Documentary On camera audio solutions

[Caleb Spillyards]

Hey everyone. About to shoot a documentary, and wondering what people have found is the best solution for on board audio for field stuff. For interview style and voice over we will be using good off camera audio, lavs etc, but for following around the subject, we want onboard audio. anyone have any good recommendations? price range is pretty flexible. Or we can even rent etc.

thanks!

 

[Joe Kyle]

I'm researching solutions for this as well. Assuming rig size and weight are a concern, I think using something like this in conjunction with any self-powered shotgun mic is probably about as minimal as you can get, as long as you're prepared to deal with fan noise (and highly judgmental stares from people who wonder why you didn't hire a sound guy). I've also come across a DIY solution for clipping a wire inside of a Rode Videomic Pro to make it compatible with the audio inputs on the front.

 

[Marc Wielage]

...as long as you're prepared to deal with fan noise (and highly judgmental stares from people who wonder why you didn't hire a sound guy)...

True dat.

I can see using a Sennheiser 416 (or the equivalent) in a shockmount on top of any ENG/doco camera if you're in a dangerous or very fast-moving situation, but actually having a sound guy along is a far better idea. The camera operator is not going to be in a position to change audio levels or solve sound problems on the run.