No more cheap mics

L

Libby

Okay I have had it with cheap mics. The ones I can use range up to 50 dollars. Even changing the batteries doesn't help much. You tilt it a little to the right or left and it doesn't pickup anything and it sounds like the person is in the next room. I resorted to the camera mic - because that sounded better actually.


So I am going to purchase a decent mic.

Where would I start? Most of the filming would be indoors...one actor at a time. Don't know if I want one that works off batteries because I would have to ensure I had spare batteries with me all the time...but if there was a decent one that worked off batteries than I would.

I was using a shotgun mic and a handheld mic...the shotgun was fine but sometimes tunes out and picks up nothing when tilted slightly. The handheld mic isn't much better and would work okay if the mic could be in full view and the person were holding it.

Lav mics do not appear to work in this camera because the one that I tried buzzes.

Merci
 
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I think it does make sense to know wtf I am doing beforehand. Its just this mic started out well and good (its an item from a place that loans these out free like a library...but they are well used). Then it didn't record anything. Changed batteries.

Right now what I am trying to do is film myself (and one other person) where the camera is up close anyway. I can get through this. Will try with the mic fooling around. Thing is, I cannot use the headphones because they buzz when I plug them in..be it cheap headphones or better quality ones...still don't know why that happens but they buzz no matter where I am with the camera...So I cannot hear how it sounds until after I record it.

Well live and learn huh?

I have a Canon hf200 I am using.
 
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Libby said:
Right now what I am trying to do is film myself (and one other person) where the camera is up close anyway. I can get through this. Will try with the mic fooling around. Thing is, I cannot use the headphones because they buzz when I plug them in..be it cheap headphones or better quality ones...still don't know why that happens but they buzz no matter where I am with the camera...So I cannot hear how it sounds until after I record it.

Well live and learn huh?

I have a Canon hf200 I am using.
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You haven't got it plugged into the mains while you're recording, have you? I've used a similar Canon camera, and it's impossible to power it from the wall and monitor sound at the same time without horrible buzzing.
 
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chilipie said:
Ditto for a lot of your sound gear :)
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The difference is that there are no moving parts to wear out, you don't need to buy one-time-use media (film), and you don't have to pay for the film processing & transfers. Also, there are "low budget" versions of most mics. The top-of-the-line shotgun mics go for $1,500 to $2,000; Rode makes a mid-priced shotgun, the NTG-3, that completes in sound and build quality with mics at twice the price, and the NTG-1 and NTG-2 are usable at about 15% of the price of their expensive counterparts.

I'm not trying to be overly argumentative, but I haven't seen anyone using a "budget" Panaflex.
 
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It was mentioned at least once, but, minor rant.

TOO often the boom operator winds up being the PA who showed up on set earliest the first day of shooting. At a bare minimum the recordist/boom operator needs to be an audio guy with highly trained ears. In a pinch you can take a guy who has done a lot of studio music recording or something similar (meaning he has ears trained to hear tiny sound changes and anomalies), and with some time to practice turn him into a passable sound man, but sticking a boom pole in the hands of the first guy that is willing to do it will end badly.
 
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Unless she had a total "fail" and didn't point it at the talent it almost certainly will. In the the new film there were scenes we did MOS because of environmental sounds (a band practicing nearby). As we were doing the post sound we watched some of the clips with the cammera sound on. I couldn't believe how noisy it was. This is an HVX200A going to P2 cards. As far as I know there weren't even any internals moving around as there would have been if we were using a tape, and the buzz and general crappy quailty of the sound compared to what we got on the field recorder was VERY noticeable.
 
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gooberman said:
WOW!!! It's the price of a used honda!
Click to expand...

Jake: What's this?
Elwood: What?
Jake: This car. This stupid car! Where's the Cadillac?
[Elwood doesn't answer]
Jake: The Caddy! Where's the Caddy?
Elwood: The what?
Jake: The Cadillac we used to have. The Bluesmobile!
Elwood: I traded it.
Jake: You traded the Bluesmobile for this?
Elwood: No, for a microphone.
Jake: A microphone? [pause] Okay. I can see that.

:cool:
 
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Gonzo_Entertainment said:
As we were doing the post sound we watched some of the clips with the cammera sound on. I couldn't believe how noisy it was. This is an HVX200A going to P2 cards. As far as I know there weren't even any internals moving around as there would have been if we were using a tape, and the buzz and general crappy quailty of the sound compared to what we got on the field recorder was VERY noticeable.
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Hold on a second. When recording to P2 there is the option of 4 audio tracks, 2 external and 2.....from the on camera mics. Of course, the on camera mics will record all the ambience (an advantage in certain situations). Did you try putting these tracks into your editor and isolate the tracks with the boom mic? Did you use a boom? A quality mic going into the Panasonic should yield some nice sound.
 
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2001 Productions said:
Jake: What's this?
Elwood: What?
Jake: This car. This stupid car! Where's the Cadillac?
[Elwood doesn't answer]
Jake: The Caddy! Where's the Caddy?
Elwood: The what?
Jake: The Cadillac we used to have. The Bluesmobile!
Elwood: I traded it.
Jake: You traded the Bluesmobile for this?
Elwood: No, for a microphone.
Jake: A microphone? [pause] Okay. I can see that.

:cool:
Click to expand...

"Just when I think you couldn't be any stupider... you go and trade the cadillac for a blue microphone...

AND TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!!!"
 
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