lambiekins Posted August 15, 2012 Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 I am creating a documentary of my father’s lifes work, this is my first venture into production. I currently have a Sony VG10 camera and a Marantz PMD670. Can I get a line out of the camera into the Marantz, so that the video and sound can be synced? Is Adobe CS6 software for Studio good for editing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Visser Posted August 15, 2012 Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 You have three options for synching sound... First is to slate every take the old fashioned way. A cheap old fashioned slate will help you in many ways, not only providing a reference clap for manually synching, but also give you important information that you will find incredibly useful when you go to edit. Second is use a product like Dual Eyes / PluralEyes which will allow you to semi-automatically synch the audio with video where it marries separately recorded sound files with the video clips. This requires that the camera has a reference sound, normally done with the built in on-board mics or a scratch feed from your audio mixer. (you should still slate regardless of what method you choose) Third is to just use the sound on the camera and just keep the audio recordings for backup. Because your Marantz recorder has excellent preamps and professional connections, there should be a remarkable improvement in just using it as a front end to the camera. The Marantz has RCA outputs and your camera has a mini-stereo mic input. Cable-wise, you would just need a mini-to-RCA adapter cable, like the type used to hook iPods up to home stere systems. What I can't help you with is the specifics, in what level output options you have on the Marantz and whether the input sensitivity is automatic or manual on the Sony... this would require someone to actually test. The basic gist is that you want to be able to record a reference tone on the Marantz and calibrate the inputs/outputs so that a reference tone or level set on the Maratnz will match that you see in post in your editor. This way you can maximize fidelity and avoid the cardinal sin in audio, clipping. Good luck with your project. (I'm not an editor, but CS6 is known to be a fine post-production suite. If you already own it, your good. If your buying something from scratch, shop around to see what suites your needs. I know people that love and hate Sony Vegas, Final Cut Pro, FCPX, Avid MC, iMovie - yes it's actually pretty good for what it "costs" - but a very personal decision you have to make yourself) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted August 15, 2012 Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 Hi, and welcome... " Can I get a line out of the camera into the Marantz, " wow... you are a beginner, as this is completely backwards... you need to do some learning, and some books may prove helpful try the ones at www.dplay.com by our own member Jay Rose. I strongly suspect you are going to need more than just audio learning and help; is there a Maui Community College program that you could take to learn some basic production stuff ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambiekins Posted August 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Thanks for the advice Mike, I'll take you up on those books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambiekins Posted August 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Thanks for the advice Tom, it was really helpful! I have a huge learning curve in a short amount of time. Do you have any good advice on setting up my mics on booms and c-stands. I have the following mics:Shure Beta 58, Sennheiser MKH 416 P48, Rode. I plan on setting my room up as a studio, making it real simple like the Charlie Rose set, (all black curtain with a table and chairs and just sitting my father there and doing an on camera interview. Can I set up booms on c-stands any recommendations on what booms, stands, cables lenghts to get? much mahalo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlimp Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 (edited) Hello lambiekins, First thing I'd ask myself would be: Do I want/need to do it all on my own, or would it be better to have someone help me out here and there? Example: I just finished shooting a 1yr. documentary and while I know a thing or two about how movies are made, it was an extremely crazy idea to do 95% of the shooting on my own (which I had to for several reasons: money, flexibility and closeness to the protagonists - which a 3-4 man crew wouldn't have allowed for). But one just can't expect to do decent interviews, operate a camera, do the directing, run 2-system sound, take care of schedule and every technical aspect oneself and expect not to lie awake at night crying. Which is what I did. I knew I would face a shooting ratio of about 100:1, which means 100 hrs of raw metrial for a 1h movie. I think my actual shooting ratio is about 200:1. And still, I'm not sure if it will ever become a "watchable" movie. But not to discourage you, and some more recommended reading: First of all, before going into any technical stuff, I would get this book and read it at least twice before even beginning the preplanning stage, or worse, pondering about which cables go where: "Making documentary films and reality videos", by Barry Hampe, Owl Books It's an easy read, full of valuable information about the general procedures, what can (& will) go wrong, it's full of real life examples, touches the subject of ethics, etc, just a very practical book. Highly recommended. You won't regret reading one single page. Good luck! (edit): It took