The audio and the best place to do it in California?
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to shoot a beach scene?
- Thread starter omarzamora
- Start date
You will pretty much always have waves in the sound.
Get the mics in as close as possible if you can - preferably Lapels but if they don't have a shirt on that's improbable.
I'd say - go light on the dialogue in the script if you can, or record the dialogue again in a quieter location, or book your ADR studio right now with your actors.
Do it on a weekday so there aren't the promotional planes flying by (a lot of them in L.A.)
Can you give me some more info on who will be talking, what types of shots, how crucial it is to hear the people, etc. etc.?
Get the mics in as close as possible if you can - preferably Lapels but if they don't have a shirt on that's improbable.
I'd say - go light on the dialogue in the script if you can, or record the dialogue again in a quieter location, or book your ADR studio right now with your actors.
Do it on a weekday so there aren't the promotional planes flying by (a lot of them in L.A.)
Can you give me some more info on who will be talking, what types of shots, how crucial it is to hear the people, etc. etc.?
The thing about beaches is that you will have a constant "white noise" wall of sound to contend with while recording dialogue.
In the mix you can use the dialogue from the day and kind of mix in a sound effect track above it so the noise from the mics are ducked under and it doesn't sound jarring.
Otherwise you will have to do ADR...
Depends on your budget and how important it is to your film...
In the mix you can use the dialogue from the day and kind of mix in a sound effect track above it so the noise from the mics are ducked under and it doesn't sound jarring.
Otherwise you will have to do ADR...
Depends on your budget and how important it is to your film...
The scene three boys observing two girls and then approaching them, hilarity ensues.
It's a pretty talk-heavy scene and i'm sure that I could get mics onto the boys who do more talking anyway but the girls are in bikinis.
We're going to be shooting in Central California in early May so I don't think it will be too bad with tourists but you never know.
I'm probably going to shoot it, if the dialogue is shit, then I'll ADR. There really doesn't seem to be any other choice.
And I'm not doing greenscreen. Horrible idea.
It's a pretty talk-heavy scene and i'm sure that I could get mics onto the boys who do more talking anyway but the girls are in bikinis.
We're going to be shooting in Central California in early May so I don't think it will be too bad with tourists but you never know.
I'm probably going to shoot it, if the dialogue is shit, then I'll ADR. There really doesn't seem to be any other choice.
And I'm not doing greenscreen. Horrible idea.
The camera is a HDC-HS300 and the mic is a Audio-Technica Pro-24CM.
We'll have maybe an extra 1k to shoot the movie with. Spent about 2k on the equipment.
Probably in Morro Bay. We have a beach house in Los Osos and that's where we're shooting the movie.
We'll have maybe an extra 1k to shoot the movie with. Spent about 2k on the equipment.
Probably in Morro Bay. We have a beach house in Los Osos and that's where we're shooting the movie.
Hey, dont bash the greenscreen. When in doubt, chroma-key.
I can't really think of any low budget movie that with non-laughable green-screen sequences, so I'm not really a fan.
So, stereo mics pick up everything and mono is only good for one thing at a time?
A stereo mic records 2 channels and the mic you are working with is XY which means the capsules are 90 degrees to eachother. So when you point this mic directly at a source, one capsule is pointed 45 degrees one way and the other capsule is 45 degrees the other way.
A mono mic (one capsule) will be better for your shoot in my opinion because you will pick up less ambient noise. There are other basic specifications on the mic that I would want to know about if you actually choose to rent one so be sure to let me know if you do or not.
It's not whether you want to pick up "one thing", stereo and mono will both pick up the sound you want to capture, but the mono mic will provide more rejection to the environmental sounds like the ocean you'll be near.
A mono mic (one capsule) will be better for your shoot in my opinion because you will pick up less ambient noise. There are other basic specifications on the mic that I would want to know about if you actually choose to rent one so be sure to let me know if you do or not.
It's not whether you want to pick up "one thing", stereo and mono will both pick up the sound you want to capture, but the mono mic will provide more rejection to the environmental sounds like the ocean you'll be near.
Mono boom mic would be good at dulling out the wave noise and picking up the voices provided you have a really good wind sock on the mic. If you are doing lapel mics, you can tape them to the inside of the shirt to reduce wind/ambient noise. Also, if you have proper sound editing software, you can record with the white noise in the background and edit it out in post, just remember to get some ambient noise so you have a reference for editing.
