Sound advice

[drew123]

I've already touched on this a little in another thread but I would like some cheap, or if need be, not so cheap solutions on getting good sound in my low budget zombie movie i'm going to make, anything will help as I know nothing. In the past I've attempted to make little movies on a cheap digital camera but you can't hear the actors unless they shout their lines. These trial runs into movie making have got me wanting to make a more legitimate effort, so please help. Thanks.

 

[Bob Kessler]

"Cheap" is a relative term. To someone like me "cheap" means spending about $1,500 to build a basic sound kit. That will get a cardioid mic, a shotgun mic, a digital recorder and all of the accessories like a boom-pole, shock-mount, cables, cases, etc. FYI, a "Hollywood" sound cart can cost $50k or more - a lot more.

You didn't mention if your camera has an audio input. If this is the case you could do it for about $500 - $600, and you could shave some money off of that if you are handy; you could DIY a boom-pole & shock-mount. That would get you one mic and you would have to spend extra time prepping for sound.

Going cheaper may add more problems than you are capable of dealing with. Another thing you need to keep in mind is that knowledge and technique, things like gain staging & boom handling, also play a large role in sound quality.