Andrew Jackson

Hello all. I will be recording my cousin's wedding at the end of July and I've been looking into a good way to record sound. I don't mind spending some money on a lav/lapel mic, but at the same time I do just need something for the wedding at the moment. I will be strapping it to the groom, hoping to pick up his voice, the bride's voice, and the minister. I went to my local radio shack and found this: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...rentPage=search What's all your input on this? Too cheap? Will it do the job?. As I said, I pretty much want the groom, bride, and minister when they are up saying their vows and such, and then I would probably also strap it on the best man when he says his speech at the reception. After I get the mic/reciever, I then still need to find a way to actually record it. Right now, I do have a laptop with Adobe Audition - anyone know if you can hook these recievers up to a laptop for recording the sounds? I know, lots of questions, not much time. I would appreciate any input on this though. Thanks! EDIT: looking into this more, I came across someone that claims to just hook up a good lav mic to a miniDisk recorder? Would this work? It would make the whole transfer thing easier without having to have the reciever hooked up to the laptop....

I thought at first it might not be enough light, but then I blasted a 600 watt quartz-halogen light straight on the person and still did the same thing. My teachers also told me to depress the trigger some to see if there was a difference, and take the film out and try actually running the camera, but it is the same reading as when the camera is just set to the 18FPS position and on the individual without pressing the trigger. It is quite confusing. I sent off some film Monday by priority mail. I'll post on what it looks like when I get it back and project it.

I appreciate the replies. The things that scare me though is that my friend's skin is fairly pale, and I am zoomed in all the way when reading his face and my grey card. There is not even the slightest difference. I asked about it in class and I was told to get my film back and check the results. It could be, since the grey card is flat and his face is not, some shadows doing some funky things with the meter, or the texture of his face. I was expecting at least a little bit of a stop difference, but I was told that if my meter is not working properly, not to worry about the one stop or so difference and that I won't be graded harshly for it. It just makes me angry because I'm trying to learn this stuff and it just makes things more confusing when they don't work like they are suppose to :P

Awesome suggestion! My film project is coming down to the line. I already shot some stuff and I'm sending it off tomorrow or Monday for processing. If they turn out ok then I'll know how to work my camera, but the video camera is a good idea. I have one, but I've never delved into the manual controls as I never really needed to. I'll have to check it out.

Thanks Alessandro Machi, your reply was much more helpful than the other. My story is this: My teachers know what they are talking about, but I'm on Spring break this week and I thought instead of trying to call them and bothering them over Spring break, I could come here and get more people's opinions. This board is for that, no? I have already asked my teachers about my lightmeter locking up when the 85 filter is moved out of place, and they do not have an answer for me. If you went to the UK and learned from such greats, then why did you not have any answers for me? The other issue is that I could only get a Belle and Howell camera (spelling is probably off) for my lighting test roll that I did. It is an automatic camera, and you cannot even see what the lightmeter is reading as it is suppose to be just a point and hold button camera. I bought the minolta because I figured I would learn more. I've been looking into lightmeters, and I will need to buy one next year, but this year I did not have the time to shop, or the money, and I felt there was no need as I could trust my built in lightmeter, but obviously that appears to not be the case. I understand that the reading could fluctuate as I move the camera if I need to move it in the shot. I read in a book (I can't recall if my teacher said it or not) that for wide shots it is not typically necessary to lock the meter, but again I ask, how wide is wide and how does the meter work in these situations? It did not explain past what I just said. And I agree, it doesn't make sense because you could move into a brighter lit area. I ask though, How does it "average" the light to get it's reading? I assume it takes in consideration the darkest and lightest points, but if so then when the film is exposed, do the areas between the brightest and darkest reflectance look middle gray? I'm all about understanding how every little thing works so I can be better. The teachers probably explained this, as they have worked on many films themselves, but I'm on Spring break and away from my notes, I can't remember fully, and I do not feel like bugging them over Spring break. Please hold your insults and do not post if you have nothing useful to say. Thanks. Oh, by the way, I was using a tripod :S. I really think my meter might be screwy. And my camera uses like 4 double A batteriers for the meter and for running the film. Also, understand that this is my first production class and the first time ever shooting anything on film. Teachers try to simplify things for students in the first production class - this makes sense, yes?

