Zoom H1 + Rode VideoMic

Hi folks,

I am looking to buy myself some audio gear but I am on a no budget basically. I have the Rode VideoMic and I was thinking of getting the Zoom H1.

I always make my shorts with no dialogue since my audio gear suck but it just doesn't work that way for me.How good of a starting kit that would be?

Thanks ,
 
That gear is all at the ultra low price point. The results will be just poor to ok-ish.

A lot of folks here spend $3k+ on audio gear, including good pre-amps/mixers (eg Sound Devices 302), one or 2x good microphones (the $700 Rode NTG-3 is very popular here), headphone with boom pole and accessories.

But audio experience is a huge factor in how good the captured audio is. Even top end expensive gear in inexperienced hands will result in poorly captured audio.

What you 100% neglect in your gear list is headphones. You 100% have to monitor the sound you capture at all times. I use the $90 Sony MDR-7506 headphone which are excellent and recommended by many of the audio pros here.

What is also critical is to get your mic as close to the sound source/talent as possible. Within two feet should be your goal - nearly all do this using a boom pole. And point the mic correctly - aiming for the base of the throat is often a good point. And be aware of your location and the location sound - if there is A/C, fridge/freezer hum etc ask if you can turn it off.

I detailed all the gear, including audio gear, I use in this thread. Cheaper gear is available, I got for within my budget.

I highly recommend spending considerable hours on youtube watching advice videos on DSLR audio capture, and indie filming audio capture - e.g.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1OewziXCTs

We have some excellent pro audio folks on this forum - hopefully some of them will chime in here.

You can attach your Rode VideoMic to a boom pole to bring it closer to your talent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWjuXpOtzXc
 
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The "secrets" to solid production sound are:

1. Getting the mic is in as close as possible.

2. Insuring that the mic is properly aimed (at the notch at the base of the throat of the person speaking).


This makes the boom-op a very important person. If the mic is not aimed properly you will not get good production sound.

"Swinging" the boom is a very difficult skill to master. If you want an idea of how difficult it is to boom properly put a camera on the end of a ten (10) foot pole and constantly shift it to show just the mouths of the people speaking - and you cannot use a visual monitor. Now do it without getting the "shaky cam" effect. Now do it without making any noise, without casting any shadows, and not tripping over anything on the set. That's how difficult the boom-ops job is.


So using an RVM and an H1 will give you decent production sound - as long as the RVM is aimed properly.

Also keep in mind that production sound is only half of the battle; you also need to do a thorough audio post, most especially a good dialog edit.

The RVM and H1 are acceptable hobbyist/micro-budget choices, although I would choose a Tascam unit like the DR-05 over the Zoom recorder.



As always I recommend finding someone who knows what they are doing; at the very least an ambitious production sound up-and-comer who is willing to work for travel expenses and good food.
 
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I use the Zoom H1 and the Rode VideoMic together. I think I get some nice audio quality with it. Here's my last short with the combination:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PJcX1BonGA
 
I use the Zoom H1 and the Rode VideoMic together. I think I get some nice audio quality with it. Here's my last short with the combination:

I would say that's a pretty representative example of the "poor to ok-ish" audio quality of most no-budget amateur films/shorts which IndiePaul was talking about. It could certainly be improved to mostly "ok-ish" with better boom technique, supporting Alcove's and IndiePaul's assertions of the importance of mic positioning and skilled booming. A step beyond "ok-ish" (relative to higher quality amateur films/shorts) would need higher quality equipment in addition to better booming technique.

G
 
Isn't the Rode Video Mic a DSLR mic that mounts on the DSLR flasher mount?

It sounds like the one I bought for my DSLR.

I an hoping that with a Rode NG-3 shotgun with give me more audio to choose from for the best audio recorded in a shoot.
 
But it's a hell of a lot better than a DSLRs camera mic......:D

^ That's what I was getting at. Clearly, with that cheap of a rig, I won't be getting past the amature zone - but, it is a workable combination for decent sound in comparison to the alternative. It would seem that I'm in the same position the OP is, so that's why I threw that out there.
 
It's best to think about an experienced location sound guy for the future. They generally have their own equipment and can help you with post audio as well.

I have a Tascam recorder for the shotgun. The more mics on set the better. A clapboard can greatly help sync the audio from the mics.
 
At our budget ranges, we should not concern ourselves with getting studio level audio. Rather, we should aim to get the best audio to our abilities and feel content that it is the best we can do with our equipment and help.
 
At our budget ranges, we should not concern ourselves with getting studio level audio.

Agreed.

Rather, we should aim to get the best audio to our abilities and feel content that it is the best we can do with our equipment and help.

This is where we may need to agree to disagree. If the resulting audio is poorer quality than the other areas of your filmmaking (cinematography or acting for example), then I do not agree that one should "feel content".

Therefore, the question for the OP is: How good is your filmmaking or how good do you intend it to be in the foreseeable future? If, for example, the OP feels his filmmaking abilities are "poor to ok-ish" (relative to other no budget amateur filmmakers), the the RVM + H1 may well be sufficient, with a bit of practise. If he is aiming for better than "poor to ok-ish" he will need better audio equipment and considerably more practise.

G
 
First of all I would like to thank everybody for the contribute to the thread.


Secondly whether I want better audio or not I do not have the money for it. I am aware that if I want better quality I need better equipment , but it is like saying " you have to upgrade from your T2i to a Red Epic. If you consider yourself 'ok-ish' filmmaker though,stay with the T2i " .

Anyways , I want the Zoom H1 + the RVM for the Youtube content that I create + short films for the web.

For my bigger projects where I aim film festivals I always get professionals to do the job for me.

Thanks ,
 
Sound and greenscreen are ongoing learning processes formed around finding people you can trust when all that can be offered is minimum wages and not far above it.* There are a lot of BS artists to filter through until finding honest people with the right expertise.

I am very unhappy with the screwed up ADR from my last production because the person I trusted did VO recordings, but learned ADR at my expense and made a mess that I covered up the best I could with building background sounds and music.*

People who screw up like that will never work for me in the future.*

Here again, do the best we can as we go along and learn from past mistakes.* This way, newer productions will have less mistakes.

I recently learned the proper way to shoot greenscreen with madel spaceships with wires from watching the BTS of Season 7 of Smallville.* Paint the wires the same color green as the greenscreen is in the background.* Silver and chrome are the two worst colors to put in front of greenscreen because they reflect every other color.
 
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