Recording dialogue in film production, and other questions.

FatBassPlayer · 30th August 2007, 03:16 AM

A friend of mine is making a short film for fun and wanted to know what the best way to get the talking recorded. He says at times the mics sound distant, and other times they are too close and it totally throws the dialogue off from edit to edit in a conversation. Also he tends to get too much back ground noise. What kind of tips do you guys have who have done professional sound on films? What kind of mic is most recommended and how do you keep the sound from changing from edit to edit and remain consistent through out the film?

Nu-tra · 30th August 2007, 03:21 AM

Sounds like he is using the camera mic. I have been doing sound for TV and film for about 10 years now. There are so many variables. What kind of camera/model would help.

aleatoric · 30th August 2007, 03:25 AM

Well on location film sound is always a bit tricky. That is why a large portion of most film dialogue is done in ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) in a studio after shooting. In general a good lavaliere mic on the actor as well as a boom mic (along with proper boom mic techniques) will achieve the best results. It is hard to eliminate background noise, no real tricks except to shoot in places with low background noise to begin with. What you should do is record some room tone of the place before and after shooting to have something to fill the ADR in post production. I take it from your post that the film is just for fun but you could always record ADR afterwards in a quite room with a SM58 and synch it up well. Or I know for a fact there are a ton of kids on craigslist and stuff who work for real cheap just for the reel material and credits. So that is an option. My advice would be to get a few lav mics and a boom and do some research. Good luck!

FatBassPlayer · 30th August 2007, 03:33 AM

Its not a professional camera, like those $10,000 ones. Its a Canon XL1 I think.

jhg · 30th August 2007, 04:03 AM

Reminds me of an old joke: Three actresses sitting around the set talking about who in the production they're sleeping with. ne actress says " the director, so I get more screen time " another says " the cinematographer, so I get more flattering angles" the third says "the sound guy" The other two ask why, " well, your guys are always saying - f*%k sound, f#*k sound! "

Badoom ching! I'll be here all week, or until imminent ejection.

Lav's and a good boom operator. Ahhhhhh. Tough using just the camera mic.

Sorry for off topicness.

Unhumourlessly yours,

jjhg

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30th August 2007, 03:16 AM	#1
FatBassPlayer Gear nut Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 94	Recording dialogue in film production, and other questions. A friend of mine is making a short film for fun and wanted to know what the best way to get the talking recorded. He says at times the mics sound distant, and other times they are too close and it totally throws the dialogue off from edit to edit in a conversation. Also he tends to get too much back ground noise. What kind of tips do you guys have who have done professional sound on films? What kind of mic is most recommended and how do you keep the sound from changing from edit to edit and remain consistent through out the film?

30th August 2007, 03:21 AM	#2
Nu-tra Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 2,537	Sounds like he is using the camera mic. I have been doing sound for TV and film for about 10 years now. There are so many variables. What kind of camera/model would help. __________________ http://www.nu-tra.com

30th August 2007, 04:03 AM	#5
jhg Gear addict Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: nyc Posts: 383	Reminds me of an old joke: Three actresses sitting around the set talking about who in the production they're sleeping with. ne actress says " the director, so I get more screen time " another says " the cinematographer, so I get more flattering angles" the third says "the sound guy" The other two ask why, " well, your guys are always saying - f%k sound, f#k sound! " Badoom ching! I'll be here all week, or until imminent ejection. Lav's and a good boom operator. Ahhhhhh. Tough using just the camera mic. Sorry for off topicness. Unhumourlessly yours, jjhg __________________ "Dung beetles with ostentatious horns tend to have smaller testicles" source unknown, as read in Harpers Findings, Dec. 2006.

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30th August 2007, 03:25 AM	#3
aleatoric Gear nut Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 148	Well on location film sound is always a bit tricky. That is why a large portion of most film dialogue is done in ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) in a studio after shooting. In general a good lavaliere mic on the actor as well as a boom mic (along with proper boom mic techniques) will achieve the best results. It is hard to eliminate background noise, no real tricks except to shoot in places with low background noise to begin with. What you should do is record some room tone of the place before and after shooting to have something to fill the ADR in post production. I take it from your post that the film is just for fun but you could always record ADR afterwards in a quite room with a SM58 and synch it up well. Or I know for a fact there are a ton of kids on craigslist and stuff who work for real cheap just for the reel material and credits. So that is an option. My advice would be to get a few lav mics and a boom and do some research. Good luck!

30th August 2007, 03:33 AM	#4
FatBassPlayer Gear nut Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 94	Its not a professional camera, like those $10,000 ones. Its a Canon XL1 I think.