Rob Stalder Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 It is a good idea to rent equipment or hire someone with gear, but as I mentioned it is not easy in Hungary, because we do not have lot of professional sound crew here. You are right that I do not want to become a soundie, but I have to have at least something for audio recording if I can not hire a professional audio guy. Ivica is just down the road from you in Zagreb - give him a bell. http://studiosljiva.wix.com/sljiva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Ear Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 The MKH50 is definitely not bacis, but so many members recommended it, that I suppose with that mic it will be less likely to totally screw up the sound. A modest mic in the right place will sound better than a great mic in the wrong place. Worry less about the tools at this stage, and more about the technique. Marc, thanks for the HBO clip. Really funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Posted June 14, 2014 Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 A modest mic in the right place will sound better than a great mic in the wrong place. Worry less about the tools at this stage, and more about the technique. Truer words were never spoken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollsfoto Posted June 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Sorry for the late reply, but I was on holiday and I was happy to not have an internet connection The MKH50 is an excellent mic, but for a beginner, who doesn't want to become an audio pro, I am not sure it's a wise investment. It's a very expensive microphone that is not suitable in every situation. Such a mic is not always ideal outside when shooting outside. Unless you only need the mic for this movie, I'd consider a more versatile and cheaper mic. Maybe one of the modular mics from AKG, Audio Technica or maybe even the cheaper (and not so grat sounding) Sennheiser K6/ME series. You can swap the capsules as needed and if you are worried that the MKH50's pickup pattern might still be too narrow for you, you could just change it to something wider on a modular series. The mic body plus a few capsules will still be less than one MKH50 Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely need to experiment a bit with the microphones. The MKH50 is very big investment considering that as often as I can I will hire a professional boom operator/mixer. So, if it is not an option, then I need an equipment for those situations (low budget shoots). I will check out the AKG and Audio Technica as you suggested. I also heard that Sennheiser 416 and Rode NTG-3 are great for on camera use. Maybe it would be better as trying to do the fixed boom mic trick. Right now I am pretty confused, because there is so many options, so many suggestions it is pretty hard to decide which way to go. And as I told earlier it is not an option to rent equipment, because we do not have renting houses for video, so I need to pull the trigger and buy something to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stalder Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 What Constantin said. My personal choice would be the Sennheiser K6/Me66. - K6 powering module with me66 super cardioid capsule. Its not too directional. Also K6 section can also be powered by aa battery which is a big bonus for you. Well priced http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/73100-REG/Sennheiser_ME66_K6_COMBO_ME66_K6_Super_Cardioid_Mic.html I wouldn't touch a 416 - in your hands it would be like me trying to shoot stills from the window of a speeding bus with fixed lenses & a manual zoom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Miramontes Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 I haven't read every single post on this thread so forgive me if this has already been said before. Unless the films you're making have a story line, in other words there's action in between the "action", then having a sound crew may not even be worth it. I worked with a Porn Star (who has over 1000 film credits to his name) on a movie I did and had asked him about sound crews on his films. He said they rarely ever have a sound crew. They use the audio from the shotgun mic that is mounted on the camera since most of the framing is close enough to capture good sound. You may be overthinking how to do this if this is your first time working on these types of films. Again, unless there is a lot of "dead space" in between the sex then a sound crew may be overkill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjafreddan Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I am primarily a photographer, but I have to start doing this job - I do not really care that I have to - because I think it has potential and I can make some money. I am not expecting to be rich, I only want to pay my bills, thats it. So, I do not needed a lot of advice of what video gear to get, because it is somehow related to photography. When I start to do something new I am always really enthusiastic and often can sit in front of tutorials, books hundreds of hours and another hundreds just trying out how it works. "A way back in my career, when I was still pretty hungry for work and income, I got asked to do an Adult Movie, and offered a decent rate; I asked an experienced mentor if I