Help Recording Outside

buffnscuff

New member
Hello, me and my friends plan on recording shorts and I would love to have our audio be respectable and high quality. What I would like to ask is if anyone can give me some guidance in this as I have never recorded outside before.

I have listed my equipment below and I want to know what I need to purchase to keep it great. I have considered post-dubbing but since this is our first recording I would like to keep it simple if possible.

A basic pop filter would not work to keep wind at a minimum correct? What should I be looking for and how can I be sure it will fit my microphone?

Can anyone link an acceptable boom-mic arm? I do not want a high quality one right now so under $30 is preferable. I have a converter for mounting the MXL 990 to the Europe standard or vice-versa I believe? I think it was country standard but the smaller thread to the bigger thread. Should I use a tripod under the boom arm too?

Is there anything else I should consider buying to go alongside this stuff that wouldn't be too expensive?

Thanks a bunch!


Behringer 302
MXL 990
 
I've never tried recording outdoors with an LDC but I know Rycote (who are the go to company for wind screens) do a foam unit for Large Diaphragn mics. THIS page give details of some of the models...the top one sounds like it might be okay with your MXL. It might be worth a browse through the rest of the range though.

As for a stand with a boom arm, eBay is usually full of them. I keep some "proper" stands (K&M) around for proper work but also have a bunch of cheapies I got six for $75 about five years ago and they're still working...worst damage is some of the plastic knobs are cracked.
 
Witzend is talking about a rig something like this:

Shotgun-on-boom_zps3vqkn4s0.jpg

(That's a friend working on the Canadian TV series "Blackstone".)

However, there are other techniques...a lot of location speech is done with clip on radio mics hidden under clothing, up in hair, that sort of thing.

However, even with all this great gear, on any film or TV series you'll find that anything from 50-90% of the location dialogue is replaced using ADR back in the studio.

I have to say that, now we know what you're doing, an MXL990 is almost exactly the wrong mic to use in your application.
 
Witzend is talking about a rig something like this:

View attachment 96165

(That's a friend working on the Canadian TV series "Blackstone".)

However, there are other techniques...a lot of location speech is done with clip on radio mics hidden under clothing, up in hair, that sort of thing.

However, even with all this great gear, on any film or TV series you'll find that anything from 50-90% of the location dialogue is replaced using ADR back in the studio.

I have to say that, now we know what you're doing, an MXL990 is almost exactly the wrong mic to use in your application.

I understood that coming into the thread, I guess I didn't get that across well, I was kinda in a rush writing the post. The point is this is what we have to work with and I can't afford to buy another one. I just want to make it sound as good as possible with the equipment we have, sorry for the confusion. That's the main reason I was staying cheap as far as stands. I plan on investing in another mic but for now I have to pay for classes in books so I only have a bit to spend on accessories and such. I suppose focusing on ADR is probably the best choice in this situation. Thanks for the help!
 
I have a 990, it picks up the AC kicking on, so using it outside will be a challenge, get or build a big windscreen. will you doing this in the same location all of the time? maybe fashion some sort of wind break around it that you can keep out of camera view. Good luck:D
 
The trick with any location mic is to get it as close as possible to the person speaking. This applies to professional shotguns but about ten times as much to a studio condenser like the 990.

Are you shooting drama-type stuff or more news/documentary style into camera shots? If the latter, how about some lateral thinking and make the mic some kind of prop/trademark with the mic right in shot up close to you? Done with the right amount of panache you might get away with it.

A second option--I know you don't want to spend money but there are Chinese sources of headset and lavalier mics that could probably plug into your camera (assuming it a domestic quality one). These sell for $25-$50 and do a remarkably good job for the small money. The ones I've bought come with windsocks so you could put the money you were going to have to spend on a windshield towards the mic.

Failing that, if you use ADR, give the Audition 28 day free trial a go. Audition has an "automatic speech alignment" tool that makes ADR a total dawdle.
 
The trick with any location mic is to get it as close as possible to the person speaking. This applies to professional shotguns but about ten times as much to a studio condenser like the 990.

Are you shooting drama-type stuff or more news/documentary style into camera shots? If the latter, how about some lateral thinking and make the mic some kind of prop/trademark with the mic right in shot up close to you? Done with the right amount of panache you might get away with it.

A second option--I know you don't want to spend money but there are Chinese sources of headset and lavalier mics that could probably plug into your camera (assuming it a domestic quality one). These sell for $25-$50 and do a remarkably good job for the small money. The ones I've bought come with windsocks so you could put the money you were going to have to spend on a windshield towards the mic.

Failing that, if you use ADR, give the Audition 28 day free trial a go. Audition has an "automatic speech alignment" tool that makes ADR a total dawdle.

The lavalier is an excellent choice, live they suck, but in recording they work great. :thumbs up:
 
This is the Chinese eBay seller I've used several times for lavs and headsets. anzee21 | eBay

The prices will probably be in Australian dollars so the US price should be even less. As I say, the quality is pretty okay and (over four purchases) they've been quick, reliable suppliers.
 
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