Audio equipment recommendations?

We need A LOT more information. What type of projects are you shooting? What kind of help do you have? What camera gear do you have? What audio gear do you have. Do you want to go pro, or is this a hobby?


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Here's my $1,200 buying guide. Select one from each category:


Shotgun mic kits will have the shotgun mic, boom-pole, shock-mount and simple wind protection (softie).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/551607-REG/Audio_Technica_AT_875_Shotgun_Microphone.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/461493-REG/Rode_NTG_1_Shotgun_Condenser.html


Hypercardioid mic:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/867157-REG/Avantone_Pro_CK1_CK_1_Small_Capsule_FET_Pencil.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/359043-REG/sE_Electronics_SE1A_SE1A_Small_Diaphragm.html



Audio recorders:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/832911-REG/Tascam_DR100MKII_DR_100mkII_Portable_Linear.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/821259-REG/Tascam_DR_40_DR_40_4_Track_Handheld_Digital.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/821260-REG/Roland_R_26_R_26_6_Channel_Digital_Field.html



Headphones:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/49510-REG/Sony_MDR_7506_MDR_7506_Headphone.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/507447-REG/Sennheiser_HD_25_1_II_HD_25_1_II.html



You'll also need cables, cases, battery packs and other miscellaneous items - about $200+.


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Once you've answered the above questions we'll try to figure out how to cram what you need into your budget.

Alcove Audio said:

We need A LOT more information. What type of projects are you shooting? What kind of help do you have? What camera gear do you have? What audio gear do you have. Do you want to go pro, or is this a hobby?.

Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for all of those links, I appreciate it. I am planning to shoot some short drama/thriller films that I may be able to enter into festivals in the future. I am also interested in making a travel documentary in a year or so. I don't have any professional help but I do have friends and family who are willing to help out with things like lighting and holding the boom pole and I have a friend who is an editor. The camera that I have is a Canon 600D and at the moment the only audio gear I have is a pretty crap Takstar shotgun mic. At the moment this is a hobby but one that I am pretty serious about and as I said at the start, I would love to create something that I would feel is good enough to send into film festivals.

Thanks!

More projects fail - and are rejected by festivals - for poor sound than for any other reason. This applies to both production sound and audio post.

You can get a Rode VideoMic Pro kit (mic & windbuster) for under US$275 and a recorder like the Tascam DR-05 for about US$100. You'll also need a boom-pole; a passable 10' boom-pole will set you back about US$150. Rode makes a shorty - six+ feet for about US$50.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/997376-REG/rode_videomic_pro_compact_shotgun.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/757065-REG/Tascam_DR_05_DR_05_Portable_Handheld_Digital.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/981225-REG/polsen_sbp_10_boompole_10_aluminum_5_section.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/757123-REG/Rode_MICRO_BOOMPOLE_Micro_Boompole_3_Section.html

Just be aware that the skill with which the boomed mic is used makes a HUGE difference.

As always, I recommend that you retain someone who knows what they are doing, a pro or an ambitious up-and-comer. If you're going to do it on your own or have a friend/family handle production sound I recommend reading "The Location Sound Bible" by Ric Viers.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Location-Sound-Bible-Professional/dp/1615931201


We'll get into audio post in another thread.

Thank you very much for all of that information, those links are great. I will also look into finding someone who has some experience in sound, in fact, I'm pretty sure I know someone who would be up for getting involved. I'll also look into getting a copy of that book.

Thanks again!