Hey guys,

Please forgive my lack of knowledge!
Anyway i have a Sony FX7 and im currently shooting a documentary here in Japan which has been a production that has taken me 2 years to setup and hopefully will be finished by mid 2010.

Drift Documentary : We Are Drift, Touge, Japan, Motorsport, Filmography (http://www.wearedrift.com)

I am now just starting to do some personal one on one interviews with some well known figures in the drifting community and im going to be needing some wireless lapel style microphones, but i really dont know much about camera's im more a shoot stuff and make it look cool guy, i have no real knowledge of anything i just enjoy video editing and capturing people and action on film, but for this production im going to be basing it on the community within the sport.

I dont have a huge budget, just bought a new video editing computer as my old one just died, buying two new HD Go Pro camera's very soon so my budget is not huge. But i need to get something sorted for these interviews because a classic plug in microphone will just wreck the feel of the laid back interview im trying to capture.

Can you please tell me what i need to add onto my FX7 to capture audio via some wireless lapel style mic's while keeping in mind i dont have a huge budget. And yes i know audio is very important, but i just dont have huge cash for pro setups.

Thank you guys sorry for lack of knowledge once again hope you can help me.


Luke

If you don't need to show the subject's feet, and if they won't be walking, you can go with a wired lav. It will save lots of cash and will sound better than wireless. I've got an AT803b that isn't half bad, though it is a bit large. Since it's a documentary, it's probably not important to hide it. However, since it's in Japan, it will appear inelegant. The AT899 is much smaller, but you need to make sure to get the right connector and battery pack for wired use.

Can you please tell me what i need to add onto my FX7 to capture audio via some wireless lapel style mic's while keeping in mind i dont have a huge budget. And yes i know audio is very important, but i just dont have huge cash for pro setups.

You're not going to like my response but given the question you asked, I need to answer as follows:

What you need to add is not equipment - what you need to add is a skilled operator with good working knowledge of video AND audio or else your interviews are going to sink your "shoot stuff and make it look cool" production.

And I mean that with ALL sincerity - if this project means as much to you as a 2 year investment SHOULD, you're doing the project, yourself and all your interview subjects a disservice by not doing this well.

The minimum would be a little over $400 for a lav, mixer and xlr cable, but most likely you'll need a 2nd lav for a total of $650.
$200 ATT899 lav
$189 JuiceLinked CX211
$20 XLR cable

You're not going to like my response but given the question you asked, I need to answer as follows:

What you need to add is not equipment - what you need to add is a skilled operator with good working knowledge of video AND audio or else your interviews are going to sink your "shoot stuff and make it look cool" production.

And I mean that with ALL sincerity - if this project means as much to you as a 2 year investment SHOULD, you're doing the project, yourself and all your interview subjects a disservice by not doing this well.

No offence but......

Correct your response is useless to me, my work i do and how i do it really is not in question here.
The results so far have been great with all microphone interviews and the way i do my work, i enjoy shoot film and editing it i dont know everything there is to know i just do things i enjoy.


What options do i have about when it comes to recording via lapel microphones.

I dont think i will need to capture the feet as you said Jon, so how should i go about purchasing one for my FX7 do i need anything special to plug it in is it XLR input and will i need to buy a box or can i plug it directly into the camera and away i go. Some more info would be great, i seen it on the site, do i just purhcase it from them then i can plug it all in to my camera. Does it come with the XLR box then i run a line from XRL box to the lapel mic?

Currently now i use a wired microphone for on the field interviews with drivers at event and it has worked amazing so far but now i need lapel.

Correct your response is useless to me

Well, that's a first... Good luck with your venture and welcome to the Forum. I believe MY first post was to offer advice, not ask for it... Perhaps this old man should just limp over to the recliner for a nap...

EDIT: OOPS, my bad. This thread was your second post. I try to admit my mistakes.

*WOW* A bloke who can admit a mistake... I take my hat off to you!


The wireless lav kits from Sony are pretty darn good. Pricewise as well as quality.

If the wind is up a bit, I use a handheld rode shotty in a blimp (wearing fur) - and plugged into the sony transmitter.

The sound quality is excellent. The only problem with the lavs is the foam windshield needs to be glued on...

