ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

12 years, 4 months ago - Derek Hunter

Hi Vicki,

As a low-budget entry-level device you could use the "Zoom H2n Handy recorder" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005CQ2ZY6) with the "Zoom Accessory Pack" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005LVPLD4). Sound quality is great, the battery life is excellent and you get plenty of recording time.

If it's just you in the shot the Lavalier is fine and if you are interviewing people the accessory pack contains a screw-on handle to make the Zoom look like a hand-held mike.

Of course, for this price (less than £200) there is a "but" and it's the obvious one - there is no synchronisation between camera and recording device. You will have to synch the sound by hand in your editing software.

The first time I did this I tried to synch the sound to the edited version and it took hours. The second time I synched the sound to the raw footage and it was much easier. I also made sure I tapped the table or clicked my fingers to give myself some good reference points!

Plus points: Great quality for the money, portable, easy to use, no need for crew.
Minus points: Manual synch in post - but that's what clapper boards are for :)

Cheers,
Derek.

12 years, 4 months ago - Matt Jamie

one workaround for sound synch is to run a lead from the Zoom (or other) recorder's headphone socket into the mic-in on your 600D. That way you've got a safe recording on the Zoom and a backup on the 600D. Not sure if you can alter audio levels on the 600D but you can tweak using the headphone level on the zoom. (Plus side of this is no synch required - Down side is you don't get the audio from the on board camera mic (which is sometimes useful as a backup if there's a disaster with the Zoom...). I use a TASCAM DR-40 which works well and is v.similar to the more expensive ZOOM H4n. And you'll DEFINITELY need a wind-shield (sometimes called a "dead cat") for whatever you get - without it you can forget recording outside.

12 years, 4 months ago - Vasco de Sousa

Zoom's are great. I'm not sure about battery life, I think that's its weak point. Syncing isn't that bad, once you understand the quirks of your editing software.

And you do still need at least one crew member to monitor the sound (perhaps it can also be the camera operator.) I'd suggest investing in some good headphones, so you're not surprised about the sound in post. (Gear4Music has a sale of passable headphones for under ten pounds. They also have higher range headphones if you can afford it. They need to be the kind that cover your ears, I had the other kind before and they were pretty much useless.)

I'd get it at a music shop, where they'd also have cheap mics and know about low budget sound recording. Gear4Music (Leeds based) is a great shop which makes its own like of headphones, xlr cables (to connect zoom to a boom), mic stands, and then there are local music stores where you can walk in and find what you need.

Also, put into your budget the price of SD cards, batteries (which I think it goes through pretty quickly), and some kind of stand. The mini tripod that comes with the kit probably won't be sufficient, unless you can find a place to put the mic where it won't pick up ground shock of actors walking.

If you really have no crew, get a tripod or a music boom pole for your zoom. When you hold a zoom is can click.

I would also strongly advice getting someone (a kid, relative), just to make sure no one knocks over the camera.

I shot this with no crew and an old zoom mic. https://vimeo.com/58130604 It was meant to be longer, but there were clicks picked up. We also used the Zoom mic for ADR.

12 years, 4 months ago - Vicki Helyar

Hi everyone

Thanks for your advice. I really have to go over the answers and look into them with research on the internet as I am a complete beginner and I have no prior knowledge.

Just to add - there are no actors, just the real public, and there is absolutely NO crew whatsoever - just me alone, in case that affects any advice/ideas people may offer up.

RE: the Zoom that Derek mentioned - you said about the syncing issues in post - is there software that I can get so I wouldn't have to sync manually?

Thanks everyone.

Vicki

12 years, 3 months ago - Vicki Helyar

Thanks everyone who took the time to offer up their advice.

I will check out all the links and, as well, research each product that has been mentioned.

12 years, 4 months ago - Julian Kemp

I would also look at using a good quality mic on the camera, such as the rode videomic pro. This is far better than the built in mic, and you won't have any problems syncing.

For external recorders, I use a Roland R26, with either a shotgun mic or a lav radio mic. The battery life is great, easily several days when filming a feature film.

I put together this short tutorial looking at the mics I have available, and how different the sound is from the different mics!

http://youtu.be/VoQttIxo4S0

Regards
Julian