Mic kit hire recommendations for impending shoot (highly reverberant spaces and more)

J

jp201

Hi there,

I'm just sorting out my list of mic's to use for a shoot and I was looking for some specific advice on hire recommendations. (It is a small indie shoot but we are aiming for quality sound)

1. I'm trying to do as much stuff on location for this shoot as we are filming in some really nice sounding spaces which I want to capture. Fortunately I do not need to capture any dialog in these spaces, only footsteps and rustling as people walk/run.

I did some tests with an NTG-2 and although it was ok the reverberation in a lot of the space (lots of tight alleys/tunnels) seemed to be a bit much for it.

Could anyone recommend me a better option to record some footsteps/set wilds in these locations, before and after shoot. Im guessing a hyper cardiod would be more appropriate but I need a solid recommendation (or two) to hire. (unfortunately there is not enough time for me to trial several mic's).

For the purposes of consistency it would be nice if this mic could also be used for the main scene of dialogue in the film, which takes place inside a pub.

2. I was thinking a stereo mic would be useful to have in my arsenal to record some of the ambience's of the places we are in. Ive seen several people recommend different things, what I need is a solid workhouse that will be usable in most situations.

Thank you very much

J
 
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I'll have to be quick, I have a session in ten minutes...

Use the search function here on IndieTalk, we've discussed it numerous times.

If you are renting ask your vendor what they have and/or recommend.

Bump this up; I'll be logging on sometime after 1am.
 
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Thanks for the response Alcove.

Ive spent the past few weeks reading everything I can here, I have some experience with sound but not much with location sound. My question was a little more specific and I was hoping to get some information regarding the large reverberant spaces.

Also I haven't found much regarding recording ambience's in stereo, and which mic's to this effect. I could record all the fx in mono and create from the ground up, but I think i'd prefer to have a stereo part to layer on top of other mono sounds, to make a richer texture. Any thoughts?

I decided on an MKH 50 for the interior dialogue. 416 as a bread and butter shotgun and nothing as the stereo mic. Can't decide whether to hire one or not.

I have an NTG-2 kicking around if it can cover anything the other 2 can't.

J
 
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The MKH-50 will be your better option in those very reverberant spaces. See what you can do about sound control - carpeting, blankets, anything will help if you can damp down one of the reflective surfaces that's out of the shot.

As far as stereo mics I'm using the Audio Technica AT825, which they no longer make. There are lots of them out there. Lots of folks like the Rode NT-4, but I can't comment from personal experience. Some will tell you that a matched pair of mics give you more flexibility and the option of doing M/S recordings later.

If you are going to be on the set (I'm assuming that you're also doing the audio post), and there is no dialog to capture, be creative with hiding mics. Maybe run two to the camera (stereo mic/pair) and two more on a portable recorder (one behind a garbage can and another behind a box - keep them low) for footsteps. Do you have any lavs? Capture wilds after shooting stops. Build up a large library.

A far as doing ambiences in post I use a stereo "canvas" but essentially build BGs from scratch using stereo and mono source material.
 
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Thanks! Great advice as ever. Im trying to avoid using the camera inputs at all but I might run the NTG 2 to the camera as an added reference or I could use the Sony ECM-MS907 which is a small stereo mic (pretty rubbish mic).

Ill then hide either the 416 or mkh 50 somewhere on their path and maybe boom the other one where possible (into an ext recorder) No lav's unfortunately. Breathing may have to be done in post.

Do you tend to do set wilds at the end of each scene? Or wait until all shooting is finished on the set. Im guessing when doing the wilds I should be able to boom the actors whilst running and keep my footsteps as quiet as possible.

Im sure experimentation will be key, and like you say building up as big a library as possible. It is however useful to get an idea of these things to save a bit of time and speed up the shoot.

Thanks a lot
 
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When the scene has been shot from all angles clear the set (and I mean get everyone 100 yards away, you'd be amazed at what the mic hears) and capture the room tones and the sound FX, Foley & dialog wilds (including the breathing). Unless the cast and crew are extremely dedicated - or being paid well - there will not be much opportunity to get much done with them after the shoot has wrapped.

I would rather have camera sound than no sound at all, it's all grist for the mill.
 
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Thanks again

2 days in now and valuable lessons have already been learnt.

For one thing I started out on the first day using the NTG 2 as I was having trouble with the T power on the 416T. I really didn't enjoy using it (the ntg), it seemed noisy, far too much off axis response, thin sounding.

Today I switched to the 416 (finally working#) and what a difference. Made the whole day more enjoyable. Other than the fact im going to have to foley a lot of the first day to compensate (fortunately there was no dialogue), it was definitely the right move.

Secondly Ive never quite realised how little understanding you get from DOP's. Even if the DOP is a very nice person they really do not care at all about how you are going to get your audio (I completely understand why, cinematography is a very time consuming position. It requires a lot of coercion to even get a chance to get your sound.

Good so far though, we will see what happens with dialogue tomorrow.


Cheers alcove.
J
 
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