Beaulieu Blimp

Timothy David Orme · May 10, 2006

Hi All--

I just purchased a Beaulieu 2008 and a Beaulieu 4008ZMII for the next short I'll be shooting later this fall. Both cameras run smooth, beautiful images. However, they're both too loud to record sync sound, and that's something I definitely need to do for this film. My question is, does anyone know how to build a good blimp for these, or know somewhere I might look for pointers? Any links to previous posts on this topic? Any pictures?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

--Tim

Alessandro Machi · May 10, 2006

Hi All--

I just purchased a Beaulieu 2008 and a Beaulieu 4008ZMII for the next short I'll be shooting later this fall. Both cameras run smooth, beautiful images. However, they're both too loud to record sync sound, and that's something I definitely need to do for this film. My question is, does anyone know how to build a good blimp for these, or know somewhere I might look for pointers? Any links to previous posts on this topic? Any pictures?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

--Tim

This eBay listing could disappear at any time since it's over 90 days, it's a blimp for a Beaulieu 7008 and according to the auction the blimp did not sell.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=7584694932

Options include purchasing a Nizo sound camera that has the four digit model numbers. Nizo made around 10 different model numbers......6080, 6056, 4080, 4056, 2056, 2048, 2036, etc.... and use it for your sync sound scenes, it's a very quiet camera, and use your Beaulieu cameras for scenes that don't require lip sync.

The Elmo 1012XLS is also very quiet.

The smaller the room you shoot in, the more you will hear the camera.

Another option is the Richard Rodriguez technique. Do a take without the camera rolling and audio record the take and then use that take as your audio sync track when you edit.

Then there is my technique, useful if your scene is very light on dialogue, pre-record the scene's dialogue and make a CD, let the actors play back the CD a few times to get the pacing right and then play it back on set with a CD player and have the actors lip sync to it, (this is the type of technique used for music videos).

M1A · May 12, 2006

Have you done any sound tests with a shotgun mic at varying distances to check for the sound of the camera, or are you basing this off of hundreds of people saying it can't be done, without a blimp or barney? I know the camera is loud, but I burned a whole roll with audio and I could barely hear the camera. Of course it can't be done in all situations. We shot outside on a balacony, the camera was a little over 5ft from the subjects and the mic was a $19 dollar unidirectional dynamic mic from Radio Shack, being held by one of the subjects. I don't know if it was barely picked up due to the fact that it's a crappy mic, limited freq range, but if that's the case, you could always get you a crappy mic. I plan on purchasing a shotgun mic soon and performing a test for my own satisfaction.

Before I spent any money on a blimp or barney I'd find out what my limitations were. This will give you a better indication of what you actually need, and you may find that you can do without it.

My two pennies, which you know how much that's worth.

Alessandro Machi · May 12, 2006

Have you done any sound tests with a shotgun mic at varying distances to check for the sound of the camera, or are you basing this off of hundreds of people saying it can't be done, without a blimp or barney? I know the camera is loud, but I burned a whole roll with audio and I could barely hear the camera. Of course it can't be done in all situations. We shot outside on a balcony, the camera was a little over 5ft from the subjects and the mic was a $19 dollar unidirectional dynamic mic from Radio Shack, being held by one of the subjects. I don't know if it was barely picked up due to the fact that it's a crappy mic, limited freq range, but if that's the case, you could always get you a crappy mic. I plan on purchasing a shotgun mic soon and performing a test for my own satisfaction.

Before I spent any money on a blimp or barney I'd find out what my limitations were. This will give you a better indication of what you actually need, and you may find that you can do without it.

My two pennies, which you know how much that's worth.

A balcony shot is probably very misleading when it comes to evaluating how loud a camera is. It's quite likely that of the three primary sounds one would hear, the actors, outdoor ambience, and the camera, that the camera would be the quietest since there is no wall for the camera sound to bounce back towards the camera microphone.

Probably the strictest test one could do would be to go into a bathroom and close the door, turn out the light

and the fan, and listen to the camera run (with film in the camera). Use that as a guide. If it's horribly loud, then it will still be unnacceptably loud in many inside situations.

If the camera is not that loud, then you know pretty much anywhere else it will be less intrusive. Most cameras can be used outdoors in limited applications when it comes to dialogue. However, for purposes of smooth sound, I would use one complete take of sound and cut different visual takes to the one sound take rather than chop up the sound from different takes because the ambient background sounds in combination with different camera noise levels for the different takes will be a deal breaker.

M1A · May 13, 2006

A balcony shot is probably very misleading when it comes to evaluating how loud a camera is. It's quite likely that of the three primary sounds one would hear, the actors, outdoor ambience, and the camera, that the camera would be the quietest since there is no wall for the camera sound to bounce back towards the camera microphone.

Probably the strictest test one could do would be to go into a bathroom and close the door, turn out the light

and the fan, and listen to the camera run (with film in the camera). Use that as a guide. If it's horribly loud, then it will still be unnacceptably loud in many inside situations.

If the camera is not that loud, then you know pretty much anywhere else it will be less intrusive. Most cameras can be used outdoors in limited applications when it comes to dialogue. However, for purposes of smooth sound, I would use one complete take of sound and cut different visual takes to the one sound take rather than chop up the sound from different takes because the ambient background sounds in combination with different camera noise levels for the different takes will be a deal breaker.

That's correct. We weren't actually evaluating the sound level of the camera. It just worked out that we could barely hear it. My main point was due some tests, as you mentioned, in different situations, and then determine what your limitations are. Just listening to the camera can be deceiving, especially for begginers that may not have alot of experience with audio and acoustics. The 4008 will be extremely loud in the bathroom, but that just means you can't get away with it in the bathroom. Buy a mic, and test the camera. This will become your experience, which is good. I like to test different variables, helps me know. Better to know, than to guess.

Marty Hamrick · May 13, 2006

I had this problem with a Beaulieu R16.I found that heavy blankets or a Turkish towell would work for outdoor shots where there was a good bit of distance between camera and mic.Indoors was a bit trickier,but it could be done.I wouldn't want to try to shoot sync sound with any MOS in a studio though.