Sound gear - I'm scr@wed...

[gorillaonabike]

Shooting a documentary and own the following kit:

- 'Kit 1.' Fostex FR2-le, Promix 3, boom, shockmount, zep, dead kitty etc... with an ECM-674 that never ceases to pleasantly surprise. Boom wielder '1' has some experience and has a track record of capturing decent sound.
- 'Kit 2.' DR-100, boom pole with all the trimmings, NTG-2. Boom swinger '2' has a poor track record and virtually no experience but we may need only a few seconds of sound from them, if that.

Kit '1' will be on the 'subject' and kit 2 will be on the subject's family. At the end, will bring in kit '1' to backup kit 2 for the 'incredible' shot.

This will be shot at various motorcycle racetracks around the country plus interviews outside where there may be motorbikes. Our first, test setup is at an RAF base with jets taking off and landing as well as being surrounded by motorbikes. This, first test setup is more to understand how to shoot and placement of the crew (who will have to run around a bit) but we will be running some basic tests based on what we hear.

Shoots will be across the country in different locations on a number of different days over the period of 6 months so if hiring kit, would cost thousands. Cheaper to buy than to rent.

Will do the sound post myself including foley up until a certain point. If it is good enough, will hand over to a pro to complete foley (yes, I know it's a doc but...), sound cleanup, throw a soundtrack over certain bits (especially the ropier bits) and then bring it all into line.

So if you were recording with this stuff, what would you add to the mix? Would you add a mixer to the Tascam? Would you just junk the Tascam and get another FR2-le (which is what I'm thinking about)? What literature would you encourage me to buy? Are there any essentials missing you would get? Is there any (cheap, $500 USD) 'post' sound software you believe would be good?

Any tips?

Need to do this as cheaply as possible but my rule is that if something is out there which I am missing, I may just try to get my hands on it.

What are your thoughts?

 

[jrusso]

Digital audio is based on proven and undisputed mathematics (The Nyquist/Shannon Sampling Theorem). Only an insane, irrational or severely ignorant person would disagree with it! One can rationally disagree with opinion but not with fact.

Instead of being condescending, spouting BS and then using ignorance and insults to defend your BS, why don't you actually try contributing something constructive. Who knows, you might find it a pleasurable experience!

G

Click the link, get the book.

 

[Alcove Audio]

APE and jrusso...

I'm getting tired of all the wrangling. Why don't you guys meet in Iceland or Greenland (that's pretty much in the middle for you guys) and settle this like men!

Or whatever....

 

[gorillaonabike]

As a note, the first shoot was only a test to check out what we needed to do so it's all fine. Part of this is timings to work out where to put stuff, what we need to shoot etc.... The primary plan is to shoot interviews elsewhere in homes etc... where we can easily interview and at the track capture a few bits of 'essential' sound.

So before you all kill each other, what do you think of the SD MM-1? Is this a worthwhile addition to my Fostex FR2-le?

 

[AudioPostExpert]

what do you think of the SD MM-1? Is this a worthwhile addition to my Fostex FR2-le?

No one can give you a definitive "yes" or "no" to this question. Yes, the MM-1 is quieter, more transparent and therefore better than the pre-amps in your FR2-LE (and your ProMix 3). However, how noticeably better it is and therefore whether it's "worthwhile" is difficult to predict as it depends on the mic being used and how/where that mic is used. As the audio quality of your recording chain increases, so the benefit of a higher quality pre-amp will become more apparent. For example, you have listed effectively prosumer mics and therefore you might not hear much/any difference between the MM1 and your FR2-LE (which has pre-amps which aren't bad), although depending on your recording situation/s you could just as easily hear a worthwhile difference. My best advice would be to hire/borrow an MM1 and run a few real world tests.

It's a safe bet that in the recording situation detailed in this thread an MM1 won't be worthwhile! Pretty much nothing would be worthwhile in this situation, your only chance would be; the talent speaking very loudly into a hand-held mic placed almost against their mouth but that introduces other audio issues, only provides a small chance of usable audio and probably isn't what you want visually.

G

 

[gorillaonabike]

No one can give you a definitive "yes" or "no" to this question. Yes, the MM-1 is quieter, more transparent and therefore better than the pre-amps in your FR2-LE (and your ProMix 3). However, how noticeably better it is and therefore whether it's "worthwhile" is difficult to predict as it depends on the mic being used and how/where that mic is used. As the audio quality of your recording chain increases, so the benefit of a higher quality pre-amp will become more apparent. For example, you have listed effectively prosumer mics and therefore you might not hear much/any difference between the MM1 and your FR2-LE (which has pre-amps which aren't bad), although depending on your recording situation/s you could just as easily hear a worthwhile difference. My best advice would be to hire/borrow an MM1 and run a few real world tests.

It's a safe bet that in the recording situation detailed in this thread an MM1 won't be worthwhile! Pretty much nothing would be worthwhile in this situation, your only chance would be; the talent speaking very loudly into a hand-held mic placed almost against their mouth but that introduces other audio issues, only provides a small chance of usable audio and probably isn't what you want visually.

G

That's useful. As a note, I think there is an issue with the Promix as it isn't quite functioning as it should so thinking of replacing.

As a note, we knew the recording wouldn't work but the environment was a test. Think of it as more of a rehearsal to figure out where we would stand, how we would do stuff (e.g. how the boom op could expect to get in and do stuff) etc... With motorbikes zipping around, we need to ensure the crew is safe and stand in the right place.

Wouldn't want the sound guy to get run over!

 

[AudioPostExpert]

That's useful. As a note, I think there is an issue with the Promix as it isn't quite functioning as it should so thinking of replacing.

To elaborate a bit, those situations when you need a fairly high gain setting and the environmental noise is quite low is where you're likely to hear the most difference.

Also, the MM1 is a nice bit of kit but it can end up being a bit of a waste in the long run. In the long run, you'll likely find yourself wanting more audio channels, so you can have say a boom and a couple of lavs. At that stage a good mixer would probably be on the cards and/or a good 4 channel recorder and then you'll have your MM-1 sitting on a shelf gathering dust. A bit of a waste of a good bit of kit! As it is good and sturdy, maybe it would hold up well on the second-hand market though? I'm not trying to dissuade you, just pointing out a potential pitfall in the long term.

G

 

[IronFilm]

Digital audio is based on proven and undisputed mathematics (The Nyquist/Shannon Sampling Theorem). Only an insane, irrational or severely ignorant person would disagree with it! One can rationally disagree with opinion but not with fact.

Instead of being condescending, spouting BS and then using ignorance and insults to defend your BS, why don't you actually try contributing something constructive. Who knows, you might find it a pleasurable experience!

G

Thank you for your contributions to this thread. I followed along reading and it made sense. It isn't that hard at all to understand what you're saying (so why can't he?). Maybe my math degree came in handy :-P (I know about Nyquist) But nah, I'm joking, isn't anywhere vaguely near that hard.