Newbie-Needs your advice

jagdish · #1 (**permalink**) 05-31-2006, 07:24 PM

Hi All,
I recently purchased a new Sony handycam model 755E. I am planning to make a documentory. I would like to know which equipment I need to keep ready with me to produce a really high quality film. There will be some charectors in the movie and I would like their conversations to be recorded with high quality. There will be sound effects like man walking on the floor, knocking the door etc. I would like to have all these sounds in the documentory with real quality.

I have done some research and thinking that I need to have adobe premier pro 2.0 for video editing audition for sound mixing. I would like to know whether these are sufficient enough or do I need to have some additional hardware. I went to one video editing and sound mixing training institute and they said that the training is for 20 days and I need to purchase one hardware for sound mixing. They did not reveal what hardware it is and what software they are going to teach me. The fees is expensive. But I will go for it if it is not possible for me to learn everything by myself.

Please share your thoughts.

-Jagdish

Alan Mills · #2 (**permalink**) 05-31-2006, 09:09 PM

Audition is a more than capable sound editor. PPro2 is a more than capable video editor. However, neither will produce a great film from bad source soyour time and money is best put into those. Ppro2 and Audition together will cost you nearly £1000 UKP I expect. If you are running to this then you should consider the Production studio and get all the other s/w too.

However, you'll also find Premier Elements is also a more than capable video editor and only costs £50 UKP. It has it's limitation but will likely do the job for you.

If quality is what youare after then your hardware is the really the limiting factor. You'll need a good camera and a good microphone for this.

Also, consider buying some CDs of sound effects for your knocking on the door and/or footsteps. You can get them cheap enough and the sound recording quality is likely as not more than equal to whaty you or I will be able to record.

Nikosony · #3 (**permalink**) 05-31-2006, 10:39 PM

I know I keep saying this over and over, but get yourself a good tripod aswell. A shotgun mic is very good at recording conversations or if your budget doesn't stretch to that, a couple of tie clip microphones will record the sound from conversations up close. You could also improvise a boom mic, using an ordinary dynamic mic plus cable wrapped around it, get someone to hold it above the actors heads and out of shot. This method is used a lot in television and film productions. Also record wildtrack to cover the sound of sirens or aeroplanes flying overhead which you can add in later at the editing stage. An editing technique used a lot in recording conversations is the use of Insert Edit, which I or whoever likes can post some info on using it.

jagdish · #4 (**permalink**) 06-01-2006, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by Alan Mills

Audition is a more than capable sound editor. PPro2 is a more than capable video editor. However, neither will produce a great film from bad source soyour time and money is best put into those. Ppro2 and Audition together will cost you nearly £1000 UKP I expect. If you are running to this then you should consider the Production studio and get all the other s/w too.

However, you'll also find Premier Elements is also a more than capable video editor and only costs £50 UKP. It has it's limitation but will likely do the job for you.

If quality is what youare after then your hardware is the really the limiting factor. You'll need a good camera and a good microphone for this.

Also, consider buying some CDs of sound effects for your knocking on the door and/or footsteps. You can get them cheap enough and the sound recording quality is likely as not more than equal to whaty you or I will be able to record.

Alan,
Thanks for your response. I have looked into the details of Premier Elements and seems it is going to work for me. I don't require too many transitions in my movie. I will have to just add different scenes togather. But I read that it supports only 720x480. What will be the default size of my movie I shoot with my handycam? I am sorry if I am asking a really basic question.

jagdish · #5 (**permalink**) 06-01-2006, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by Nikosony

I know I keep saying this over and over, but get yourself a good tripod aswell. A shotgun mic is very good at recording conversations or if your budget doesn't stretch to that, a couple of tie clip microphones will record the sound from conversations up close. You could also improvise a boom mic, using an ordinary dynamic mic plus cable wrapped around it, get someone to hold it above the actors heads and out of shot. This method is used a lot in television and film productions. Also record wildtrack to cover the sound of sirens or aeroplanes flying overhead which you can add in later at the editing stage. An editing technique used a lot in recording conversations is the use of Insert Edit, which I or whoever likes can post some info on using it.

Nikosony,
I actually ordered for the tripod. It was out of stock. But I ordered the cheapest one. I thought the difference is just the remote. What are the differences in good tripod and normal tripod?
I am planning to record the actors' voices after completion of the movie. Then mix them with the video. I think that is the way dubbing is done for cinemas. Gunshot mic seems to be affordable. Can gunshot mic alone do the work for me?

miwhel · #6 (**permalink**) 06-03-2006, 08:25 AM

Premiere elements will edit 720x576(PAL) and 720x480(NTSC) to suit your footage, but you have given yourself possible complications by buying a DVD cam, mini DV is still best SD picture quality and easiest to edit.

Make sure any tripod you have has a fluid head which has adjustable tension.

I have used an MP3 player/recorder connected to a sound desk or a decent mic to capture speech and got good results.

Have a look at ND and Polarising filters, WA and TELE conversion lenses too, as these can really add to the look of a clip and are reasonably cheap to buy.

Mostly take the cam off of auto and learn how to use any manual features your camera may have, like Focus, White Balance, Shutter Speed and Iris control.

Lastly have fun and good luck.

jagdish · #7 (**permalink**) 06-03-2006, 04:27 PM

Miwhel,
Thanks for your guidence. I will look into those things you mentioned.
I came to know after purchasing that DV cams are better than DVD cams. But anyway I am satisfied with the quality of the video that I shooted today.
I downloaded the trial versions of adobe premier pro and audition today. I am planning to purchase them as I don't want to compromise with my movie's quality. Having some troubles starting with them. Anyway I think I will learn them in few days. I am planning to shoot my movie with two cameras to give it a real movie kind of feeling. I will keep you updated with my progress.

miwhel · #8 (**permalink**) 06-03-2006, 09:36 PM

Remember to post some clips in the user video forum. what you have said about the project is quite exciting.

It will be good to see them.

Mike.

Nikosony · #9 (**permalink**) 06-04-2006, 11:12 PM

As said by another contributer, a good tripod is essential to give you steady shots and smooth pans and tilts. A fluid head is perfection but can be costly so a fluid effect head is the next best thing. You won't be panning and tiltling in every shot and in the ones you do make sure you have a reason for doing that move. You rarely see zoom in's or outs, do those when the camera is in record pause mode (sorry, if you already now this stuff) and record each scene for at least ten seconds to give you enough breathing room at the editing stage. Using two cams is good, you can get a wider variety of shots but you will have a bit more work to do at the editing stage.