This is a Public Topic geared towards first-time filmmakers. Professional members of The D-Word will come by and answer your questions about documentary filmmaking.
In reply to Jo-Anne Velin's post on Fri 27 Feb 2009 :
I do not have any audio recording equipement. but i want to buy whole things which can record voice in good quaility. i do not have any microphone i will buy so i need to know which is good, which equipement is good, i want only for audi recording which i will use in docoumentary.
Thanks
In reply to Mark Barroso's post on Sat 28 Feb 2009 :
Please tell me that right equipment Name which can use in laptop and i can record
Thanks
Reply to James Longley...
Hi James, sorry yes i mean downlaoding from the internet. I want to use footage from here http://www.archive.org/details/CombatAm1945 not ideal in terms of quality i suppose but it's what i need nonetheless. Any ideas?
In reply to Wang Fu's post on Sat 28 Feb 2009 :
Wang, I don't want to sound antiquate, but you may want to consider a DAT, and a good microphone. There are some excellent portable DAT recorders on the used market, they are lightweight so that you can bring it along in future projects (excellent for interviews or field work etc.), the quality is very high and then you can feed it to your computer both via analog or digital inputs, and edit with any audio software if there's some background noise to clean etc. I have a small Tascam that works great.
As for the microphone I can't help you much, since I'd guess it's different to record a spoken voice than singing voice or instruments. For singing solo voice I use a rather bulky microphone, for vocal ensembles two more compact Shure, they have a good range from which you can choose. Whatever you choose, I'd suggest you to buy two of the same, so you can also use them for live/field recordings in stereo.
Hope this helps.
Wang Fu, rather than asking a series of basic questions about production, it may be more helpful for you to take advantage of some online training resources to learn some fundamentals of film/tv production. I'm sure there are a number of sites offering this type of thing, but you'll find the following link to online training from the BBC helpful to start. Once you've done some research, you'll be able to come back here to have more specific questions addressed.
http://www.bbctraining.com/television.asp
In reply to Mark Barroso's post on Fri 27 Feb 2009 :
so in terms of recording audio, if i were to put a wireless mic on the person i am documenting, wouldn't the audio come out all muffled because of movement? that being said, what is the best way to get audio? Im thinking regular boom
Would seeing the mic bother you? In news, it's accepted. In doc filmmaking, it's not. You can pick. Tiny mics like the Countryman B6 can poke through a button hole and never be seen. There are too many techniques on hiding mics to list here, but it can be done. Plus, if you buy a mic like the B6 you can get a capsule that boosts the high frequencies to compensate for the muffling.
If you have an assistant that can hold a good boom mic, it would probably be fine. Just don't try to shoot and hold the boom, too.
Hi my name is Jack and I was wondering about licensing to television and what some rates might be for documentaries which run around 50 in length. a link to any information would be very helpful.
Blue Sky's
In reply to Mark Barroso's post on Sun 1 Mar 2009 :
haha ill try to get an assistant, thats good advice and a good point on hiding the mic, mabey ill get him to even wear a black shirt to hide it? what ever ill do im gonna take a day to test shoot and try both out and see what sounds best. In terms of composition of shots, now everything is live when im shooting this so i wont have the time to align the most compositional shots, so what do you think is the best way to get coverage. Im thinking to play it safe. Like getting everything in the story is more important so ill keep it mostly wide shots, but my B-role will be close and thought out, i think that makes sense?
Sure, makes sense. Just remember that you're in charge of the set. They can get some learnin' another day. Today, we make video. Do what you're told or else I show the whole world you're a screw-up.
This works for me all the time.
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