Sound Questions

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PleaseDraftMe

Hey yall, I've read the first page of threads here, Alcove's blogs, and looked into some of the products recommended, and would like to ask a few me-specific questions. I dont mean to burden anybody and dont want to give the impression that I'm not willing to do any of my own legwork, but I am completely new to this kind of stuff and easily impressed with product reviews, so I was hoping that some of yall with the experience could give me a bit of advice.

My current budget is 1000 dollars.

According to Alcove, the boom mic + the cardioid mic = 500, so I'm assuming I've got 500$ left after their purchases.

I need to record externally. Somebody recommended Tascam and I looked up the Tascam HD-P2, the Tascam DR Series Flash Recorders, and the Zoom H4n.

I liked reading about all of them, but I still don't really have much grasp on which direction I should go. I read that sound devices have a nice longevity, so I dont want to be cheap at the cost of quality.

My eventual goal is to shoot a feature that I've written, starring myself and the friends it is based on. While I'm okay with some things being ameturish or guerilla, I don't want to screw up on sound and have a bunch of footage that I can't use without spending a boatload on post, so I've considered using a professional sound crew. Was curious how much your usual crew would cost per day.

And finally, I was curious what the basic minimum coverage insurance would cost.

I may be all over the place here and I may deserve a flogging, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
 
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PleaseDraftMe said:
I need to record externally. Somebody recommended Tascam and I looked up the Tascam HD-P2, the Tascam DR Series Flash Recorders, and the Zoom H4n.
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To get the most bang for your buck, and longevity, you'll want a recorder with 2 or more XLR inputs and phantom power. Whether the mic you buy initially needs phantom power or not doesn't matter, somewhere down the line you might have one that does. Other than that I can't make any specific recommendation

PleaseDraftMe said:
And finally, I was curious what the basic minimum coverage insurance would cost.
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I think the going rate for a standard $1M liability policy is somewhere around $600/year, but don't quote me on that. If you search the forum there should be some recommendations of insurance providers posted in a few places.
 
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PleaseDraftMe said:
I don't want to screw up on sound
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Bravo!!! Good for you!

PleaseDraftMe said:
Was curious how much your usual crew would cost per day.
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I no longer do production sound, but am still in touch with quite a few guy who do. You can get someone just starting out for about $100 to $150 per day including their gear. A professional crew (mixer, boom-op and rangler) can start at $450 per day plus the rental on their equipment (which will be less than you could rent it for) and go up - and I mean way up - from there.

PleaseDraftMe said:
the boom mic + the cardioid mic
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Let's get the terminology straight. There is no such thing as a "boom mic". The cardioid will also go on the boom pole. It's called a shotgun (or lobar) mic and they come in two basic flavors, short and long.

PleaseDraftMe said:
I need to record externally. Somebody recommended Tascam and I looked up the Tascam HD-P2, the Tascam DR Series Flash Recorders, and the Zoom H4n.
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Yes, everyone is hot on the Zoom H4n, but I've found the mic pres to be pretty noisy.

Since you will be using only one mic at a time you could do well with the Sound Devices MM-1. It's Sound Devices quality and will be a permanent addition to your sound kit; most of the pros have a few in their kit.


PleaseDraftMe said:
My current budget is 1000 dollars.
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In my blog I quoted the following:

Shotgun Mic (outdoors) - $250 {Rode NTG-2 $270}
Cardioid Condensor Mic (indoors) - $250 {Oktava MK-012 $275 Be careful here; there are lots of Chinese knock-offs out there.}
Homemade Boompole - $50
Headphones - $100 {Sony MDR-7506}
Cables & other misc. - $100
____________________________
Total - $750


You will need all of the other things on the list PLUS the Zoom H4n ($299) and as soon as possible the Sound Devices MM-1 ($350). You should also be sure you get cases for everything; it's an investment that will outlast several cameras while retaining quite a bit of its resale value. You should also look for used; quite a few folks got in over their heads in the past couple of years and there are some nice deals out there. Just remember that most used deals will not include the shock-mount, which is included in most dealer packages, and could end up costing you more than if you bought through a reputable vendor. Also, if you buy it all at once you could get a nice package deal from a vendor.
 
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