synced fairly well, since (if you cut it) you'll be able to align it each time you use it, and not worry about different run speeds of the different recorders.

sonicboom wrote on 8/27/2002, 4:10 PM

vn thnks
if i have one mic hooked up to the camera---
where do i hook the other mic up too?
a dat player? --btw, i don't have one--
thnx
sb

kkolbo wrote on 8/27/2002, 4:17 PM

Yes on all of your situations. The tennis shot is best done with a wireless lav on the player. That one needs to be heavy duty. No cheap Samsons here. Then an on camera shotgun can pick up some ambience and the ball hits etc.

For the wedding I like to put one wireless on the preacher and one on the groom. If the bride speaks she is usually facing him or the preacher and the mic hides nicely on the groom. If there are other speakers then you will need something at the pulpit. The other way is if the preacher usually uses a lav and the pupit has a mic and they both go through a sound system, you can pick off a signal from the church system and then just lav the groom. I cheat in that I use a wireless mic plug that I can use to plug into the system and then RF it to my camera.

Since I do not carry an audio guy with me and have him mix it live but I still only have two mic inputs, I tend to use the on camera shotgun to get ambience that I will recycle until I need the grooms mic and then I switch over and dump the shotgun and patch in the grooms lav. When I have two cameras this is easier because one grabs the amience and the other the lavs and there is no switching.

For the party I have found the shotgun the best bet. If you had a wireless handheld for people to use for greeting that would be great.

The VX2000 uses mini plus inputs. You really should get a Beachtek adapter for the pro-audio.

BTW stay away from the Sony consumer wirelesses that they sell for consumeer camcorders with mini-plugs. They are fine for playing around with home video, but you get crackles and pops everytime someone brushes near the transmitter because of the miniplug connectors. They do not make a positive connection when bumped. Other than that they sound ok.

k

vinmangraphics wrote on 8/27/2002, 4:27 PM

sonicboom,

for the other mic, you could always run it into another camera, or even an analog tape dec (or stereo VCR) - most likely the audio quality of the mic will be the limiting factor and not the recording medium (unless you're recording to a boom box or something).

But running a good mic into a good analog tape deck will probably give just as good a result as running it into a consumer camera. (just digitize it later and add it to your media pool)

vin

sonicboom wrote on 8/27/2002, 5:06 PM

thnx for the suggestions
kkolbo you be able to give me a make amd model for the lav mics
and a make and model for the beachtek adapter--and which mic should i use, etc ---if i diecide to get one---for greeting people?
sorry for all the questions but i want to do a really good job--
and i may want to do some for other people for $$$ down the road
thnx
sb

Luxo wrote on 8/27/2002, 5:27 PM

Don't let kkolbo scare you away from Samsons. I have a UHF Micro 32 Diversity set that works wonders, and has never allowed a moment of static.

I got mine from www.bhphoto.com, based in New York, for about $400. Here's a link.

Luxo

kkolbo wrote on 8/27/2002, 6:29 PM

I am partial to Sennheiser when it comes to wireless but there are many choices and even in Sennheiser there are many choices based on personal needs. Lectrosonics makes some nice stuff as well. Expect to pay $600 to $1900 for a wireless. I would consult a local dealer and demo some products to make the choice that is right for you.

Beacktek only makes one xlr camera adapter that I am aware of.

k

kkolbo wrote on 8/27/2002, 6:33 PM

Let me appologise about Samson. The $400 level ones are good as well as all of their True Diversity units. I was poking at the real low end ones sold at some music stores to bar bands. Sorry :(

K

Chienworks wrote on 8/28/2002, 3:29 PM

For wireless mics i've found that brand name isn't terribly important. Spending over $400 is what counts. All the major brand names make scummy models as well as good models. Definately get diversity if at all possible.