First Time short film field recording

[Il Giallo Uomo]

Okay I know there are lot's of threads like this but I wanted to see what people think about my specific situation. I'm doing sound for a friend's short film and he's not paying me so I'm just doing what I can and what I can do is: use a macbook pro, a focusrite saffire pro 10 with 2 sennheiser shotgun mics with booms to record indoor dialogue. Am going to test room sounds tomorrow. Am not using an in line compressor so am not going to record too hot. There are three actors max per scene but mostly only two. It doesn't need to be 100% pro (with no budget of course) but wondering if anyone thinks this may end really badly. Any suggestions?

[Matti]

Look / listen at the acoustics, movers blankets could help.
Keep a good relationship with the camera dept. ( framing, avoiding shadows of the booms etc. )
Listen for consistency between takes and scenes, what the heck - the whole project. Solid boom work expected...

Matti

[surflounge]

always use a Pendulum PL-2 JFET/MOSFET Analog Peak Limiter

[postprosound]

I must ask, what are you doing for timecode and or sync in your current setup? In the movie/tv world, if it is not recorded into a Sound Devices, Cantor, or Nagra rig, most generally (and kept in sync with timcode), it is recorded strait into the camera. For the sake of whoever is editing the picture and sound, I would recommend just using a simple, clean, colorless pre directly into the camera. (such as the sound devices pres) That way, when the video is digitized into their Avid/FCP, sound will already be in sync, and you don't have to worry about that. Past that, remember to mic as close as possible, point the mic at the mouth. listen very carefully for outside noises, and turn off your cellphone. As you said, record with NO compression, as this will (if necessary) be taken care of in the mix. Past that, go practice a bit before hand, to make sure you are ready, listen to those tracks to make sure all sounds good, and then go have fun...

[Il Giallo Uomo]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Can I ask POSTPROSOUND, If I use a preamp straight into the camera I can only use 1 mic right? I haven't seen the camera yet but if it has a stereo input could I use a 2 channel pre and 2 mics? Because I am inexperienced in this type of work and am also not 100% familiar with the script I think we would be better off with 2 mics. Thanks.

[postprosound]

Sure, you can go directly into the camera with 2 channels, assuming it's a decent camera with Pro features. You might want to check, as a lower grade consumer camera might cause troubles. Depending on the camera, changing from a mic to line input might be buried deep in the menus, or it might be a switch on the side. Be sure to check that it's set up correctly.
Depending on where you live, you might be able to rent a Sound Deices preamp. for a few dollars, you get a great, small preamp. Though, although they are far from the best, the pre's in the camera do offer simplicity, which is always good. When you consider that you will be adding music, sound effects, and the like, you can cover many issues. But if you can get a good pre.. all the better.

[Il Giallo Uomo]

Yeah I checked and the camera does have two pres on it that can also be switched to line. I could use the pres on the camera or I can use a presonus blue tube (because its small and the only other preamps I have are ampex mx10s) in solid state mode. I'll test the camera pres against the blue tube and see what the best result is. Thanks for input.

[peet]

Originally Posted by postprosound

I must ask, what are you doing for timecode and or sync in your current setup? In the movie/tv world, if it is not recorded into a Sound Devices, Cantor, or Nagra rig, most generally (and kept in sync with timcode), it is recorded strait into the camera. For the sake of whoever is editing the picture and sound, I would recommend just using a simple, clean, colorless pre directly into the camera. (such as the sound devices pres) That way, when the video is digitized into their Avid/FCP, sound will already be in sync, and you don't have to worry about that. Past that, remember to mic as close as possible, point the mic at the mouth. listen very carefully for outside noises, and turn off your cellphone. As you said, record with NO compression, as this will (if necessary) be taken care of in the mix. Past that, go practice a bit before hand, to make sure you are ready, listen to those tracks to make sure all sounds good, and then go have fun...

Good advice.
All I can add to it is this: make sure you have your gain staging worked out before you start shooting. A Sound Devices preamp straight into a camera can lead to distorted sound if you don't have your gain staging worked out. There was a post on GS some time ago that dealt with this, you might want to search for it.

Peet

[neve2254e]

Hey it's my first reply. be kind if I don't get all of this right.
you said

I'll test the camera pres against the blue tube and see what the best result is

The most import thing in this kind of work is the boom operator. He can make you, or brake you. Good mic pre amps are cool, but a good boom operator is priceless.

not "shure" what camera you are recording to, check it and make sure that the compressor (some times called auto gain) is turned off, also keep checking it. Camera guys will bump the settings all the time.

regards
Eric

[postprosound]

Good point, Eric. In the end, the boom op is way more important that any other single piece of equipment. Since you are not dealing with compression or character, mic pre's are less critical, as long as they are quiet. You said you have decent shotguns. (though most location guys prefer a super or hyper cardioid for interiors, but no biggie.)
just remember to point the mic at the thing the sound is coming from, and try not to ad mic bumps.