Newbie videographer looking for pointers

[Raylon]

Originally Posted by Chippy569

yeah, there's a jack on the side for an external stereo mic. Plug it in there (you'll only be recording in mono.) Make sure to use the battery on the mic.

Also, get the pro. Its build quality and the mount is so much better, not to mention better sound quality. Yes it comes with a foam wind cover, not going to be great in outdoor winds but will be enough indoors.

Is this the pro?

http://www.amazon.com/VideoMic-Pro-C...3358815&sr=8-2

[Chippy569]

Yep!

[Christina]

I found this audio tutorial really helpful:
http://vimeo.com/13715848

I have the Tascam DR-100. It's excellent except that the battery life is pretty pathetic, and I ended up ordering the AC cable. Pretty lame that it's not included.

[Panda_stunter]

Originally Posted by Christina

I found this audio tutorial really helpful:
http://vimeo.com/13715848

I have the Tascam DR-100. It's excellent except that the battery life is pretty pathetic, and I ended up ordering the AC cable. Pretty lame that it's not included.

Yeah, and with what my project will be, it's better if the battery could last long. The most wires that I want to do is the mic to the recorder...I don't want anyone to be tripping on wires!

[Chippy569]

Wireless is a solution, but introduces a bit of complication. RF equipment is expensive (even moreso now that legislation recently passed regulating which frequencies can be used) and dealing with interference can be hair-pulllingly frustrating. Plus you lose quite a bit of audio quality from the compression and decompression from the transmitter and receiver. Still, it is quite popular when you only need one or two mics, as the video above illustrates.
Also, if you listen to that video, those lavs were not in a good spot for that guy's voice. The mics picked up quite a bit of nasal resonance, which is why it sort of sounds like he's talking out his nose. The mic needed to be either a bit lower on his shirt or out a bit further on his chest toward his shoulder.

[Panda_stunter]

Unfortunately, I'm at work right now so I can't view it.

I was doing the storyboard yesterday and now I have to incorporate all the things I have learned from researching and the one I almost always forget is the 180 degree rule. Sucks that as a newb I have to consciously think about it.

Any other rule I have to think about closely when filming?

[Chippy569]

Wayne (Channel One) might have a few to add. Really though you're thinking about composition, and the same principles of composition of photography applies to videography.

There's some seriously corny examples in here, but the ideas are correct: http://production.4filmmaking.com/cinematography7.html

[Panda_stunter]

I hope Wayne chimes in this thread so he can give me pointers and tips. If not, I'll PM him to ask.

and i appreciate all the advice all of you are giving me. Its a lot of help and it puts everything i learned in perspective. Its saving me money too! :Lol:

[Raylon]

Chippy, if I can stretch for a Rode Pro and DR100 combo, would that be better than the PCM-D50?

[Chippy569]

Think of the DR-100 is interchangeable with the PCM-D50. The D50 is of better quality but a bit less functionality with XLR-cabled mics.

With the Rode videomic pro you could technically bypass the recorder all together and just it straight into cam.

[Raylon]

Originally Posted by Chippy569

Think of the DR-100 is interchangeable with the PCM-D50. The D50 is of better quality but a bit less functionality with XLR-cabled mics.

With the Rode videomic pro you could technically bypass the recorder all together and just it straight into cam.

Thank you for the ridiculously too fast response. Now I just wish Amazon sold the Rode Pro....have a $50 gift card to there....

[Panda_stunter]

Yeah, amazon shows it in their site, but it's from adorama.

David, I watched that video link by Christina, why is it that the rode videomic is cleaner when coupled with an external recorder? You said that it could technically bypass the recorder, but would it be as clean?

Speaking of xlr cables, do I really need that or can I just plug the rode vmp to the d50 with a regular mic jack?

The way I'm going to do audio: isolate the actors voices and then add ambient noises, crowd and such, on post. I just want to have clean audio for the actors so if need be, I can gain or lose some on post.

[Chippy569]

The VMP has an 1/8" (like headphones) jack that you can take straight to the camera. In the vid Christina posted, this is what they did. It sounds to me like they were using the Sennheiser, though, for the "shotgun mounted on camera" clip, not the rode. the problem with the 7D is that there is no manual audio control, only the "auto gain control" which constantly tries to turn the volume up and down to make everything the same volume all the time. The problem with that is that it's reactive and has some lag, so it turns down .0X seconds after the loud sound, and waits .0Y seconds to turn it back up, which gets you a really weird, impossible-to-correct, sound. Hence with the 7D it really is a good idea to get an external recorder.

As for the sony, IIRC it also has an 1/8" jack, like the camera, so the vmp will plug straight into it.

[Panda_stunter]

Originally Posted by Chippy569

The VMP has an 1/8" (like headphones) jack that you can take straight to the camera. In the vid Christina posted, this is what they did. It sounds to me like they were using the Sennheiser, though, for the "shotgun mounted on camera" clip, not the rode. the problem with the 7D is that there is no manual audio control, only the "auto gain control" which constantly tries to turn the volume up and down to make everything the same volume all the time. The problem with that is that it's reactive and has some lag, so it turns down .0X seconds after the loud sound, and waits .0Y seconds to turn it back up, which gets you a really weird, impossible-to-correct, sound. Hence with the 7D it really is a good idea to get an external recorder.

As for the sony, IIRC it also has an 1/8" jack, like the camera, so the vmp will plug straight into it.

For that, there is a trick to turn off the AGC, and it's to split the connections of the input feed. Splitting the input feed by one is from the mic and the other is an mp3 player playing a continuous sine wave. Then on post, delete the feed with sine wave and all that's left is the clear, I'm not so sure if it's clean coz I haven't tried it, audio from the mic.

Now, if this trick is doable, do you think it's a much cheaper alternative than buying an external recorder? Giving the benefit of the doubt that it would be clean and clear audio?

If you go on YouTube and search for 7d disable AGC, you will see what I'm talking about. Inputs?

[Panda_stunter]

hey, david, i was just reading your stuff about audios.

i know sony pcm d50 is a much better option, but would the h4n be a good alternative? i know its a little bit of a price decrease but if i can make my budget cuts somewhere, it means i can use that saved money somewhere else.

also on the H4N, i see 2 xlr input but only on regular mic input. or is there another input somewhere? if not, can that input be split? so 2 mics can be there? or just get and adapter from mic to XLR would be a much better option?

this is basically an overload of information for some people...learning videography from the intricacies of video all the way to the complications of audio. BUT i like it!

thanks for the input!