mixer or not

[c3kings]

Dear All,

I am running a shoe-string budget to make a film.

If I can choose either one of the following options, what would you suggest me, and why?

option 1: to have a nice sound recorder and have the sound recorded seperately from the camera. But the sound will go directly from boom to the recorder, no mixer in between.

option 2: to have nice mixer, but the sound will be recorded directly to the camera instead of a dedicated sound recorder.

Yes, in both situations, I will have sound man to look at the level, and bascially, I am just using a boom, at most, one more wireless, to record the interview and ambient sound.

Please comment.

Thanks.

King

 

[MarkG]

Two definitely unless you have a really crappy camera. The benefits of the mixer will outweigh any quality loss from recording into a decent DV camera rather than a DAT.

 

[c3kings]

Two definitely unless you have a really crappy camera. The benefits of the mixer will outweigh any quality loss from recording into a decent DV camera rather than a DAT.

Thanks MarkG, I am using a Panasonic HVX200, so I think it should be ok for rerording the sound.
By the way, what kind and brand of field mixer you will recommend? What do I have to pay attention when I choose a mixer in terms of features?
Thanks

 

[Bryant Falk]

Mixer

Mixer

Since you are using a Panasonic Camera you should be in good shape to drop audio straight in. Remember you are also getting the benefit of having all your audio synced up to sound when you digitize. Just make sure your camera audio is set to 48K 16bit.

Shure makes some great mixers for location work. Try and find something that has alot of flexibility and can work off batteries. The flexibility would be not just XLR inputs but also some line level ins like RCA's or quarter inch. These can come in hand if you have some wireless mic's that output to line level.

 

[c3kings]

Re: Mixer

Re: Mixer

Since you are using a Panasonic Camera you should be in good shape to drop audio straight in. Remember you are also getting the benefit of having all your audio synced up to sound when you digitize. Just make sure your camera audio is set to 48K 16bit.

Shure makes some great mixers for location work. Try and find something that has alot of flexibility and can work off batteries. The flexibility would be not just XLR inputs but also some line level ins like RCA's or quarter inch. These can come in hand if you have some wireless mic's that output to line level.

Thanks, Bryant. Let me check out Shure. What do you say about Sound Device, like the 3 something mixer?
Thanks a lot.
King

 

[MarkG]

I've used SQN and ACS (or is it ASC, I forget?) mixers, but they're British so I'm not sure if they're used in other countries.

SQN make very tough and high-end mixers that are used a lot in professional production, the ACS Minx is a cheaper mixer designed for news work, but is fine for low-budget movies too; main downside is it's only mono (three inputs, one output) while most of the SQNs can output stereo if you have multiple mikes (typically four or five inputs, two outputs). I have a Minx, but I'd have bought an SQN if I could afford to spend $6,000 on a mixer .

 

[Bryant Falk]

Sound Devices

Sound Devices

I have heard good things about Sound Devices equipment. If you have accesss to this you should be in good shape.

 

[MarkG]

As for what to look for, ideally I'd say you want low noise, enough inputs and outputs for as many mikes as you'd use, phantom power for the mikes, a decent meter and controls, a limiter to handle peaks 'nicely' when you can't avoid going over the volume limits, and a nice robust case for when someone drives over it while parking .