Basic Location Sound Tips

[-silent-sam-]

So I am going on my first Location Sound gig this week and I have pretty much no Idea what to expect or what I am doing really? (aside from my studio knowledge)

Anyone have any Basic / General tips that may come in handie?

There are 2 shoot days.... some indoors ....some outdoors... The indoor shots is 1 person and the outdoor shots is 2 people.

I just don't want to embarrasses myself.


James

[Jim vanBergen]

James, welcome to the forum.

Have a look at the "stickies" at the top of the remote forum. Steve Remote has put a lot of love into these, and they are full of gold nuggets.

Hope this helps, good luck with your gig.

JvB

[tsvisser]

are you doing a film/video shoot? it sort of sounded like it from your description.

what are your responsibilities? mixer, boom op, or sort of all-in-one sound dude?

are you going to use a field recorder? what is expected as your deliverable and what equipment do you have available to work with?

[-silent-sam-]

Originally Posted by tsvisser

are you doing a film/video shoot? it sort of sounded like it from your description.

what are your responsibilities? mixer, boom op, or sort of all-in-one sound dude?

are you going to use a field recorder? what is expected as your deliverable and what equipment do you have available to work with?

Thanks Jim.... I will check out those stickies...


As for you....... I am gong to be mixer / boom op. All i know is its a roland mixer...(not to worried because i got tons of experience with more complicated mixers...like the ssl in my picture) and a shot gun mic.... and to wireless mics is what i was told... I assume he ment wireless lav mics.

And I also assume audio will be recorded direct to video..... however I am having a meeting tonight to confirm this and other things.

[tsvisser]

using wireless lavs is a great safety. much better signal to noise ratio and better isolation since the mics are right on the talent. the sound of lavs, though, can leave something to be desired depending on the quality of equipment used. this is where your mic and boom come into the mix.

if you are recording direct to the camera... problem is that you are likely going to have 2 channels to work with. If you are using a Roland or some small format mixer, you won't really have much opportunity to "mix" since you won't have a baggable mixer on you and will otherwise have your hands full with the boom. so rather than being able to give the camera a mixed 2-ch, you will have to set and forget the levels for the 3 mics.

I'd probably mix both (in scenes with more than 1 person) wireless lavs to 1 channel on the camera. make sure both mics are at the same relative gain settings and because most scenes have 1 talent talking at a time, in post they can always adjust levels if there is a mismatch or they want to offset volume from 1 of the talent. of course put your boom on the other channel. let the director or DP monitor the lavs in mono, as they'll be confused if you try to let them monitor your boom work too. obviously you should be monitoring your boom.

some other tidbits...

SHOTGUN MICS> excellent directional capabilities at higher frequencies, but are very very sensitive to placement. despite their directionality, it is not a license to allow further micing distances. get the mic as close as possible. point the mic right at the mouth of the talent speaking. easy concept, but it is a bit of a hand / eye / scripting motor memory / reflex capability that takes awhile to master. of course you have to keep the imaginary upper frame line of the camera in your head while doing this too. on a side note, I think that people are too quick to grab the shotgun when it is not necessary... just because it is sort of a standard. My opinion is that a standard hypercardioid should be the first go to mic and the shotgun only used in situations where you really need it... like extreme ambient noise on the set or windy situations, etc... hypercardioid are more forgiving with respect to off-axis frequency changes than a shotgun (uses an interference tube for off-axis rejection) and would be especially beneficial for a novice boom op. they generally sound much better too.

DIRECTOR / DP> your job is to make their life easier so they don't have to think about sound. I'm not saying that sound isn't important, because it is, but most video types fundamentally don't really understand sound, which is why you are there as an expert. if the sound is messed up and you have to retake the scene, so be it. but don't ask them for advice or collaborate on audio issues / questions. figure it out and do it with as little interaction from them as possible. their hands are full with lighting and working with the talent.

ROOM TONE> make sure you capture a minute or so of room tone.... this can be used in post to help smooth out the mix if some heavy handed editing needs to be done.

BOOBS> its ok to look at them, but when wiring up females with the lavs, make sure you know where the talent's comfort level is with you touching, clipping, and running wires in shirts, etc... they are supposed to be professionals, or are amateurs trying to break into a profession, but don't start a ruckus when it could easily be avoided by asking a few questions first rather than just getting to work.

MISC> all mics should have low cut filters or available on the board, shock mounts, internally wired boom poles are nice, make sure you have lots of tape, batteries, headphones, adapters, etc... the obvious stuff. if your not using it, put it away. sets can get very messy and it is hard to keep things organized if you don't get into a super-anal mode with your gear. don't chat people up too much on the set during the work "day". its ok to be social, but in the spirit of being johnny on the spot with equipment, there's better times for socializing and networking, not on the set. in other words, don't be a distraction for the director / DP who have to wonder why your delaying the lighting grips or why your chatting up the talent when they should be focussed on other things.