The standard method is to record to a separate audio recorder
using a shootgun mic on a boom. If your H16 doesn't have a
sync motor then keeping everything in sync will be very difficult.

If you use wireless mics you still have to worry about keep tabs
on everything and make sure it's organized with the footage so
I'm not sure why you think this method is less work. In my
experience, using wireless mics is much more of a nightmare.
Keeping the mic hidden from the camera but still close enough
to pick up good audio, the clothes rustle that is always an issue
and mixing all three mics can take very special skills.

If your Bolex doesn't have a sync motor, doing all the dialogue
after the fact might be an option. Many actors can't "loop" well
so the performances can be very awkward and no matter what
it takes a LOT of time and skill to post record the entire movie.

I recently was forced to replace nine lines in a movie I made
and it took us about four hours. And that was with two experienced
actors, a skilled and experienced recordist and a full studio
setting. I can't imagine how long it would have taken to loop
the entire movie - not to mention getting the actors all back
for the time needed. And I only had six actors.

Do you know the reason a lot of European (and Asian) films
were looped that way? An interesting (at least to me) it of trivia.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Thanks for the response,
No sync motor for me, unfortunately. I'm looking for a reasonably priced one on ebay.
It's a 30 page script, so it's not an huge movie, but I see what you mean about post syncing being a real burden.
The wireless mics are probably out of the question now that all the logistical stuff is really clear. Thanks.

As for the reason European/Asian did sound in post, I don't know. But if you watch anything from back then (Fellini, Kurosawa, Bergman, etc) it's always dubbed over by the actors. In fact, Truffaut even makes a joke about this in "Day for Night" when filming a scene with an actress who had never recorded her voice on set before.
I don't know why, though. The movies are great, so obviously it didn't ruin anything.

I shot a feature and some shorts, using a very noisy Canon Scoopic, silent 16mm camera. What I did was record all dialogue to video cameras, like you normally would on an indie flick - for instance a Sennheiser ME66 shotgun mic running into a Canon XL-1. I got a few video takes like this and then shot the same scene with the film camera. It really helped to slate it with the first line of dialogue being spoken, so I knew where I was at, when I got the footage back.

Anyway, I spent a few months editing the dialogue, for a 100 minute feature. I have the process down, though. I had some amateur actors among the cast, so that made it harder, as they tend to not get lines the same when they redo a take. For a 30 minute script, I would certainly try it....but you're not me. It can be done, though. :>)

During editing, I took the "wild" non-sync dialogue, and lined them up with the film takes. As soon as an actor didn't match up, I cutaway to the person he was talking to. It was pretty amazing how well it worked, but it did take time and patience. Here's a couple of scenes, if you're curious:

?url? http://www.midnightsunent.com/Wakingup.mov?/url?

?url? http://www.midnightsunent.com/Wayneattacked.mov?/url?

Actually, I have a link to a 13 minute short that was done this way - all wild sound cut to silent film visuals. In the case of ROADKILL, all audio was recorded to a High 8 video camera with a cheap external mic. It worked, though! I didn't even use a computer to sync with, but rather I sampled all the dialogue into a keyboard and then sequenced the keys with a hardware sequencer, so that all the dialogue lined up and was recorded to an S-VHS recorder.

16mm ROADKILL on Vimeo:
?url? http://www.vimeo.com/1584042?/url?

"I think you remember the terms of our prenuptial agreement? Especially the part about infidelity?"

Notice how every syllable matches up!

That is an insane way to do it, though I did it for both a Super 8mm film feature and ROADKILL. A computer editing program makes this child's play, by comparison. I can sync just about anything via stretching/compressing audio length or using cut/copy/paste/overlapping.

2:20 into this old video, I demonstrate sampling/sequencing dialogue:

?url? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrv8_aQ0Azg?/url?

www.midnightsunent.com

Wow, thank you for all the information. The films sound pretty decent, I think. I'm definitely going to consider the shotgun mic to digital camera idea.

Thanks a lot.

You're welcome. I should add that if you can properly blimp your 16mm camera, you can record the sound to video (or an external recorder), at the same time. I can't believe I didn't say that in the first place!

www.midnightsunent.com

Excellent. Thanks again, Mike.
After learning that some of your films have been distributed, I became curious as to how you came about the connections to have studios view them.

I'm still a student, but as I mentioned in my post I have a short film ready to shoot. After it's shot, I'd like to get it out to festivals and hopefully have it be noticed. What did you do at the start of your filmmaking career to get going? I have an immense amount of respect for anyone who can make a living doing what they love.

quote:

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Originally posted by Mr_Geppetto

After learning that some of your films have been distributed, I became curious as to how you came about the connections to have studios view them.

---

After I shot my first feature, THE BLACK CRYSTAL, I looked at who distributed similar films and simply looked them up in the Hollywood Blue Book Directory. I drove to California and met with people from a couple companies. The second place I stopped at picked up my movie.

I don't know if they even sell those directories, anymore. You can obviously search the internet and find companies that way.

Nowadays, I use a producer's rep and entertainment lawyer, Darlene Cypser. She has found distribution for my last three features. She may accept your movie, if she likes it and all the legalities (music, copyright, etc.) are in order. Her site is here:

?url? http://www.infernofilm.com/index.html?/url?

Click on "Contact Info" for submission information.

Other people do well representing themselves. You can form your company and buy a very expensive selling booth/office at the American Film Market, Cannes, Berlin, etc.

I also have a tutorial DVD, "Unofficial" OASYS, which I self distribute. If you have a skill or knowledge about something, you should think about doing this. You can make the tutorial for the cost of tape, a drive and DVD replication. Then, you go to websites that specialize in that kind of product and post about it or put it into your signature. People love tutorials and they will pay more for them. It falls under "fair use" as long as you don't quote manuals or copyrighted literature.

quote:

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What did you do at the start of your filmmaking career to get going? I have an immense amount of respect for anyone who can make a living doing what they love.

---

I started making short films. I just love watching and making movies, period. I was so addicted, I was making up to seven shorts in one year. The more I did, the more I learned - especially with music and sound. After not finding the kind of composers I wanted, I bought my own keyboards and started scoring, myself. That led to scoring commercials, industrials and other people's movies.

To sell videos, you should get a business license (Sole Proprietorship) or form an LLC. Getting distributed means making a sellable feature. A compelling story concept should be obvious, but to sell the movie, it needs to look and sound good. There is still film bias. If you shoot a 16mm feature, then you will have a leg up on a lot of filmmakers who don't have the film look.

It is very hard to make money as an indie. Distributors will give you lowball offers for no-name movies. If you put a name actor in your movie, your sellability goes up. If you make something technically competent, then your chances go up if you use:

Name actor
Film
A Genre in demand (family, horror, sci-fi, thriller). This can vary with what is in vogue.

www.midnightsunent.com

Mike,
You are a scholar and a gentleman. Thank you very much for your enthusiastic answer. Keep making movies.