8) This is where a lavalier mic comes in handy. They allow you to mic the talent and capture dialogue where the use of a boom is difficult or impossible. There are a few downsides to using a low-budget lav setup, however, which relegates them, at least in low-budget narrative filmmaking (or where you want to recreate reality as closely as possible), to worst-case-scenario status. Lavalier microphones have an omni pickup pattern which means they capture sounds coming from all directions; they don’t exhibit the same frequency response curve as a shotgun/cardioid mic and because of their proximity to the mouth sound very dry and clinical which makes them a challenge, but not impossible, to match in post; they have to be wired to a separate recorder (more gear/batteries + syncing in post) unless you use a wireless transmitter which also implies more gear/batteries - plus transmitters also have their own issues notwithstanding the fact that they don’t have as wide a frequency response as a hard wired setup unless you’re using very high end gear = $$$. Within a low-budget filmmaking context lavs are best used to complement a shotgun (for intelligibility) or when you have absolutely no choice.

10) OK people, this is THE most critical component to ensuring smooth, flowing dialogue transitions in your film. In a perfect movie, dialogue doesn’t explain WHAT your characters are doing but WHY they’re doing it. That makes the dialogue mix crucial to the story. And anything that takes your audience out of the story, like a fumbled/mumbled word, set noise, rumbling stomach, sneeze, sniff, etc. needs to be corrected. Roomtone is the sonic glue that allows you to slice/dice/fix/nix dialogue issues transparently. If you have not recorded roomtone during your shoot you will be forced to create it from whatever snippets of silence you can find in your dialogue tracks. This can be a very long and extremely aggravating procedure; and you will need to do it since roomtone is absolutely essential to post-production dialogue editing. You cannot simply go back to the location and record ambient sound as the sonic character of the set will most probably have changed significantly by then making any such recordings useless.

What is the easiest way of acquiring roomtone? Easy. If you are the director, make sure for each shot that you WAIT AT LEAST 3 SECONDS BEFORE CALLING ACTION after your gear has started recording. Five seconds is even better, eight fantastic. Ensure that everyone (actors, crew, producers, investors) involved in the production on the set knows from the outset that for the few seconds prior to action after the camera starts rolling everyone has to be dead silent, i.e. no whispering, moving, sniffing, scratching, etc. For example, when you’re ready to do your first take shout “Silence on the set”; once everyone is quiet tell the soundman to “roll sound” then the camera operator to “roll camera” (they should each confirm by replying “rolling”) then count a few seconds in your head, visually queue the slate person to call the shot and once he/she’s out of the frame call “action”. You’ll regret not having made this simple but time-saving effort during post.

@spacewig Thank you for all the effort

1, 2, 3, 4, 5... SUPER Comandante Espacioooo!!! +)

Great stuff @spacewig ! You should put this together on its own blog page somewhere for filmmakers to read since this covers many perennial questions really, really well. (I'd love to have this as a guest post on my filmmaking blog if you don't have better options.)

A couple thoughts: When one is running sound, it is crucial to listen. Sounds simple, but I think that's where a lot of DIY filmmakers get in trouble by paying more attention to the levels meters than the actual sound. Listening to rehearsals and prior takes really helps in setting proper headroom (knowing whether a big outburst is coming up in a quiet scene, for example). At the same time, it's frustrating in post when the sound dynamics change significantly between different takes or angles of the same scene--which makes cutting these together a challenge--so maintaining consistency is equally important. Sometimes it's better to "ride the levels" or just record a second track at a lower level to cover the yelled portions.

Labeling/naming tracks and using the "Slate mic" functions of better recorders is such a nice treat for post. As is keeping a good log of tracks to give to the editor (this is often done in conjunction with the script supervisor). These are the organizational grace notes that make an enormous difference on large projects like feature films and series.

There's also a lot of experience involved in selecting and placing lavs and wireless packs so they don't rustle or appear visibly. I'd love to hear your advice on that.

@douglashorn First off, muchos gracias for taking the time to respond with thoughtful feedback. Your contribution is essential to the enhancement of this topic.

I completely agree with you regarding the importance of "listening". I would go further and argue that someone with zero experience as a sound(wo)man would benefit immensely from buying a cheap eye mask, the type you wear on a plane to sleep, and spending a day wearing it in different locations just to experience and appreciate their surroundings from a sonic perspective.

