A huge problem I see all of the time is people who spend $2,500.00 ($5k, $10k?) on a camera and then want to get away cheap on sound.
Without great sound your visuals are just a bunch of pretty pictures. Poor sound has killed more otherwise decent indie projects than anything else. You spent days (weeks? months? years?) carefully crafting a script. Your talent will spend hours learning the dialog and put every ounce of their energy and talents into delivering those lines. And then you propose capturing all of that hard work, all of that effort, all of that meticulously written dialog, the words that are telling your story, with a junky $200.00 microphone put in the hands of whichever PA has nothing to do when you are ready to roll.
Sound is half of the experience - Steven Spielberg
Okay, you can get a passable microphone for about $250.00. What about the boompole? What about cabling? What about a shock mount? What about a windjammer? Are you planning on acquiring those things as well? You had better double up on your budget.
More importantly, what about the person handling the microphone? A great boom-op is worth his/her weight in gold. Even better is an experienced location sound recordist/boom-op team. Someone whose sole responsibility on the set is production sound is essential.
What about your locations? Have you scouted them for how they sound as well as how they look? Is it directly under an approach to an airport? Find a new location. Are there lots noisy appliances, such as refridgerators, air conditioners and computers? Shut them off. Is there lots of grit on the ground? Sweep the floor. Is the room excessively ambient? Hang up sound blankets and put down carpeting. A microphone is much less selective than your ears. Your brain can edit out extraneous noise, but a microphone doesn't have a brain, it records ALL sounds equally.
Spend the time and effort on the set to capture great location sound. Every hour you spend on the location sound will save you five in audio post. Can your talent handle extensive ADR? Can your budget? Can your budget handle extensive sonic surgery on your location sound?
Did you discuss sound during pre-production? No? Shame on you! What do you want the world your characters inhabit to sound like? Are you going to need specific sound effects? Will you need Foley? How can you use sound to help tell the story? What can you do with sound to enhance a character? Can a carefully crafted sound design redefine or eliminate an awkward scene?
I spend way to much time as a mechanic fixing audio problems that could easily have been avoided with a little pre-planning and a small increase in the budget. I would rather be the artist I consider myself to be and bring a soundtrack to life with a carefully crafted sound design than fixing and hiding the flaws of poorly recorded location sound.
Please, don't just give lip service to sound, do something about it. All too often when I introduce myself as a sound designer people say "Oh, sound is important!" Does anyone tell a DP/Cinematographer that pictures are important? Let's get real here!
Sound is half of the experience - Steven Spielberg
Sorry about the rant.
