I am producing a studio show. I will be purchasing 4 lavalier mics (off ebay) and I currently have 3 cameras (2 on a tripod and one handheld). I am also watching a Behringer mixer on ebay which I am also going to be purchasing for the show.

Having this equipment.... how do I get the sound from the 4 lav. mics into the one camera on the tripod. (I'm only assuming that it will have to go into a main camera which will feed into the mixer?)

I know what I'm doing in the video editing mode (using final cut express HD). But not sure what to do in production?

thanks!
Angie

Never done this - just my uninformed thoughts...

I would have thought it would be best to invest in a multichannel recorder and record each mic seperately then all the balancing of levels can be done in the edit.

I would await more expert opinion.

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It all depends how you're going to edit it.

You don't need the mixer if you want to keep it simple, just feed mics 1 & 2 into one camcorder, mics 2 & 3 into another (I'd suggest the two camcorders on sticks) and sort it all out in post.

If that's not an option then you need someone who can "ride" the mic levels (not as easy as it sounds) such that the mics not in use are turned down, otherwise you risk getting a lot of ambient sounds in the mix. By mixing live if you cock-up, you're stuck with it.

The mixer will have outputs (left and right) which you simply connect to your camcorder. Make sure that your camcorder is set for "line" input and I would suggest keeping it in 2 x mono with one track 6dB lower than the other to cover any "oops" moments. Digital video can deal with low sound a lot better than it handles over-modulation. Keep any limiters switched on and auto-gain switched off.

Failing that... My daily rates are very reasonable

The Behringer on ebay is a good price, I think I'll bid for it myself! ... (Only kidding)

Thanks Guru! I will give it a try!

Sounds proffessional!
Curious that you bid for the work without equipment!
Sound like you only have two usable cameras then.
Again, curious that you have secured the work with no equipment.

No expert here but my first thought would be to record each independently and mix in post.

This much seems obvious even to me so I'm a little concerned by the tone of this post that you may have bitten off more than you can chew with this project. Or at least are attacking it before you're ready. You sure you're up to it?

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I'm not young enough to know everything!

It's a personal project that has been in the works (on paper...storyboard and in the imagination of various other individuals involved). It will be aired on our local cable company. "Never despise the day of small beginnings."

I have been thinking about recording each independently and mixing in post.

Thanks for responding!