Ben

The trouble is, that if you're hoping to just buy a bit of kit and it will just work - then you'll be dissapointed. Nothing is a good as a bit of cable. Going wireless takes a big jump into techo-land. All the kit mentioned here will be able to give high quality sound, once you've trained your ear to listen carefully to not the wanted sound in the headphones, but the small hints and odd noises that are in the background that dictate you need to do something as all hell is going to break loose and your audio is going to just fail - which in a point and shoot style production is the worst thing that can happen, because you won't notice till you replay the media and find the sound totally unusable.


It's not the expense of the kit either. Budget kit can sound really good when it's working well. Wireless is never, ever reliable without getting really into it, and working out that you need to move yourself just a little because you're in a null and despite being only feet away the signal is totally blocked - or about to be - this is where a second sound op is really worth it. Without one, how can you frame shots, listen to what's being said AND pay attention to technical quality at the same time - very, very difficult.

You really might as well just buy anything - our comments here seem based on experience, and although I can tell you what I use, it might not work for you. Radio mics need care, attention and constant vigilance, or they mess up, badly!

Hey guys,

Yes this is my second post here, but im not asking for advice on how to shoot my interviews im asking for advice on what equipment i should use.

Thanks for the help guys looks like im going to go with a wired setup then and save what looks to be a heap of issues with wireless unless i want to spend some big dollars, i do have a second sound tech working with me at these interviews im not a one man team.

Whats some good bang for buck wired kits and how do i go about getting them to work with my FX7 do i need to buy XLR box etc and if so it will be my first time using a SLR box and the setup that goes with it. I will be wanting a lapel mic for myself and ofcourse the person in the interview, we will be sitting down in a casual style interivew. For all my point and shoot stuff i use my wired microphone which has been working great so far.

Thanks for the help, this is already helped me to decide to stay with a wired setup.

When I started out I bought a Lavaliere mic from Fry's that used a 1/8 inch plug and a long cord. The sound was a huge improvement (Always wear headphones).

Other than that you will need to buy something like a Beachtec under camera system to get your multi XLR inputs.

same here, radio shack sold a nice small 3.5mm type connecting lav mic uses a hearing aid type battery on off switch.
get it in the exact place for sound collection, clip it Out so it doesnt rub on clothing , after all the viewer would rather hear then worry about your mic existing, unless no one is supposed to know that you made a video with audio on it :-)

then remember when placing it, that sound actually goes foreward of the humans mouth, and the mic is actually placed behind the sound exit location. so you dont want the chin blocking so much, so collar looks like a nice close place, but is not always a good idea. lower on the shirt, like you see on the Tonight and david leterman shows.

then humans turn thier heads sometimes when talking shooting thier audio off to one side or the other. so it is also unwise to put a body mic offset from center (like pocket).
Then coat the mic with acid so the talent doesnt fiddle with it the whole time :-) fast acting poisen also works , but then its hard to pick up thier audio later.
Oh wait that last part is only for professional audio techs.

Hey again, so much help in here thx.

So bascially all i need to get is a XLR box to plug into my Sony FX7 then from there i get to wired lapel mics and plug them into the XLR box and away i go?

As Mark and Marty pointed out, if you get one of those mics you don't need an XLR box, as the ones they talk about have mini plugs. The Radio Shack model is fine for what you are doing but it has a short cord so you may want to get an extension cable as well.

But yes, if you get a BeachTek or JuicedLink XLR box then there's not much to it... just make sure that if you get a non-powered box you have a self-powered mic, or conversely if you get a Phantom powered mic then make sure your box can provide Phantom power. Or just stick with the miniplug mics and avoid all the gymnastics.

And I wouldn't diss Shaun... his advice on these boards is always valuable and frequently brilliant.

Im sure his advice is very good but for this topic he talked about something i was not asking information on, and i knew there would be one person to point it out like he did but it was no needed cause it did not get me any closer to finding a mic.

Where about can i get these mics that just plug straight into my camera, do i need to some what of splitter to plug two into my cameras i only have one small jack on my FX7.

All the mics i have been searching for so far have all been XLR so i cant seem to find the ones that plug straight into the jack i currently have, i dont know the correct websites to find the mics im after and you have suggested.

Info on where to get them would be great thanks!!!

Im sure his advice is very good but for this topic he talked about something i was not asking information on, and i knew there would be one person to point it out like he did but it was no needed cause it did not get me any closer to finding a mic.

You'll find on this forum (as well as in life), you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.

