I need to re-shoot some scenes. Most of my film was shot with the camera mic, which recorded pretty clear. But now I'm thinking I may want to get a boom mic. Are these the basic ingredients?
- boom mic
- boom pole
- wind muff
Anyone know the most inexpensive way I can get all this?
Just for clarity the microphone you will be looking for is a shotgun
mic. And you will need a shock mount.
The most inexpensive way to get a boom pole is to use something
like a painters pole. Not the best option but cheaper than a pro boom.
?URL? http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/?/URL?
Sennheiser is the mic most used by professional sound recordists.
They are expensive and worth it. Check out the ME-66 and the ME-
67. The MKH60 is the best if you can afford it.
?url? http://www.audio-technica.com/?/url?
Audio-Technica is cheaper. Check out the AT8035. Its a workable
mic, a little muddy and not as directional as it should be. The
AT835ST is a good mic for the price, but it, too, sounds a bit
muddy - the vocals dont sound crisp enough for me.
?url? http://www.rodemic.com/microphones.php?/url?
Rode mics are quite good. Check the NTG (shotgun) series.
?url? http://www.azdencorp.com/?/url?
Ive never used Azden mics. Theyre inexpensive and I dont hear
too many good things about them, but if that's all you can afford
it's MUCH better than using the camera mic.
A good mic is an investment. It will last longer than your camera
- why skimp?
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
The 'muff' will only be necessary if you are shooting outdoors, in windy conditions. For interior shots, you don't need it.
The cheapest possible shotgun mic out there will likely be a Chinese-made Nady:
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Nady-SGM12-Shotgun-Condenser-Microphone?sku=270967
While it is definitely NOT a professional mic by any stretch of imagination, it will give you significantly better sounding dialogue then any built-in camcorder mic. You will spend $25 on it, and when you're ready to move up, you can always sell it on eBay... although I'm not sure if it's worth selling something that is less expensive than two large pizza pies.
Cheapest real boom pole can be had for about $35:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=62974&Category=Stands
Since boom pole is essentially a 'passive' type of gear (no electronics, moving parts or complex mechanics), many people just build it using various types of tubing (PVC, ALU), such as painter's pole (as CI mentioned already), and fashioning a screw that will accept standard 3/8"-16 nut, which is the common size for the microphone clips. Do some googling for instructions on how to do this.
For several years I used a painters pole and I attached a wire coat hanger bent
into a circle and two rubber bands as a shock mount. It worked great and cost
me nothing.
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
I don't know if this is technically the same as the Nady but this is also Chinese made. It seems to get a lot better reviews than the ones from MF.com. http://cgi.ebay.com/HTDZ-HT-81-Super-Electret-Condenser-Microphone-Mic-/180534312103?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a08aefca7 I love mine. I bought two and just ordered two more. If you use phantom power there is a faint pop every 10 seconds but I don't use phantom power for any of my projects.
I got on a big DIY (Do It Yourself) kick for a while and made a nice boom + shockmount setup that works well for what I'm doing. That MBP7000 looks like a nice deal, too.
Man, thanks alot guys. Really appreciate your taking time to adress my questions.