Riding levels is definitely part of the techniques a sound person needs to employ to perform their function optimally. The complication arises from knowing when an adjustment to the gain setting is justified versus allowing a drop or increase in level due to the natural dynamics of speech in three dimensional space. My feeling is that this is a decision made largely based on experience making it difficult to impart any advice to persons whom this thread is intended for, i.e. indie filmmakers with very little or no experience with sound. This complication is further compounded by the impractical implemementation of gain settings on many cheaper recorders, i.e. access through a menu and modification by pushing buttons rather than twisting a knob. I would love to hear from seasoned pros on the subject.

I want to make absolutely clear, in the event it wasn't in my previous posts, that I am NOT, in any way, shape or form, an authority on the topic of location or post-production sound mixing. I don't make a living from it and, compared to others actually working in the industry, have very limited practical experience. However, on top of the 20+ years of music recording/mixing experience I've accumulated combined with the multitude of shoots I've been on in the last 4 years I feel I've developed a certain "philosophy", in the pure sense of the word, that may have enough value to share with others given the dearth of information on this topic. This is a long-winded, yet important, preface to my next point which is that I cannot offer any advice on the placement of lavalier microphones as I really don't have enough experience with them to elaborate on the topic. However, I whole-heartedly encourage and urge those with relevant experience, such as yourself, to contribute to this thread so that we can expand and enrich its content. Again, I will be happy to modify the wiki with all positive contributions that add to the knowledge base.

@caveport Thanks for the reminder. Unfortunately it's too late for me to update my post but I will add to the wiki tomorrow. Cheers.

Good stuff guys - thanks everyone for tips.

I've never heard of clapping a slate three times. SOP is to quickly say the scene and take number, then "Marker" and whack it. If you're on a close up and close to the talent's face you say "Soft sticks" and do a soft clap. If your video is being manually synched, the Asst Ed should be able to quickly find the clapper peak on the waveform. The word "Marker" right in front of it confirms that it isn't some random sound on set.

Of course a timecode slate with a digital bleep sound at the open is easiest but these days I only use these on big shoots. (Clients and producers love to see them, though they don't add THAT much anymore with timecode sync, PluralEyes, and the rest.)

Best way to remove echoes on set is to use sound blankets on as many surfaces as you can. (Generally ANYTHING not on camera.) Echoes are really the hardest things to remove. It's like the audio equivalent of a big camera flare--darn tough to get rid of in post. Though, perhaps there's now some smart software that can do this.

@Brian_Siano I don't think your comment "Obviously, I can't just leave it up to a sound expert." is justified. I worked as a sound operator for some years and all I can say is, you hired the wrong guys. Quote: "(In his defense, he'd never mixed for video before, and his system didn't include the ability to watch the video: he was strictly sound-only.)" These guys were not "Expert". Good luck learning how to do sound.

@DouglasHorn well, now you have heard of it :)

If you use the slate and film the clock in each cam, one clap should do it, then you can decide if you want to compensate for drift. I often do not bother with the clock, so a few clacks, which takes zero time and zero effort works for me. If you are running more than a dozen cams they may not all be framed on the clapper, and then with that many cams I definitely use the clock. I would never use a slate with a clock and a beep, the clock has to be fed to each can, with confirmed focus, plus the wave form of a beep is not as sharp.

Also, the slate is not really necessary since you can clap your hands, but it looks more professional (so I don't use it, but I can see why some do)

One more thing about the backups--if your costs are really high, you have to have it. If your costs are low you can consider a smaller rig. But either way, I recommend calculating the costs of reshooting a day if your audio gear fails. If it's six figures, well, there's your answer.

Whatever works! What I like about spacewig's plan is that he has a real plan and thought about all the steps.

@matt_gh2 it depends on the space. A cardioid is my first choice for eliminating echoes, a hyper/super/shotgun will have echoes from the rear lobe in either a live hall or a church, which is accentuated by the nulls on the sides of the mics. A cardioid has no rear lobe. However, in a narrow hallway, you want the hyper like the Schoeps MK 41.

You can also make a really great baffle for your mics to help with echoes. I also would not use blankets without a bass trap.