Rather than barging in here and all but demanding that we take time out of our busy schedules to help you with something that CAN be researched by one's self on the Internet and by visiting retailers, how about listening and considering ALL the sagelike advice (and the complete drivel as well) that you receive and not judge too harshly those that offer REAL WORLD advice, not just a quick answer that may or may not end up helping you in the long run.

I'm a firm believer in the old "give a man a fish, feed him for a day. TEACH a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime" mentality.

I'm pretty Zen for a North American...

Im sure his advice is very good but for this topic he talked about something i was not asking information on, and i knew there would be one person to point it out like he did but it was no needed cause it did not get me any closer to finding a mic.

Where about can i get these mics that just plug straight into my camera, do i need to some what of splitter to plug two into my cameras i only have one small jack on my FX7.

All the mics i have been searching for so far have all been XLR so i cant seem to find the ones that plug straight into the jack i currently have, i dont know the correct websites to find the mics im after and you have suggested.

Info on where to get them would be great thanks!!!

The reason you can't find them is that there are very few mics other than cheap consumer grade mics that have 1/8 inch plugs. Especially for a hard-wired lav where there will be a relatively long cable run between the mic capsule and the camera. Balanced (ie, XLR) cables are much less prone to pickup of electrical noise than unbalanced when the cable run is more than a couple of meters and that is why virtually all better quality mics use them. Remote Audio (available through Trew Audio and B&H) makes a good general purpose lav that sells for about $200 with phantom XLR connector. Then on the camera end you'd need something like a Juicedlink XLR to 1/8 adapter with phantom power. Juicedlink has a two channel XLR to stereo 1/8 unit with phantom power that would be just the ticket. That XLR/3.5mm adapter would stand you in good stead with other XLR mics as well so it's not just a single purpose purchase to only use with the lav.

Understand that equipment isn't the only factor in the equation - there's also a fairly large amount of technical knowledge and skill required to use that equipment properly. In the hands of a skilled expert, a $2500 Schoeps will sound superb and a $250 Rode will sound pretty darned good. Without those skills, even the $2500 mic can sound iffy and there's a good chance it could sound awful. If you want to get top-quality sound, you must have a certain amount of skills available to you and you have two choices - you either make the skill set or you buy it. You make it by taking the time to give yourself a crash course in the sciences of acoustics and audio engineering plus research on the techniques of audio recording or you buy it by hiring a skilled professional. But without acquiring access to those skills in one of those two ways, the quality of the resulting audio is going to be a crapshoot no matter how much you have spent on the gear.

As usual, I have to agree with Steve.

I have fielded many calls from cheapo producers saying my rates are much to high. "I can buy a microphone for much less than your daily rate."
My aggravated response is usually, "Perhaps you should call James Cameron or other "current big name MPI producers", you can save them a LOT of money.

(Don't get me started on a rant... and the "it's a great program, we can give you on-screen credit or a percentage of the BO if you will work on spec.)

Where about can i get these mics that just plug straight into my camera, do i need to some what of splitter to plug two into my cameras i only have one small jack on my FX7.
As Marty pointed out and I echoed, the Radio Shack mic is fine for what you need, so I'd check out their website.

Also, B&H has a huge selection of wired lav mics -- just search for them and look for any that have mini-plugs. I have two of the Radio Shack mics and one Bescor from B&H.

Also Google Giant Squid and you'll have tons to choose from.

When you talk about mixing two mics, do you mean two interviewees or one for the interviewer and one for the interviewee? If the latter you probably won't need a second mic, as you'll cut the questions out anyway. If the former, then you may need a mixer, which would most likely require XLR mics after all.

Another approach for your project would be to think about it from the back end: Figure out what you want for a final result, then determine what equipment and skills are required to achieve it.

Just a caveat: sometimes five minutes of prep in production can save hours in post. While it's possible to make things sound and look good after the fact, it's far better to start off with the right material and make it sound and look absolutely outstanding in post.

Good luck with the documentary!

BTW, rigging lapel mics can be an art in itself.

Will it show on-camera or be hidden? If it's hidden, where should it be placed? How to avoid rubbing noises? If it's placed outside, is the wire hidden? Is there a problem with wind, breath, jewelry or other clothing that makes noise?

Recording levels? Should it be split to two channels with one slightly hotter than the other? Will there be a soundman to monitor for levels and unwanted sounds?

Does the room require some treatment for reverb or ambience? Will there be a need for sound blankets?

Do some experiments and tests in advance to see what works best for you. Be sure to monitor through headphones or earphones that provide an honest representation of the signal.