me too long to type a reply, and from your latest post I see you're already in production. Good luck, and try aforementioned book. I'm sure the others will chime in with tons of great tech advice. Edited August 16, 2012 by fuzzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 I think it is a good idea to hire a pro after you finish your set and let him set up your gear for you and do some tests so you can interview with confidence on your project. The gear you have should be fine. Good luck on the film and keep us informed on the progress. CrewC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Reineke Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 The 416 is a great mic, for exteriors, it's sound 'could' be compromised by nearby interior walls and ceiling. The 58' would be useless on a boom, but could be used for VOs or on a desk stand in front of the interviewee, if you don't mind seeing it 'in the shot'. What model is the Rode? If you feed the mics directly into the Marantz XLR mic inputs, 25' cables would likely be plenty long enough for most interviews set-ups. You really should get some help on this. I wish you the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Martin Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 I think it is a good idea to hire a pro after you finish your set and let him set up your gear for you and do some tests so you can interview with confidence on your project. The gear you have should be fine. Good luck on the film and keep us informed on the progress. CrewC +1 Since you will have basically one location and you will be able to control it for the most part (shutting off air conditioning, refrigerators, other noise making devices) you should be in good shape. But as Crew said, it would definitely be wise to hire a pro to come in and consult on your setup, help you position the 416 over head, make sure your levels are appropriate (loud enough but will not clip/distort on loud peaks), make sure everything is wired properly with proper gain staging, etc.... Once all is set, you should be good to go for the rest of the shoot on your own. If you were doing more complex run and gun situations, various locations, indoors/outdoors, various interview subjects, etc... I'd say you may have a tough road ahead of you. But sounds like you made it as simple as you can. One day I want to do something similar and sit down with my Dad and just record some of his war stories and his recollections of our family history. It would be a great way to set it all in stone for future generations of the family. Best of luck and please do let us know how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted August 16, 2012 Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 " just sitting my father there and doing an on camera interview. " even just that little bit more info is a big help... If you are setting up a space to do a lot of shooting, it should be easy to include some sound damping to make the 416 you have do a fine job, and it could be set up on a boom mic stand combo from a music store... I'm going to get hammered for saying this, especially as I'm not familiar with the camcorder,but if you can get the Phantom power issue sorted out and feed the 416 into it (ior does the Rode include a battery option? then use it). If the camcorder has home video class audio input (mini trs) then the mic also needs to be properly unbalanced and adapted to the camcorder. set the camcorder up on a semi-tight (medium) shot, and then have your subject talk to you as you sit next to it... this is a lot of talking head, but you need to get your subject(s) comfortable and engaged in a conversation with you, so no technical fiddling during the conversation is advised. I personally hate the second camera from the side (so the speaker looks like s/he's talking to someone elsem somewhere else) but maybe a second camcorder close to the first with a bit looser framing provides you your editing possibilities... This is basic talking head doc style; of course a talk-show set-up is majorly different: multicam and multi-person on camera with a basic mixer, you ought to be able to deal with not only the Phantom power and unbalancing issues, but also feed both camcorders. remember, miniDV audio format is 16/48 (16 bits, 48kHz) full pcm audio and a decent inexpensive miniDV can provide very nice talking head images... remember, you want your audience to be paying attention to what is being said, not how it looks... and of course... it isn't about the arrows, it is about the archer... (aka <tiger>) Shakka' seestah; geeve 'um. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Saude Posted September 25, 2012 Report Share Posted September 25, 2012 "try the ones at www.dplay.com by our own member Jay Rose." I had no idea Jay Rose was a member! I found one of his books at my college and read that thing front to back many times. I checked it out constantly. Thanks Mr. Rose. I'm sure theres a post on books somewhere in this forum. Can some please redirect me? I tried searching using the google approach, but came up empty. I guess i'm missing the right keyword. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted September 26, 2012 Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 Books on these two links, as I have pointed out before: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Flaitz Posted September 26, 2012 Report Share Posted September 26, 2012 I tried searching using the google approach, but came up empty. I guess i'm missing the right keyword. "site:jwsoundgroup.net" then search keywords on google. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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