Audio mic recommendations- scene with 2 actors-singers + acoustic guitar

[James B.]

Hi
Relative novice when it comes to audio though lots of experience doing basic interviews with lavs.

Shooting a scene involving 2 actor-singers and an acoustic guitar.

They are supposed to be rehearsing and just finishing a song.

I plan on renting any audio equipment, mics I might need, though have a Zoom H4N.

How should I best mic this?

Simply a shotgun on a boom?

Should I avoid any on camera shotgun solution?

Should I use a combination of lavs and boom mounted mic?

Any specific mic recommendations?

Thanks for any and all advice!

[David W. Jones]

I would likely record them in my audio studio then have them sync to playback on set. But it really depends on the quality you expect, and the time and effort you want to invest. I have found as of late most producers don't want to invest the time and effort it takes with all this no budget attitude going on.

Good Luck!

Dave

[Benedict Heinzl]

Boom for the two, at best two separate ones + a lav on the guitar. (or at best a SM57 if the mic can be visible)
Requires some basic audio mixing two get the best sound but everything else will sound like crap (except the studio/sync solution)
B.

[Mark Andersen]

If the studio or location sounds good/quiet, stage, recording studio etc. and if you can have mics visible in the shot then if could sound pretty good. Close mic each voice and another on the guitar and mix. If its a street corner and it's acoustic (no mics) then its tricky. I recently shoot a musician on the street with just a Rode NT4 stereo mic in a blimp and it sounded suprisingly good, but there was some background noise too.

[Marc Wielage]

I would likely record them in an audio studio then have them sync to playback on set. But it really depends on the quality you expect, and the time and effort you want to invest.

I think this is the best advice.

Hiring a pro to record the sound would also be a wise move. My suggestion would be to strongly avoid having the actors talk over the music, since this will make your final mix problematic. Stage it in such a way that any lines of dialog do not overlap the music. Or if they need to do this, cover it in such a way that you can shoot it without the sound and still have the footage to make the shot work.

If it's a short piece, recording it in advance and playing it back on set need not be all that expensive. I did this a few months ago for a cancer PSA, and the entire sound bill was well under a grand. (Song was only a minute long, 6 singers, done to a track, so it was a pretty simple deal.)