Recording good sound on set

[grimoire]

Hello,
I'm a newbie in the sound department. I've always been fascinated by the level of audible details you have in an average film. I realize that most of it, must be ADR & Folley, done in post, but how much can you capture on set to make the most of it. Things like the clothing of actors wrinkling and stuff like that.

So, my question - What is an affordable general-purpose mic (and related accessories) are available on the market which I can take advantage of? I know it depends on the location, but a good general-purpose minimum which can manage in most situations. Looking for a shotgun, not a complicated setup of lapel mics.

For the record, currently I have an H2N, AT2020 & a cheap shotgun mic (which I am willing to throw in the sea when the time comes)

Thanks!

 

[Sweetie]

While equipment is important, good recording has less to do with equipment and more to the skills and knowledge of the people using that equipment and the environment used to make that recording.

Since you're too lazy to go digging, I'm sure another soundie will cut and paste their list of beginner equipment. If you really want to learn, you'd go digging for those threads yourself.

 

[Alcove Audio]

The modern concept is to capture clean dialog on-set and replace every other sound in audio post.

Don't worry about capturing "the clothing of actors wrinkling and stuff like that;" you're going to have a hard enough time capturing clean production sound.



For the meantime, here's my $1,200 buying guide.


Shotgun mic kits will have the shotgun mic, boom-pole, shock-mount and simple wind protection (softie).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/551607-REG/Audio_Technica_AT_875_Shotgun_Microphone.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/461493-REG/Rode_NTG_1_Shotgun_Condenser.html


Hypercardioid mic:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/867157-REG/Avantone_Pro_CK1_CK_1_Small_Capsule_FET_Pencil.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/359043-REG/sE_Electronics_SE1A_SE1A_Small_Diaphragm.html



Audio recorders:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/832911-REG/Tascam_DR100MKII_DR_100mkII_Portable_Linear.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/821259-REG/Tascam_DR_40_DR_40_4_Track_Handheld_Digital.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/821260-REG/Roland_R_26_R_26_6_Channel_Digital_Field.html



Headphones:

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

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/507447-REG/Sennheiser_HD_25_1_II_HD_25_1_II.html



You'll also need cables, cases, battery packs and other miscellaneous items - about $200+.


The above guide is a "basic" entry level prosumer quality kit, meant to be wielded by a dedicated PSM/Boom-op. It is far from definitive, but it's a good place to start. Quite a few of them are IndieTalk Member Tested. The foibles of all the gear have been discussed frequently.

To indie types $1,200 seems like a huge amount of money; to a professional production sound team that's just one microphone in a kit that can easily cost well over $50,000. It's all a matter of perspective.