Nicky T

The CM4 is a wide cardioid as far as I know, so not a traditional boom polar pattern. I haven't tried it, so don't know how it sounds but worth bearing in mind.

Thanks so much for all the advice everyone. I was thinking about this, and generally like the sound of AB ambience, although it seems like a less popular choice for documentary. Yes and with such a small crew I am really the only one who will look after it!

Sounds dreamy - would love to see/hear it if there's something online. We'll be a little further south in Hutsulshchyna. Thanks for all the advice, very useful to hear things from a post POV as well. To be honest, I can't really imagine clipping the 30 onto the 50 as-and-when, so will probably go for the mono boom + MS on stand option. I think the pace of the shoot will vary a lot, but generally I expect there will be time to set something up. I first read this as meaning: work out (as in, exercise) because you need to swing a boom and have a steady hand to hold an MS rig at the same time 🙂 Good point, poor figure 8s only being considered as part of MS when they are microphones in their own right.

🙃 Amen

Thanks Fred. Yes definitely an option. I'm leaning towards mono boom based on everyone's comments, and the undeniable logic of 'KISS'... Good point, although in this case the camera will be operated by a woman. We've actually worked together before and have talked extensively about the shoot already, so I'm optimistic.

Thanks, yes I looked into it a little while back but couldn't see any in stock anywhere in Europe. Having had a second look it seems there are some available, but not a ubiquitous mic by any means. Do you find it handles well/holds up in wet or humid conditions?

Thanks Henri, very useful info. Can I ask why you went back to this pair over the others you mention?

Sure, I was just curious if you had any preference for a shotgun to pair with a CCM8 outside of a CMIT. I see Cinela does a Pianissimo for DPA 4017B + CCM8 so I guess that is one answer... Yes, I am, and yes, it's a priority to record ambiences. But I would say booming is a higher priority...I guess this is the problem I was contending with!

Thanks all for taking the time to respond! Much appreciated. Yes Schoeps would be great, I'll look into it. What I have has all been second hand and has served me well so far (can happily boom the 50 all day) but MS is tricky. Would you pair the CCM8 with anything that isn't Schoeps? Thanks that's a really useful way of thinking about it. It's quite a remote location so with any luck we'll have a reasonable amount of quiet, but there is also some logging in the area, which is obviously noisy. I'll have a look at this, see what I can find used. The MCR54 looks great but I'm not going to need four channels for this shoot and unfortunately even though the price per channel is very competitive, it still adds up. MCR42 would be the most I can afford I think.

Hi all, I’m looking for some advice on what equipment to use for an upcoming documentary shoot. Covid permitting, I’ll be going later this year to shoot in Ukraine as part of a very small crew (myself, cameraperson/director, producer) following a local ethnographer as she goes about her research. There will be a lot of interior scenes, some exterior scenes and some folk music performances (could be interior or exterior). I don’t have much so experience with documentary - more short films, corporate and events. I have access to a Mixpre 6 (V1), MKH 416, MKH 50, MKH 30 and a couple of pairs of miniature omni pairs from Lom. Wireless is tbc - looking at a two channel bundle of Wisycom if I can afford it. Thought about Tentacle Track E + used G3 for a budget built-in recording solution. I’d also consider the new Deity BP-TRX for this but I’m skeptical whether they will ship in time for the shoot. I may not always be able to be in the interior locations with the camera and protagonist, so either built in recording or good range (or both) is desirable. Can’t afford Zaxcom unfortunately! I’ve previously always rented wireless but the length of shoot (and rental fee) justifies a purchase this time. My other question is how documentary soundies approach booming, and whether people ever boom an MS pair? In an ideal world I would love to do this, but the 50/30 is a little tricky to handle and I wonder whether just the 50 will give better results. I’ve also thought about building a mini ‘drop rig’ setup with the omnis and a pocket recorder for interior ambience. General advice is also very welcome.