Best products from r/LocationSound

I second what Qualsa said. Don't feed into cameras when you can avoid it. hopefully you can get someone to slate and log the shots down. it'll save your lives and make things SO much easier.

notice how your Zoom writes the file names. I think they are usually STE-000 or MONO-000 depending on how you record it (haven't used 4 channels yet) and then write that on the slate. I also have an h4n so the naming conventions might be a little different. for films i'd recommend it naming by the shot or take over by the date. it'll be easier, trust me.

next: don't worry about lavs. Not yet. you have enough to worry about and lavs and 50 cables are going to tie you down, OR you're going to have a hell of a time trying to figure out what frequencies are usable and not. plus you can even still get interference on frequencies that you thought were empty, but they actually weren't. So, please avoid that for now. You need to set aside non-project time to get that stuff right. Even then, it's different in every county or city.

now, Learn what your mics can and can't do. This is essential. The Zoom has great warmth, so maybe for closeups in the studio, you might get better audio using the zoom's sensitive microphones verses a shotgun or something with a long pole, but I can't know for sure without being there, so that one is up to you.

third, back to the slating, if you've never slated before, here is a good one we are using for a feature we are filming. God it has helped out tons:
Right here

if you want to make things a little easier, you can get some [Gaff tape]9http://www.amazon.com/Pro-FLGRN250-Gaffers-yards-Length/dp/B000SYYIGU) to write down things that wont change. IE director, production name, etc. that and a sharpie will save a lot of time.

But what's a slate without a log book? We've been fine with just:



Roll | Scene | Shot | Take | Audio File | Good/bad/fair
----|-----|----|----|----------|-------------
01 | 1 | 1 | 1 | STE-000 | **
01 | 1 | 1 | 2 | STE-001 | (train horn)
01 | 1 | 1 | 3 | STE-002 | (distant horn during whispering line)
01 | 1 | N/a | N/A  | STE-003 | ADR - Whispering Line
01 | 1 | 2 | 1 | STE-004 | (actor fell down)
01 | 1 | 2 | 2 | STE-005 | (might have clipped)
01 | 1 | 2 | 3 | STE-006 | ****
01 | 1 | 2 | 4 | STE-007 | Safety
01 | 1 | 3 | 1 | MONO-000 | Wide

This is how we've been slating: http://i.imgur.com/dMVsGbp.jpg

It's pretty simple and saves a ton of time when editing. If you don't have your own adaptation of logging things, this is a great time to get in the habit. If you think you can handle not logging it, at least make sure to see if you can call out your audio file name and get a loud CLAP once the camera has started rolling and before the director calls action and definitely before yall both cut. that way the editor can know what file to look at.

if you cant get it during the shot, try and ADR. If you can ADR on set in between shots or once yall wrap up, please do. it'll be so much easier to do while everything is fresh on the actors minds. Don't be afraid to get everyone quiet. sometimes you can't get in that sweet spot where you know it sounds the best, but they gotta get the shot. So pull the actors aside and get their audio if you need to. But try try try and get the audio as best that you can so you don't have to do the extra work and can move on to other things.

DEAD CAT'S for the external mics. Find one that fits your setup.

and RED HEADs for the zoom.

Those will save your life.

feel free to correct me. I am just another dude learning his craft. I told you everything to the best of my current knowledge. I'm sure that eventually I'll find better methods than what my crew is currently using someday down the road.

So, to a certain degree you've got a combination that doesn't play well with eachother. The NTG2 has fairly low sensitivity, and a noticeable bit of self noise, which means it needs a lot of gain. The H4n also doesn't have good quality pre-amps so it adds a lot of noise any time you have to jack the gain up. It looks like you've got the original silver body, which is infamous for being noticeably bad. The black body Pro model has upgraded pre-amps which are less bad. So, you can see how this combo isn't ideal, and more or less setting you up for a noticeable hiss even under ideal conditions.

Unfortunately a lot of people review the H4n highly because they're musicians and they've got it taped to the front of a guitar amp or something. It's relatively speaking easy to get good sound from an inch away from an amp, compared to a speaking voice from 2+ feet away. A few inches can make a lot of difference. Such as going from 20 inches to 6 inches overhead, that can often immediately make things sound a lot better.