should take the job (or would it ruin my budding career??) and his response was: "you aren't going to be acting in it, are you? OK, work is work"*. It paid a lot better than low-no budget crap I was being offered, and I actually made a lot of money working on Adult Movies, and in fact was often working for one of the top production companies in the porn industry, and not ashamed to say so." I've never worked with adult movies, but I got my fair share of exposure during my military services. Gymnastics movies was on all the time back in the barracks. Those were the days... :-) Anyway, you have already worked on adults movies so I guess you already know the drill. As a photographer you should make it easy for yourself. Having a separate audio recorder that needs to be synced up in post production is just extra work that you won't get paid for - you would need a recorder with time code and preferably two time code generators to do it the proper way. Instead you should use the two inputs on the camera and hook up the camera mic on channel one and a wireless receiver on channel two. If you get a wireless ENG kit like the Sennheiser EW 100-ENG G3 or Sony UWP-D16 (or similar kit), you could hook up the plug-on transmitter to a KTEK boom with built-in cable and have a wireless link between the camera and the boom operator. The boom op won't hear what he's doing but you will if you have your headphones on (which you should have). And if the boom op wants to hear what he's doing, there are boxes available to hook up between the boom output and the transmitter input - or a small ENG mixer. If you're not that experienced and the boom operator isn't either, it's better to not being hooked up via cables. There will be times when the boom is casting unwanted shadows and with a wireless boom it's easy to move to a new position. In close-up shoots the camera mic will pickup the hard sync sounds and the boom mic can pickup the cheerful sounds of the lady. Don't know if the Sennheiser MKH-8050 mic has been mentioned - haven't used it myself - but it's cheaper than the MKH-50 and weight less. Buying a better camera mic is probably also a good thing to do. Keeping track of the levels is obviously important in such a dynamic sound environment, but once you've set the levels on the loud sounds, you should be okay. Make sure the limiter is enabled in the camera. A little bit of microphone and RF noise can always be masked with a music bed of soft jazz. :-) I'm sure you're not planning to stay in adult movies forever and as a photographer, it's necessary to own and be able to operate one or two wireless systems. I'm sure you will find use for the wireless system filming other projects. Just my two cents Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollsfoto Posted July 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 I am very glad for every help I get from you guys, because I understand that this is not your "level" and it is almost like if you were asking me about which "Point&Shoot" camera to buy. After browsing this thread and other sources again and again it I am thinking about the following setup when I have to do it alone: Sennheiser K6/ME66(if you recommend, then NTG-3) for outdoor/on camera mic Audio Technica AT4053B for indoor - fixed boom mic into Tascam DR-60D with setting limiters/safe channel and not trying to ride levels I really will have to try what can I achieve without sound crew and for low budget productions stick with basic gear/crew. If I have a budget then I will definitely try to hire a professional sound crew, because this thread helped me understand how important it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjafreddan Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 Sennheiser K6/ME66(if you recommend, then NTG-3) for outdoor/on camera mic Audio Technica AT4053B for indoor - fixed boom mic into Tascam DR-60D with setting limiters/safe channel and not trying to ride levels I recommend the Rode shotgun instead of the Sennheiser ME66, the latter is too harsh sounding IMHO. And I still think hooking up one wireless system to the camera and a wireless boom mic, is the best solution for you. Along with the camera mic you get two channels of audio directly into the camera, the sound quality is good enough using a Sennheiser G3 system and you will be free of cables. And you don't have to spend hours syncing the audio and the video manually. Buy it and thank me later. LOL! No seriously, once you've set the sound levels you will be good to go. Film whatever needs to be filmed and move around the wireless shotgun mic either on a tall mic stand or on a boom pole. Just my two cents Fred Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantin Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 I agree about the sound of the NTG-3, but the K6/MExx series is more flexible with the interchangeable capsules. And it can be battery powered. Anyway, many options have been listed. Now, the choice is yours, Dollsfoto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmfsnd Posted July 8, 2014 Report Share Posted July 8, 2014 I would just find a way to clamp or c-stand secure a mic overhead. Let's be honest, anything more than a trusty 50 overhead would be overkill for your target audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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