Hey all! I'm currently enrolled in school, majoring in cinematography. This semester is my first production course, and I've learned much so far! We are shooting our final films on Super 8. I have a Minolta D4, but there seems to be some problems I'm having and I was wondering if any of you could throw me some advice... First of all, I went and got me a 18% gray card. I'm using reversal stock, and plan on using Tri-X (EI 200D) for indoors and Plus-X (EI 100D) for outdoors. First, there seems to be a problem with my built in 85 filter. When I screw the screw in the top of the camera to push it out of the way for shooting indoors (to get the 2/3 stops more light), my lighting meter goes wacko. It starts jerking around, and will never go below a 4 even if you go into a dark closet with no lights. So, anyone know what the deal is? It wouldn't hurt me to just have the filter in there really, I was just wondering if this is fixable or if anyone knows what is going on? Another thing involves the gray card I bought. I bought it from a popular photography store in my area, so I trust it. The problem is that I'll take a reading off my main actor's face, and get a 5.6 (this is all the way telephoto on his face) and when I have him hold the gray card in front of his face, I get the same reading! He is white, so this should be about a stop difference, but it's not! Oh, by the way, I'm using the reflective light meter that is in my camera. I don't know what is going on, and it's wierd. When I got home and had my mother (haha) help me test it out, it worked SOMETIMES, but there were still issues. I had to shoot the other day, so I just did many takes. I did one with locking the aperture a stop lower to get a bigger opening than what I read off his face so that hopefully it turns out ok. I'm still not sure though, and I really need it to turn out. The other takes I did was at the same stop I was reading at his face. And then I did even more by just letting the exposure stay on automatic and have it do what it wants as he moves through the scene... This brings up some more questions, lol. For wide shots, it is recommended not to lock the lightmeter at any certain f/stop, but how "wide" is a wide shot? I'm trying to understand how it would take readings. Since, if you take an entire shot thats full of really dark objects, and you have your camera at automatic exposure, everything will appear 18% gray. Well, if you have a wide shot of many different objects of different brightnesses, what will appear 18% gray? Does the averaging that the meter does on wide shots just take the objects inbetween the brightest areas and darkest areas and expose them at 18%? I feel like Hollywood here more than a film student, I did about 6 takes of everything, but I can't keep doing this. My actors that aren't getting paid were getting a little angry and I don't have that much money for processing :P. There were some shots that were from my actor's chest to the top of his head (MCU) and I did a take with having the meter at automatic, then locking the meter at what his face read, and then locking the meter at a stop lower than what his face read. Which one would have been sufficient? I wasn't really sure about how "wide" was wide and exactly how the meter averages the light. The most important feature in the shot was his face, and that is why I based my other two shots off the readings there. I don't even use my gray card anymore, because it doesn't seem to make a difference... Thanks for all your help guys! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Wow, congrats! Me and a buddy of mine are actually thinking about going. We don't have any films of course, but we would just like to go and scope everything out, meet people, and hopefully submit a film not next year, but the following year. Good luck to both of ya! Holy cow! Just watched the trailer and read your bio. Guess where I'm currently sitting - in a computer lab down in Carbondale, Illinois. I'm actually enrolled in the cinema and photography department down here. I saw you had also left to go to Chicago and worked on a film up there. Is that from the internships offered? They had a meeting recently about interning in Hollywood, but it's $7000, so I'm going to wait until my senior year. Oh, by the way, nice trailer.

Nice! I'm definately going to look into that more. So I noticed it just records onto compact flash, am I correct? If so, how much can 1 gig hold when recording say, 44.1kHz at 24-bit? And, is is that what you normally record at?

