Placement of Zoom h4n for dance recital sound collection

Im am filming a dance recital this weekend and need some advice on recording the sound. I have a zoom h4n external recorder that I plan on using for sound collection. My question is where would be the best place to put the recorder to get the best sound(behind the crowd, in front of the stage, behind the stage)? I am looking at getting mostly the music sounds and avoid crowd noise except for clapping at the end. The place I am filming at is a basic high school theatre, very similar to any average stage with theatre seating. I will be using just the mics that are on the recorder, no additional mics. Thanks for any advice.
 
If you have the latest firmware update for the Zoom H4n, you can record 4 tracks simultaneously. I would run line inputs from the PA board into the Zoom and use the on-board mics to capture crowd and ambient noise. You can roll the mic tracks down when you edit, only rolling them up for the crowd noises you want.

Otherwise, get your Zoom as close to the main sound source you want as possible (near a loudspeaker) and make sure you do a test and adjust the input level to avoid clipping.
 
Also, if you can't get a feed form the mixer, you can run a mic in front of the speakers (like mic-ing a guitar cab) and position the ZOOM's onboard mics towards the audience.

Can you get a copy of the tracks? If you can rip the CD or get an mp3 or wav copy of the tracks you can place those directly in the timeline, unless you're trying to hear feer dancing on the floor.
 
Thanks for the replys,

I do not have access to anything but my zoom, so no mixer or additional microphones. Since there is a speaker on each side of the stage should I put the zoom in betwwen the two? Ive included a diagram, wheres the best spot, with capuring the music being the #1 priority?

KsKfn.png
 
Thanks for the replys,

I do not have access to anything but my zoom, so no mixer or additional microphones. Since there is a speaker on each side of the stage should I put the zoom in betwwen the two? Ive included a diagram, wheres the best spot, with capuring the music being the #1 priority?

KsKfn.png

Hey, GR.

It looks like where you're shooting and where you're recording sound are in two different places. Not much you can do to get around that if you want decent results. The recorder needs to be close to the speaker or at the console. The camera mic will record the crowd/ambient/muddy PA sound and so will the zoom at that or other locations besides what is mentioned.

Paul's idea about using a CD and mixing it back in in post will sound great. That way, you can just worry about the shoot.
 
I would place the zoom with you in the audience so you get the audience applause and reactions.

After you shoot it, I would put the actual track in there synced with the crowd sound so you have the original track prominent for the video and a bit of the ambient noise/PA/audience reaction mixed in with it (about 20-30 percent, depending).

I think that will get the best product.
 
Thanks guys. I think im going to use the master CD tracks and then mix in the addional crowd noise and talking in post. Thats a great idea which I didn't even think about. Thanks All!
 
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