Bolex H16. What else?

[Federico Casalx]

Hi! I have (besides my video camera) a Bolex Paillard H16 (standard 16mm film) just restored and working like a charm. I haven't shot on film yet, and I don't plan to it very soon, but I was wondering about the sound. I thought of some ways to do it. First, with my SONY VX1000 min-dv camera, buying a good microphone and recording that way (don't know about the noise coming out from the Bolex). Another way, buying a DAT recorder and adding a good mic and maybe wireless mics on, for example, the characters... I saw the TASCAM DR-1 in BHPhotoVideo at u$229 and seemed like a good option.

 

I'm sort of clueless about this tricky combination of film and sound, but I'm enthusiastic about film and working with the Bolex. I will still use my video camera but I wanted to shoot a short film on 16mm in the near future. I bought this on my own and I'm not rich so I can't spend u$ 3000 in a magical 8-channel audio console! Hehe.

 

I'm a film school student. (We don't shoot on film until the 3rd year, I'm in the first, so this is on my own)

 

Thank you very much!!!!

[Ansis Imaks]

First, with my SONY VX1000 min-dv camera, buying a good microphone and recording that way

 

This is not a good way, because:

*) camera has bad and noisy ADC (I have two DSR-PD170 and still nothing has changed), and the is much of camera generated electric noise as well

*) DV contained 48KHz is ok, but not the 16bit part, it is so had to fix if something is wrong with levels (when you have no specialy dedicated person who knows how to fallow levels an does that well), no place for headroom, because if you record too quiet then you get much noise. quality is ok for ENG applications but not for film.

 

I can't spend u$ 3000 in a magical 8-channel audio console! Hehe.

 

You even don't have to. For example I use M-AUDIO NRV-10 witch is a decent 8 track mixing desk with FireWire ADC on every input. 96KHz and 24bit. It costs about 900$ US, but I got mine used about 500$ + you need a computer + software. And you have got a decent sound recording system.

 

As your microphone is the first link in the chain, choose them carefully. Whatever system you have, you will have to work with what the mic picked up, bad mic or it's placement and no super cool recording gear can fix this. As I'm as well very limited in finances, I chose Rode NTG-2 shotguns for my Sony DSR-PD170 (I have two of them, and their stock mic is horrible) and ElectroVoice RE90-L lavalier, what was the best price / quality I could get for the money I had and that I didn't want to shop out of EU (no additional taxes). I bought them in www.thomann.de. there is a good recoding forum http://homerecording.com/bbs/index.php

 

so this is my humble view and road I went.

 

Other issue you will have syncing the Bolex with sound, because if you Bolex has no crystal motor, you are in trouble if you shot something longer that one minute in one take.