If for stylistic reasons you need a lot of headroom, I recommend getting a lav instead. I have a Countryman B3 wired for xlr that I just plug straight into my recorder for shots like this. It'll almost certainly sound better by sheer virtue of being that much closer.

Make sure you're not on 4CH mode, as that will be recording from the built in capsules at the same time as your shotgun mic.

Make sure Stamina Mode is turned off.

Also, where you point the mic plays a large part. For example if there is a fan behind the person and you've got the mic pointed over the person's shoulder. Or pointed out a window, etc.


That all said though, if you're having to max the gain, something is wrong. Even with a low sensitivity mic like that unless the person is whispering you shouldn't have to crank it up that high. It is theoretically possible you've got an attenuated cable. Unlikely, since you usually have to look around for them, but some cables have a "pad" built in, so every so often if someone just grabs the first thing that comes up they can end up with a cable that has a -10, or -20, or even more pad on it, and you'll need to crank that gain way up to compensate.

Audiogadgets -10 dB Mic Pad / True Balanced In Line XLR Attenuator Cable https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00A9JWJ1A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6NJCCbDSDT9WM

Just to check, because I have literally seen it happen multiple times, are you SURE you're turning up the gain(Rec Level) on the righthand side, or the headphone volume(Vol) on the lefthand side? They're both the same kind of buttons, so I've seen people get them confused. What levels was it showing when you were recording? Does the gain need to be that high while recording with the built in mics?

Try some experiments, move the mic around the area, and check if the noise is constant. Lots of people have mentally tuned out the sound of their houses and workspaces, so you can have loud fans, humming electronics, buzzing lights, etc and hearing it through a mic makes them notice it again and suddenly it sounds loud and foreign.

Or, another super common thing is that people are unused to the sound of their own voice. It will never sound as rich and deep as it does in your own head. Everyone sounds higher pitched and often more nasal than they think they do. So while we might think we've got a prime Movie Trailer Guy Voice that is rich and deep, we actually don't.

If you know anyone who has some equipment, or you've got a friendly local store with demo units, take your kit over and try your mic with their recorder, try their cable, try their recorder, try their mic with your recorder.

If you don't have any audio software, a DAW, I strongly recommend Reaper. Unlimited trial period, or a license is $60. If you're going to be working with audio it will be a much better option than what comes packaged with NLE video editors.

If you plan to do this more often, upgrading away from the H4n is strongly recommended if you can. The F4 is several generations newer, better in every way, and has been as low as $350 new.

There are a few good tricks you can use to get realistic gunfire recordings like the example you linked to. The first thing to be sure of is that your microphone(s) are capable of handling high sound pressure levels. With your zoom H6, the XY microphones can handle 135 dB, so that should be good for distant coverage and to get stereo perspective following the actual shot. For the closeup dialog and sounds I'd suggest a hypercardioid condenser like the Audio-Technica 4053b because of its 155 dB maximum spl. Most full shotguns like your Rode don't handle high levels impulses like gunfire gracefully (it's rated at 120 dB maximum SPL). A blend of these mics should give good results, but you still want to be sure you don't have any analog overloading happening. That way you can control the way the impulse and recovery are shaped (in post and digitally) to get a natural sound in your final product.

The next thing to do is make full use of the 24-bit recording capability of the H6. If used correctly, you can get a theoretical 144 dB dynamic range, so you can record whatever either of these mics puts out. And do not use compression or limiting during recording. This is NOT what you normally do in recording field sound for video. You want to be sure that when you fire a round the tracks you are recording don't overload--at least not very much. That means if you set recording levels accordingly, your dialog and quiet sounds will barely move the meter. You will need to use a gain plug-in during editing to bring it up to normal levels. Because of this and because of the possibility of noise to be introduced elsewhere, I suggest you use a mic splitter like this which blocks phantom power from one channel to avoid damage to the mic. Then record the mic on two channels, one set for the gunshots and the other set for maybe -20 dBFS on narration and incidental sounds. Be sure you don't limiting or compression on either of the two XLR channels.

In post, you will have two clean channels and a boosted safety channel that you can control.

You should do a lot of testing to get the best sound here. If you're lucky, you can put a fast-decay digital brick wall limiter on the boosted stereo and mono tracks and get very clean, realistic results with no pumping or unnatural sounds of compressors recovering.

Hope this helps. Let me know if any questions.

