Suggestions needed

vuim · Mar 10, 2009

I need to film a classical singer in a church or auditorium setting. I will be using a Cannon GL2 and filming from the back or side of the room. There will be an audience present. Does anyone have ideas or suggestions to capture the best sound on a tight budget? Would it be best to use a separate recorder like an Edirol R09 field recorder or purchase a microphones to place near the singer? There is bound to be a lot of reverb and echo from the back of the room so the camera's internal mic would not work well at all. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

Bob Kessler · Mar 11, 2009

A few questions:

Will there be instrumental accompaniment?

Is there any sound support (meaning a live sound mixer for the venue)?

For the cost of the Edirol and the mics you could hire someone to do a professional job.

vuim · Mar 12, 2009

There will be a piano. I am looking into having someone do the recording
but I am not sure how that is going to work out. I do not have any sound equipment at all and I was considering buying a basic set up for some of the shorts I plan to make this year. I am going off to college this fall so I will have access to school equipment in the future. If there is a microphone set up I could purchase for $300-$400 which would work, it might be worth the investment otherwise, I could try to borrow a good voice recorder and try to record the sound seperate from the video. Let me know if you have any thoughts. I realize how tough it can be to get good sound and that it doesn't come cheap. I just want to make the best choice considering the limitations.
Thanks.

vuim · Mar 12, 2009

I forgot to add. There is no sound support available. I will just be coming in a setting up a camera and what ever sound equipment I have. T

Bob Kessler · Mar 12, 2009

Your best option is to hire someone, and they should have the gear as a part of their package. Since it's only for a couple of hours it should be well within your $300 audio budget. Google up "sound mixer" "production sound", and "remote recording" for a local contractor.

An optimum set-up would record the piano in stereo (two [2] channels) and the vocalist (one [1] channel), a total of three (3) channels. The kit would include a stereo mic or a matched stereo pair to record the piano, a single mic for the vocalist and a four channel audio recorder/mixer set-up. If mono is okay a mic on the piano and a mic on the vocalist will work fine.

You could rent what you need. The one day rental should be relatively inexpensive. Contact a local rental vendor and check out their rates. 4-track digital recorders usually go for about $100 day, mics anywhere from $25 to $50 a day. As a package it would probably be $150 including the accessories (stands, cables, etc), probably a lot less. You should do a sound check prior to the performance to get the levels; keep in mind that the performance is almost always louder than the sound check.

$300 will not get you very much in the way of audio gear. Reliable, durable field recorders with good sound start at about $500. A passable shotgun mic with a boompole, shockmount and cables will run at least $300. (A shotgun mic is not what you need for this particular gig.)

Just keep in mind that you are filming a SINGER and the accompaniment, which makes this primarily an audio gig; the visuals are secondary. If it doesn't sound great no one will care how beautiful your shots are.