Audio Question

[Acoui]

Hey everyone! Hope your day is going well!

I have a quick question... rather a statement with your opinions.

I have a Canon T2i and I'm planning to shoot a short film very soon. I'm a teenage filmmaker and I don't have a lot of revenue coming in, so I am looking into buying the Rode Stereo Videomic and the Zoom H1. Is this a good investment for recording audio?

Also, when you're on set, how do you record the audio? Well, I know how to press record and all that, but... ugh, let me try and explain it:

Let's say there is two people having a conversation. And there is three shots. An over-the-shoulder for both of them, and one wide shot of both of them sitting on a bench. Do you do one take of the audio (both actors reading their lines) and then try to sync it up as best as you can to the other two shots? Or do you record audio for each shot and then sync them together as best as you can? I'm so confused with this, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were too with the way I explained it - if you need further explanation feel free to leave a reply and I'll try my best to elaborate.

Thanks everyone!

Kevin

 

[SinEater]

It would give passable audio, but I wouldn't consider it a good investment. You want to get something with XLR inputs; that will allow you to upgrade in the future.

As for audio recording, you will record audio on every shot, preferably from a boom pole.

 

[Alcove Audio]

Whether or not the Rode VM and the H1 are a good investment is relative. Rode makes nice gear, even their consumer products. Zoom is not the same quality dollar for dollar. I personally prefer Tascam or Alesis, mostly because I've had good luck with both manufacturers in the past, and they have been making high-end audio gear for many years.

Your next step up in audio - if you do - will mean starting over again; a new mic and a new recorder, there is no possibility of upgrading either the H1 or the VM. However, if and when you do upgrade to prosumer or professional gear, the VM can be mounted on the camera for improved on-camera audio (makes syncing easier) and the H1 (or similar recorder) can be used to record the quick sound effect, or as an extra plant "mic". So you won't lose out completely, you just have to be creative.

No matter what you do you need to get the mic on a boom and have someone, who hopefully knows some audio and cares about sound, swing the boom for you. A good boom-op knows the script better than the actors, and can anticipate their movements so that the mic is (almost) always pointed at the actor that is speaking.

You may want to review my posts, I've covered lots of this before. Here's one:

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=32601

You may also want to check out my blog:

http://www.myspace.com/alcoveaudio/blog