Assortment of adapters, filters, and switchable pads in a heavy duty ziploc freezer bag. The see through bag helps me find what I'm looking for quickly.

Assortment of adapter cables for XLR Line/mic to/from TA3, and non-lectro mic to TA5 (thank you Remote Audio who will make any cable known or unknown to man). These are also in a heavy duty freezer ziploc bag

Extra zip loc bags LOL

Assortment of batteries.

Extensions with breakaway for runs to camera. Let the camera guy get close the the spewing volcano, I'll stay right here thank you.

Enough Ambient Eumels, for every lav so we can have one set of mics for both wired and wireless. They make a version for pretty much every wireless system.

lectro remote app iphone version and android version

Topstick and moleskin, great stuff.

Small toolkit with lectro tweaker screwdriver, leatherman, and LED flashlight.

We usually have hats with LED's in the brim

Cheap compact Rain poncho often used to cover gear rather than crew

Umbrella though it's usually in the truck and not in the kit per se...

Gloves

Extra Velcro strap ties (usually kept wrapped around cart leg or bottom of boom pole for quick access)

Misting bottle with Downy fabric softener. Can help keep clothes rustle low.

Clear surgical type tape

Little XLR tone generator

Minilyzer because it helps solve all the analog audio things

Gaff tape

White Console/Paper labeling tape

Sharpies

Slate

backup suspension mount just in case I break a Rycote or leave it at the shop.

boom pole holder bracket with clamp for light stand

thread adapters for various standards

The ever-awesome collapsible brush that comes with Rycote softies. Sometimes we have to plant mic's in wigs/hair (and makeup is usually off flirting hahaha j/k).

Pack of peanut butter crackers because sometimes food isn't supplied or isn't convenient

(2) sets of really cheap headphones. Throwaways

Deep Woods Off bug repellant

Sunscreen

First Aid Kit with extra aspirin and Benadryl. This is also on the truck and not in kit per se...

A handheld dynamic mic with windscreen.

I always keep a six pack of bottled water in the car.

Contact info in phone for other crew positions. You can be a hero if someone doesn't show.

----

and because that IS a lot of stuff....

Bucket Boss Long Boy bag(s) (check that price). VERY tough bag. Has straps for a level which hold a boom pole just as well

EDITS - trying to remember everything and include info for other wireless systems

That's cool. Was just checking you had considered the options... From an audio point of view, a voiceover will result in cleaner audio, but it sounds like capturing the moment is more important to you.

I'm not familiar with the mic you have... I looked at it on Amazon just now and it should work fine for you, but if it's too sensitive then you need to lower the gain (level) of the mic at it's input stage. Is it the Voice Memos app that you've been using? I don't think that has gain control. I believe the Røde Rec LE app is free and has input level control, so I'd give that a try. Or the PCM Recorder MK II app by TEAC/Tascam should do the same if you prefer that.

If that doesn't work then it's likely that the mic is just too sensitive for yoru application and you might have to consider another option. I don't have much experience with consumer lav mics, only professional ones, but I've heard people say the Røde smartLav+ is surprisingly decent for the price and it has headset mount available too.

Other than that, I think you'd have to step it up a level and look at a better quality mic and probably a hardware audio recorder.

This is not preplanned or anything, but here are some things off the top of my head.

1. Know your gear inside and out. Knowing how to use your tools is more important than just having the right ones. ReadTheFuckingManual on everything you own, and then read it again. I keep all the manuals for my gear on my phone in PDFs just in case because there is inevitably that feature you haven't used in a while that you feel like a moron for not remembering how to use.
   
   
2. Practice boom and lav technique a fuck ton, as that's a huge percentage of your job. Boom technique is not as simple as it sounds or looks. You have to be ready to cover a scene with a lot of variables. What if an actor doesn't hit their mark, or the cam op/DP ends up shooting that particular take differently? You have to be ready to stay out of frame/watch shadows and reflections while still getting the take. Sometimes actors skip/change/improv lines on takes. How do you handle that? You need to train your arm/shoulder muscles and be very light on your feet. Just Sunday I had my full bag setup while booming an exterior night shot with the camera on a Ronin (gimbal). There was a light the actress walked right under going into the shot that gave terrible shadows, and right after she passed it a second actress came into frame with a line. I had to hustle and drop in a boom 15' to 18' extended to catch her line without getting in the light, making audible noise with my feet, shaking the mic, or getting in frame. This kind of stuff is just what a boom op is supposed to be able to do.
   