Failing all of that, you can always record ambient noise without the actors then bring them in later to do voice overs.
Failing all of that, you can always record ambient noise without the actors then bring them in later to do voice overs.
Noisy locations are problematical by nature. Adding skimpy costumes makes it harder.
One trick I have seen done is to have towels draped around the necks of the talent and hiding the lavs and transmitters in the towels. Not the best solution, but better than none. You can use lavs on girls in bikinis, it just requires an extensive amount of pre-planning and someone who really knows their way around audio and costuming. Extremely tiny lavs like the CountryMan B-6 can be hidden in the hair, in baseball caps, in a necklace, even sunglasses and, of course, in the cleavage of the bikini top. The "secret" is to run the wire down the side of the talent that is not seen by the camera, and to change the position of the mic and transmitter with every shot/angle change. If they are seen from all angles in the same shot you have no chance, however.
If you have access to a recorder/mixer system that records multiple channels (four or more) you can use plant mics in addition to the boom (in a beach umbrella, a beach chair, a towel laying on the ground, behind a sand castle, etc.). And although it runs contrary to established procedure you can boom from underneath; less problems with shadows and the noise of the surf is mitigated a little bit as the mic is aimed at the sky, not downward towards the surf, and the sound is not bouncing up off of the sand.
Another thing to keep in mind is the humidity and the sand. You can put a non-lubricated condom over the mics to keep moisture and grit out of them.
Consider planning on getting dialog wilds while on location but away from the surf. The talent is still in character, etc.
Of course, you could just fake the beach by having them in a sandy area far from the surf and adding the surf sounds in audio post. You don't see the water, however...
Good luck!
One trick I have seen done is to have towels draped around the necks of the talent and hiding the lavs and transmitters in the towels. Not the best solution, but better than none. You can use lavs on girls in bikinis, it just requires an extensive amount of pre-planning and someone who really knows their way around audio and costuming. Extremely tiny lavs like the CountryMan B-6 can be hidden in the hair, in baseball caps, in a necklace, even sunglasses and, of course, in the cleavage of the bikini top. The "secret" is to run the wire down the side of the talent that is not seen by the camera, and to change the position of the mic and transmitter with every shot/angle change. If they are seen from all angles in the same shot you have no chance, however.
If you have access to a recorder/mixer system that records multiple channels (four or more) you can use plant mics in addition to the boom (in a beach umbrella, a beach chair, a towel laying on the ground, behind a sand castle, etc.). And although it runs contrary to established procedure you can boom from underneath; less problems with shadows and the noise of the surf is mitigated a little bit as the mic is aimed at the sky, not downward towards the surf, and the sound is not bouncing up off of the sand.
Another thing to keep in mind is the humidity and the sand. You can put a non-lubricated condom over the mics to keep moisture and grit out of them.
Consider planning on getting dialog wilds while on location but away from the surf. The talent is still in character, etc.
Of course, you could just fake the beach by having them in a sandy area far from the surf and adding the surf sounds in audio post. You don't see the water, however...
Good luck!
Cut it.
When doing your dialog, do closeups and OTS, blocking most the background and blurring what you do see (long lens).. that way you can shoot the dialog AWAY from the beach, even at a non "Beach-like" place at low tide..
In this mode, you could do the dialog shots WAY away from the beach.. like an overlook just so you get the ocean in the background.. could be miles away.. if your angles are all up-ish, could even be easier..
When doing your dialog, do closeups and OTS, blocking most the background and blurring what you do see (long lens).. that way you can shoot the dialog AWAY from the beach, even at a non "Beach-like" place at low tide..
In this mode, you could do the dialog shots WAY away from the beach.. like an overlook just so you get the ocean in the background.. could be miles away.. if your angles are all up-ish, could even be easier..
But don't get too far or choose a location that looks too far inland because it would then just look like a cheap Saved By The Bell episode where they cut to a beach scene inside a sound stage directly from a beach shot which is just plain cheesy.
I say, do it on a beach, many good films used the beach and it worked.
I say, do it on a beach, many good films used the beach and it worked.
From the for whats its worth department.. the beach IS NOISY.. so noisy is ok.. ?