Thanks for the great advice, its not as simple as going down to a local shop and asking for what i need when im locacted in Japan and well my Japanese skills can not describe 100% what i need.

Im thinking that a XLR box with two wired mic's will do the trick.
The interviewer will be speaking with the person and i would like them to have a general converstaion wont just be questions then answer format, both will be on screen at same time for the most part.
Any thing i should look out for and be aware of when buy a XLR box for my Sony FX7 because im starting to look now to purchase one.

Once again big thanks for the help here, i appreciate it!

Luke... A suggestion: see if you can scrounge up a second camera to get a closeup of the interviewee. Sync up both with a hand clap. This way you can cut to an isolated shot of person being interviewed when something especially poignant or significant is being said.

Closeups provide a sense of drama. And having two types of shots, wide and closeup, gives you an option of cutting up the interview.

If you have a third camera you can get the interviewer's reaction. That can also be used to help edit the piece.

Yeah i feel what your saying, i have access to a non HD camera but i would like to keep it all HD. I will be operating the camera i believe so hopefully i should be able to notice when we got some good questions coming for close up etc. I think its all i can do until budget extends and i can get more HD camera's.

Im thinking of getting this box, its looks and sound very fail safe for someone just learning to use XRL equipment along with two wired mic's on long cables.

the box i was talking about sorry is this one.

Beachtek | DXA-2S - Dual XLR Universal Microphone | DXA-2S | B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/335809-REG/Beachtek_DXA_2S_DXA_2S_Dual_XLR.html)

Can i just plug two lapel mics into it or do the mics need their own power?

We've done this, haven't we? If you have a mic with a 1/8th (3.5mm) jack, then it gets power from a camera that has that kind of output. If your mic has a 3 pin XLR, then it will have a few components inside the plug that 'extracts' the voltage it needs - maybe 5v or so, from the 48V the typical condenser microphone requires via the phantom. If you have an input with XLR, and a mic with a 1/8th plug - then you need a power supply adaptor in between.

the box i was talking about sorry is this one.

Beachtek | DXA-2S - Dual XLR Universal Microphone | DXA-2S | B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/335809-REG/Beachtek_DXA_2S_DXA_2S_Dual_XLR.html)

Can i just plug two lapel mics into it or do the mics need their own power?

There is no single simple answer to your question because in part it depends on which lav you choose. Some lav mics have an XLR connector and power adapter that has an internal battery in the connector. They allow you to run the mic on either external phantom power or the battery in the cable connector. Others do not have the battery and require an external source of phantom power. Since that particular adapter box does not supply 48v phantom, the former mics can work with it but the latter mics won't. If you're going to go for the Beachtek, this is the one you need in order to have power available for the mics the require it. As an aside, having an adapter that supplies phantom opens up a vast range of other professional grade mics for you to use with your camera, not just lavs.
Beachtek | DXA-6A Audio Adapter | DXA-6A | B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/531332-REG/Beachtek_DXA_6A_DXA_6A_Audio_Adapter.html)

The interviewer will be speaking with the person and i would like them to have a general converstaion wont just be questions then answer format, both will be on screen at same time for the most part.

Framing this up so your participants aren't in profile the entire time will become a bigger issue that most people think. For this sort of one camera interview, I seldom use a tripod, I go handheld. BTW, I am regarded as being an excellent handheld guy with TONS of experience. If you aren't a "smooth operator" in this department, figure out how to deal with sight-lines BEFORE you arrive, possibly using two cameras, although I would treat both as over-the-shoulder cams with each focusing on ONE person (one on the subject, one on the interviewee).

Luke, I hesitate before offering this advice because you seem more concerned with kit than technique so understand the spirit in which it is intended.

In addition to extra camera others have suggested, I'd strongly recommend you shoot some "noddies", reaction/listening shots, after the interview is complete. Do them of both the interviewer and the interviewee - the ones you'll use most are of the interviewer but the others can get you out of a scrape. These shots will allow you to cut the interview seamlessly underneath.

Hey all,

On your guys advice i have purchased a Beachtek XLR DXA-6A unit and im also about to purchase some shure mic's but im wondering is there going to be any issues with these models im getting.

Im looking to get the Shure SM-11 mic's 2 of them and they will just work no issues, i wont have any problem with high or low impedence, these are a low impedence 150-200 ohm. But the Beachtek unit can handel both high and low am i correct?

Thanks!