   
3. Be professional. Don't get pissed when camera department walks all over sound. It's the job. Figure out the best way to get your sound and make them aware of the compromises they're making. Otherwise, don't get bent out of shape. You also should be extremely well mannered when laving talent. I'm not a formal guy, but when laving people I say please and thank you for everything. You're invading their personal space, it's important to be completely professional at this point.
   
   Laving takes a lot of practice to know what works and what doesn't. When I first started I was pretty terrified of it and had all kinds of trouble with clothing noise. I've gotten enough experience to have a much better grasp of it. I can usually just look at a wardrobe and my first instinct on how to lav it works 90% of the time. You still need to be ready to check and tweak lav setups and be ready to use a lot of different methods.
   
   There is so much more, I would have to write a book on it. In fact, somebody already has.
   
   http://www.amazon.com/The-Location-Sound-Bible-Professional/dp/1615931201
   
   

Considering how little space they take up, I'd recommend at least keeping a pair in your kit. Also prudent as a backup. Whenever you have a new/no utility, it's also smart so you can help suss out on-set noise offenders.
I discovered that I really love the earbuds that come with Samsung Galaxy S8. They're on Amazon, just make sure you get the ones from China, not Vietnam or Thailand or whatever. Those ones suck. I linked the correct ones below. They're great because they're cheap enough to be expendable, but robust enough to survive our work environment. They also sound surprisingly good.
I have like 10 pairs and I use them daily. I put some adhesive-walled shrink tubing just before the earbuds split and then zip tie an ID badge clip to the shrink tubing so I have tension relief and isolation. I also use a low-profile right angle jumper so everything is flush and pretty.

AKG earbuds:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071S9RFT7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_B1jBCbRX5YY8J

Right angle jumper:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017PT8XRK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_n3jBCbP2SAN4M

Hey there! Sound engineer specializing in broadcast here!

I saw a comment recommending the Sennheiser G3 kit with a Countryman headset and I wanted to support this idea. You definitely don’t want to go low budget on audio, your video and broadcast will suffer most from bad sound than from bad quality image.

Also, I want to try and steer you away from any Behringer products. My highest recommendation is to look for a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface. It’s compact and portable, and your control knobs for volume and gain are on the front face of the unit. As well, it has balanced ins and outs to guarantee the cleanest audio feeding into and out of the unit. I’ll share links in a future edit, as I’m on mobile right now, but you can find the Scarlett 2i2 used from most Guitar Centers at around $80. The Sennheiser kits are also very popular and you can find them used for sale from a sound guy pretty often. Try looking at Los Angeles Craigslist as well as eBay or other sources. I know a lot of us are on a Production Sound Engineer Swap page on Facebook.

Edit: Links

Scarlett 2i2 product page
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1251655-REG/focusrite_scarlett_2i2_2nd_gen_scarlett_2i2_usb_audio.html/?ap=y&gclid=CjwKCAiA0O7fBRASEiwAYI9QAl1TciskEdEmUHOJtXpGxuGx3nWtSHen1hqOc4aMnCZwgiwSkTN8yBoCaW8QAvD_BwE&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=Y

Used Scarlett 2i2 on Guitar Center.com
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Focusrite/Scarlett-2i2-USB-Audio-Interface-114759755.gc

Sennheiser G3 kit on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-100-ENG-G3-G-omni-directional/dp/B002CWUKCC/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1543266428&sr=1-3&keywords=sennheiser+g3+kit">

Sennheiser kit MUCH cheaper on Craigslist LA
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/ele/d/brand-new-sennheiser-ew112-g3/6754786267.html

Countryman headset with behind-the-ear band and Sennheiser connector
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/877941-REG/Countryman_h6ow5lsr_H6_Omnidirectional_Microphone_Headset.html



Good luck! Let us know what you decide to go with!

Not to that exact one, found it in the hunting goods section of WalMart for $8. I can say that my harness belt is 2" as well, and it fits perfectly. This was more or less what it was.

I should also mention that ammo boxes are a great way of storing AA batteries off your person. Most are cheap, waterproof, and hold around 50-100 batteries. This one has been the best $3 I've spent on organization in my life.

