Canon gl1 Accessories

[jasonvoorhees]

I recently upgraded from a panasonic dv53 to a canon gl1...big jump. I am just learning about this camera and I am trying to get all the things I might need for it. The first thing I noticed after using it for a while was that it's a heavy camera. Then I saw where they sell shoulder mounts. Now I am comparing shoulder mounts and with every $30-40 jump in price, they get a little nicer. It's so tough to decide on these things. I thought i would get someone else's opinion on light and sound.

My main thing I am curious about is lighting and sound equipment for the canon gl1. I am a little unclear on what will go to this camera and which adapters I might need. I know I want a shotgun microphone. Will most any shotgun mic I find go easily into the canon gl1? When searching for one, what do I need to look for to know if it will go to my camera?

Also, I wanted to get a wireless lave mic, but they can be quit expensive. Will most any of those work with my camera as well or is there a connection or something I may need to look for when shopping for one? I saw where one person had a wired mic and is recorded mono, so they had to buy an adapter to get it to record in stereo. That is a little too technical for me because i would not even know which adapter to buy if i ran into that situation.

Also, the lighting issue. I had originally thought of using large lamps to light my scenes, but it looks like it might be a bit more complex than that. Is there a basic light set up to light a room thats rather small, say 15' x 12'. I am planning to shoot a scene in sort of a dark place later on too, a barn. That's where I am most worried I will have issues.

I am basically looking for stuff that will specifically fit the canon gl1, so if anyone can provide me with some information on that, it would be helpful. I'm trying to spend wisely on the things that will work with my camera. If someone can point me in the right direction, that would be very helpful. Thanks.

 

[Alcove Audio]

Please give us an idea of your budget and audio experience.



If you are going to use the shotgun mic (or cardioid mic if you are going to be shooting indoors) on a boom-pole you'll get an improvement on sound. If you are just going to mount the new mic on the camera don't even bother. From there your budget is going to dictate what mic you can get and whether or not you will need additional gear.

Quality wireless lavs are indeed expensive. Again, what you get will depend upon how you interface the audio with your camera.

Unless it is a dedicated stereo mic, lavs and other mics are not recorded in stereo, they are assigned to record to both audio channels. If you are recording a lav and a boomed mic simultaneously you would assign each to a separate channel, otherwise you defeat the purpose of using both.

 

[jasonvoorhees]

Thanks for the response. You seem to know your stuff. Well, I am trying to spend money wisely, but I want what I need to shoot in any indoor or outdoor situation. I will throw a number range out of $100-$250 for the sound, but I am patient enough to just save if I need more. I definitely want a boom mic soon. I have plans to make a diy boom pole and wanted a mic to go with it to improve my sound value. Probably the cheapest I can get by with to make some short movies to enter into film festivals.

I am sort of familiar with assigning sound channels to levels while working with my panasonic dv53. It has two channels to dub music or audio over existing audio or just add music or sound to a secene. I don't know how many the canon gl1 has, but I understand what your talking about with the boom mic and lave mic having seperate channels. I wasn't planning on any situations where I would use both. I was planning to almost always use the boom mic and using the lave mic for scenes where the camera is far out or quiet, whispering is taking place.

You mentioned if I am going to mount the new mic to the camera, don't even bother. I thought the boom mic just plugged somewhere into the camera. I thought I saw a mic plug in on the camera, I just figured the boom would just plug in there, no?

 

[Alcove Audio]

Get the Rode VMP (Video Mic Pro). It's a basic high quality consumer mic that will cover most situations.

Always keep in mind that the skill with which you use the gear is just as - if not more - important than the gear itself.


Here's my version of a passable low-budget production sound kit:

Marantz PMD-661 w/case

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...MD661_PMD661_Professional_Portable_Flash.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._AR_PMD661_AR_PMD661_Audio_Recorder_Case.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/503090-REG/Tekkeon_MP3450_MP3450_myPower_ALL_Universal.html

Audio-Technica AT-897 Shotgun Kit

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/300615-REG/Audio_Technica_AT897_AT897_Short_Condenser.html

Audio-Technica AT4053b Hypercardioid Microphone

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...4053b_Hypercardioid_Condenser_Microphone.html

You'll also need some nice headphones.

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


Add a few extra XLR cables, a good case for everything else and some insurance this totals under $2,500.



Check out my blog and the following web sites:

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

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/location_sound.html

http://www.equipmentemporium.com/filmmaking/audio.php

http://www.thompsound.com/old-site/Articles/QSFT/zen_boom.pdf

http://www.colinhartonline.com/?p=336

http://www.locationsound.com/proaudio/ls/tips/techtips8_4.html

http://www.jwsound.net/SMF/index.php

 

[jasonvoorhees]

Thanks for the products listing. Altough some of it is expensive, I see where the standard is that I want to eventually achieve. At least now I have seen some things that will work with my camera. One question I had about the Marantz PMD-661 you listed. Is this the item that would connect to the camera and the boom mic or lave mic would be connected through it in some way? I'm guessing the pmd-661 is plugged into the camera and this onboard mic shuts off (recognizing their is an external source that will take over recording the audio). The external attached mic takes over recording audio through the Marantz PMD-661. Is that pretty close?

 

[Alcove Audio]

The PMD-661 - and other digital audio recorders - are separate from the camera. You will have to sync the audio from the audio recorder to the video in post. As long as you use a slate and have kept accurate video & audio logs there shouldn't be much problem. You also have the camera audio as a guide track for syncing, and softwares like Plural Eyes help a great deal.

Just keep in mind that syncing separate audio to picture has been going on since talkies first emerged and still happens to this day when shooting on film. When dealing with indie video the current DSLR craze has made it a case of two steps forward one step back.