So Im starting on a film next month that shoots most scenes in a big gym. Also coverage will be limited and there is like 4-5 people spread out w dialog in many scenes. I suspect a lot of wide-ish shots.Seems like a total nightmare!

Not sure if the production can get extra stands and fernies for the walls either but will find out.
What should I do in this situation? Its gonna be an echoing hell w my boom probably! Should I just wire everybody? Im scared!

Thanks!

If wiring is possible then I'd say yes, wire everyone... however, if you're shooting in a gym I imagine folks will be playing some kind of sport which may make wiring a problem (I wouldn't want to be running around in a jersey and playing shorts with a wire hanging off me! There are a lot of plugins for your audio applications which can help minimize the echo effect, so you can check some of those out, too... what I would do, if I had the opportunity to get in early, would be to go to your gym now and shoot some audio and then go back to my edit booth and play with the audio and see what I could do with it--at the very least I'd be a lot more comfortable on the day-of, knowing what I was getting.

Another consideration--I don't know about the gym you're in, but in the gym at the college where I work we have the old style lights that make a loud buzzing noise--if that's the case, make sure to capture some audio with no other noise but your lights that you can use to isolate the buzz frequency and remove it from your finished source.

Chris .. try and nail it on the day. Get in there and run some tests, you might well be able to hang some blankets.

There could be solutions you're not aware of yet and a gym is expected to have reverb. Let's know how you go, good luck.

Cheers.

Wireless lav everyone, prepare for ADR. And get about an hour of room tone!

You might have to record some of the dialogue later, which wouldn't be too hard to pull off, especially in your wide shots.

Rent or buy 'tight' omni lavs.. and/or rent or buy the sound blankets, though it would take quite few, and a lot of time to affix them. ADR is expensive and many 'pro' actors consider it a pain, and are not good at it.