Shooter / Producer, eh? "distance" recording is a misnomer. No mic is good at recording material at a distance. What a shotgun mic is good for is rejecting material on the sides of it. It doesn't zoom, so to speak.

Parabolic mics, like what is used on sports events, do this, but suffer from frequency response issues and are not suitable for production audio.

You really need a boom op. Even if you are going directly in to camera, you need someone who can follow talent around with the shotgun and point it properly.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Location-Sound-Bible-Professional/dp/1615931201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397602866&sr=8-1&keywords=Location+Sound

You might give this book a read. Great, and very informative.

They’re not standard connections so make sure you get the right one. I think there’s two different types for aircraft, one for military and one for civilian. There’s some posts on JWSound about it, that’s where I’ve read up on it.
There’s this adapter on amazon that may work, looks like it converts the aircraft comms to two 3.5mm connectors:

https://www.amazon.com/FARO-Aircraft-Helicopter-Converts-Compatible/dp/B006PK3L9G

The remote audio stuff might be the best bet though

I'm thinking to try Samsung MUF-128AB/AM FIT Plus 128GB USB 3.1 Flash Drive. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D7PDLXC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

What about the SD Cards? Now the SD support up to 512GB sd cards.

The easiest way to do this is to convert from the helicopter plug (U-174/U or U-93A/U) to fixed-wing (PJ-068 & PJ-055.) Fixed wing aircraft use two plugs, one for headset and one for mic. Luckily the PJ-055 plug used for the headset is literally just a TRS plug.

Here's an adapter that will do that for you. The level is line-ish level. I'd bring some adjustable pads or a DI box in case the level is too hot.

> Rode Lavalier

Thanks a lot for this professional explanations.

How about this shield to 'treat the room':
https://www.amazon.com/LyxPro-VRI-30-Portable-Absorbing-Recording/dp/B012OFI98I/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1511645293&sr=1-2&keywords=acoustic+shield

The Location Sound Bible.

I think you're good on equipment. Now you just need a few accessories. Pick up a shockmount or two (Rycote). Handling noise can kill an otherwise perfectly usable recording. Boom pole, mic stand, blimp. Rycote blimps are good, but expensive. The new Rode blimp comes with Rycote suspension units, and it's much cheaper.

For the a7, can I just buy an attenuator like this: https://www.amazon.com/Volbox-inline-audio-control-attenuator/dp/B071VL2GF8/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2SXMRQK5AZ90A&keywords=3.5mm+attenuator&qid=1570998002&sprefix=3.5mm+atte%2Caps%2C292&sr=8-3

Or do you recommend actually going from a 3.5mm male to xlr attenuator and then go back to 3.5mm to go into camera

12 volt battery setup with an AC inverter and just use your wall wart? it is pretty low current. Or a 12v battery and something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Charger-Adapter-ThinkPad-Computers/dp/B07FY9TXNV/ref=pd_day0_hl_147_4/130-3831022-9836557?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07FY9TXNV&pd_rd_r=1463ca90-83c9-11e9-b428-7d17b7108ea6&pd_rd_w=GXiwL&pd_rd_wg=zQYqo&pf_rd_p=ad07871c-e646-4161-82c7-5ed0d4c85b07&pf_rd_r=458QP3J91KTX034Y3RSG&psc=1&refRID=458QP3J91KTX034Y3RSG

This is what I use:


Krisdonia Portable Laptop Charger ( TSA-Approved ) 92.5Wh/25000mAh Travel Laptop Power Bank External Battery Pack for Laptop, Smartphone, Camera and More https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074PQBRJV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_h4dSDbWS30GN9

They make a 50k mAh one, but that one can’t be brought on planes, so I opted for this one so I can use it for personal use when I travel, too. It lasts all day with boom, three wires, and safety tracks for everything. Don’t even shut down for lunch. However, I do disarm all the tracks in between takes for narratives. But even for a documentary where I recorded 4 or 5 hour plus long interviews, it still lasted all day.

Start here:

https://www.amazon.com/Location-Sound-Bible-Record-Professional/dp/1615931201

As for budget, for gear? Sky is the limit.

https://www.amazon.com/Location-Sound-Bible-Record-Professional/dp/1615931201

Links for the lazy;

• The Location Sound Bible: How to Record Professional Dialog for Film and TV
  
• The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects