Hi! I love the site and the store - it's been a great resource for learning what I need to be a pro sound guy. I've been doing post production sound for several years, but also enjoy getting out to do set work, although I'm not as skilled in that area.

I was wondering if ya'll had some suggested reading and equipment upgrades to my existing setup that might make me more effective (without breaking the bank!).

I'm currently reading The Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound, 3rd ed by David Yewdall.

My equipment consists of:
-Tascam HDP2 Flash Recorder
-Rolls MX124 4 channel mixer (for wireless mics when I can borrow/rent them)
-Petrol PEGZ-1F equipment bag with light harness
-K-Tek ke110ccr Aluminum internally wired boom pole
-K-Tek and Audio Technica shock mounts
-Audio Technica AT897A short shotgun mic
-2 AKG Perception 150 mics (for stereo ambiance, indoor/echo-heavy rooms)
-Starquad cables, various lengths

I would really like to get some wireless mics, but the prosumer stuff seems a little iffy. I also would like to get a battery system instead of all the AA and 9Vs, but I'm a little lost in that department as well.

Thanks so much for your help! I'm glad to answer any questions as well

Colin Birney, Atlanta

Hi VCProd,

Thank you for the praise. You have all of the basic components except wireless and timecode. As time goes on you will probably seek upgrades to improve sound quality, sync inssues and multitracking. But for now you are on the right path.

RE: Wireless Systems
For wireless you should consider the Sennheiser G3 or Sony UWP series microphones. These cost 500-600 dollars and are wonderful for being so affordable. I highly suggest buying an aftermarket lavalier as well, such as the Countryman EMW wired for 1/8" mini for $217. This provides you with a significantly better sounding mic that is less prone to clothing noise AND it allows you to have a backup microphone. Unfortunately, these microphones are often mishandled and are more prone to breakage than other equipment.

Getting tricky #1
RE: Dual-use Lavaliers for Hardwired and Wireless
An alternative you could consider is buying a hard-wired aftermarket lavalier like the Countryman EMW. This will plug directly into the mixer and provide significantly better sound quality than a wireless system in the sub $1k price range. If you rent a wireless or buy one later on, you can always convert the Convert to be able to be used as a hardwire OR with a wireless mic. Simply buy the hardwired version (usually about $100 more than bare leads) and then have our service department cut the line in the middle and put mating male and female connectors. If using hard-lined, simply leave it connected. Want to go wireless, disconnect the XLR power supply and plug the lav straight into the wireless system.

RE: Timecode and sync issues
Your Tascam HD-P2 does not have a clock with sufficient stability to stay frame-accurate while recording dual-system sound for more than a few minutes. In recorders like the Sound Devices 702T (street price $2495) you get a timecode clock that is quite accurate and will hold sync for hours at a time. Professional cameras have an accurate clock as well (hopefully... not guaranteed) or at least a timecode input. By momentarily connecting (e.g. jamming) or leaving a permanent connection ((e.g. constant jamming) you can ensure the frame of the audio file is EXACTLY the same as the frame of the video file. Your Tascam HD-P2 does have a timecode input so you could feed it constant timecode to achieve the same result (see TC slate as TC Master below).

RE: Do you NEED timecode?
I mention timecode because it is a "next step" in filling your sound package out. While many of the indie productions will work on will probably be shooting video (not film) using cameras that don't have a timecode input (though they erroneously may think they do), you will still lose jobs because you don't have a timecode slate. In many situations a timecode slate (aka smart slate) will be very useful in syncing in post. In many indie situations a dumb-slate with poor-man's timecode (simply setting the time and date clocks to similar times) works equally well for FCP editors.

Getting Tricky #2
RE: Least expensive path to professional timecode results
If you do get asked to provide a smart slate, you could rent one for ~$50 a day, and send the hard-line signal back to your HD-P2 to maintain frame accurate sync. In this scenario your Timecode slate would be the "Master Timecode Generator On Set" If there are other downstream devices you would jam them with the slate. Using the little button inside the battery door of a Denecke slate you can set the time. I would suggest fresh batteries and starting the timecode at hour 01:00:00:00. Let it continue all day and tape down the battery switch so it doesn't get turned off. If it does get turned off, you will have to advance the timecode PAST the most recent timecode (if it got shut off at 05:30:00:00 then set it to hour 06:00:00:00). Maintain the connection of timecode out from the slate to the HDP2 or face inevitable sync issues.

RE: Sending audio to camera
The easiest way to prevent sync issues is to record the audio directly onto the camera. This has two major problems: Firstly the audio recorder is no longer under your control, it is now under the camera-departments control. You can't always get to it to make adjustments and settings. Secondly, the noise floor is higher and more objectionable and the A->D conversion is often inferior to standalone audio recorders.
My suggestion is to send audio to camera either wired with a beta snake OR wireless using a professional system. Consider this audio your "backup" and tell production your "Primary" audio is recorded on your audio recorder. They can use whichever audio meets their needs and you protect yourself from complaints that they had to sync your audio at additional expense because there was a problem on the camera's audio recording.

RE: Multi-tracking
As you get a bunch of wireless systems and have plant mics and two boom operators you will want to record "safety tracks" in addition to your mix track. You not only send your mix track to the recorder, you also send "Pre-fader Direct Outputs" of each microphone source. Essentially these are unmixed original microphone sources. This way, if an actor yells when you expected them to whisper and this ruins your mix track, it can be fixed. Post production will simply take your multitrack audio file and find the original untouched microphone recording. This allows for total remixing in post and drastically reduces need for ADR.

Items you should consider saving up for:
Sound Devices 552 (replaces your Rolls + Tascam) $2850
Denecke Slate $1300
Sennheiser G3 Wireless $600
Countryman, Sanken, Tram etc. lavalier $200-400
Breakaway Beta Snake (ESSENTIAL FOR BEGINNING!) $230

Best of luck and don't be a stranger!

-Robert