Thanks for the help man. I think I'll definately be looking towards DAT now, but I still have a BUNCH to learn about recording audio. I do not know too much about sound equipment right now, like all of the mumbo jumbo and what is actually what. I need to start searching for sites to teach myself. Any good links that explain all the technical info well? As far as audio recording, I definately want to specialize more in film and would rather have a great device to record sounds for film (dialogue, sound effects, ambient sound) than a device that would be just decent for both music and movies. I really want a DAT recorder for using in my own films (which are going to be shot on miniDV) and then for my class projects that will be filmed on Super 8 and 16. I also plan on using this as an "in" for other student filmmakers on campus looking for someone to help them with capturing sound, so the more I know about it all and the better quality the recorder has, the better. I really want to be director, but I could use the DAT as a means of networking and meeting people that are passionate about movies just like I am, and therefore have some help doing my own projects when it comes to me needing actors, camera people, lighting people, etc. There are many films being shot on campus for class projects and I would like to help out with as many as possible. Besides using this as a way to get "in" with other filmmakers on campus, I thought it would help to know the most about everything when it came to actually being a director for my own films/Hollywood films (WHEN I make it - hah!). Anyways, I figured the more I know about sound and what is required, as well as the more I know about lighting, and other things such as prosthetics that I'm trying to learn, the better. As far as pricing goes, if anyone wants to mention any units that are great but very expensive, feel free to. I'll be looking on Ebay A BUNCH and I could look for that model recommended or even a model below it that would probably still be very good. Oh, I know that just because I have a good recorder doesn't mean I'll have good sound (good microphones are also needed), but I'll tackle that when it comes. Right now I'm just interested in DAT recorders and the knowledge. Thanks again Mr. Seper, and if anyone else has any input, I'd appreciate it! Oh, and as far as DAT, would a portable one or a umm....regular size one be the best way to go? Oh, and I really do not know how to power one with a generator. I mean, I know how, but I don't know if I would want to spend a bunch of money on a generator. It would be best to have one that is both powered off of batteries and if they die, a generator can be used. But I guess I might as well look into generators more and try to find a good place to get them. Thanks! EDIT: I didn't see Dickson's post before posting mine. As far as mics, I really don't know what to get either. I'm guessing a unidirectional for a boom and maybe a shotgun mic or two? I found one on Ebay that the sellers CLAIMED to retail at $250. It was a good unidirectional (appeared to be anyways) and they were selling it for about $50. I can't remember the brand or model though...

Not too long ago I changed my major to cinematography and I actually started my classes this fall. I'm extremely happy right now and cannot see myself doing anything else, or I should say loving anything as much, and I've decided to try to go ahead and get my own equipment. While I do not want to spend a TON of money, I'm willing to spend about $1000 or so on audio equipment and then about $500 or so on lights. As far as lights go, I plan to build my own. I want to get my own cans and 3-legged stands and get some high powered lights from somewhere (any suggestions on where to find them online for cheap?) But this topic isn't about lighting, and I'll get into what it is about: sound. I've been really wanting to get a DAT recorder, but when it comes to spending that much money when I don't very much, I get scared. I want to make sure I'm making the right purchase decisions and that I have enough money left over for a decent microphone or two. I was planning on going for a DAT recorder and just asking for advice on what features I need to have and what would be good. The only way I can think of buying it for cheap would be to use ebay and spend $500 or less. I tried looking up information on the Internet, but random websites are just so hard to trust and understand and I would rather have input from people that have actually used the recorders. I hope to use it for hooking up microphones to and recording on set, recording ambient noise, using it for sound effects, and even maybe ADR. This would all point to me having a portable one, but at the same time I would really like to be able to use it to record music for some local bands as well, which it would seem like that would require more than one mic input. Sounds for film is the most important though, and if I have to make do with only one or two mic inputs, I'll survive (especially if it means saving me some $$). Well, after I thought my problem was just going to be finding a good dat recorder for a cheap price and learning some stuff about it so I could make an educated buying decision, I heard that MD (mini-disk) format is pretty good. I heard it has the same quality as dat, it's cheaper, and with it being a "CD" it would be easier to put into the computer and can instantly skip to different sections on the disk, without using forward or rewind all of the time. Also, DAT tapes are easier to damage than these minidisks are. Like I said, this is just what I've heard and I have no clue what to believe or where to even start looking. I would much appreciate any help you guys (or gals) could shed on this situation. Thanks!