Production Sound Equipment for Film
Every style of video production has varied requirements & workflows that the sound department needs to integrate into. Offering scalable equipment package rentals tailored to the needs of each individual shoot. From lightweight bag based sound recording packages for ‘run and gun’ shoots to a cart based production sound rig ready for any scale of production; from commercials to narratives, comedy specials, concert recording, and everywhere in between. Let’s work together to find the right equipment package for your shoot!
Producer’s Guide To Location Sound Gear
The nature of the shoot’s content & production workflow determines a lot about what kind of gear you might need. Answering some basic questions about the shoot will help determine what gear package will best suit your budget and production requirements. Let’s chat about your production’s specific needs!
What is the content and usage?
Is it a documentary, narrative film, commercial, reality TV show, or something else entirely?
The nature of the content we are shooting & workflow determines a lot about what kind of gear package will be needed. While a sit down interview may need a relatively small equipment package, as the number of talent on screen and cameras increase, so do the requirements from the sound department.
How many talent will be on camera at once with dialog?
The number of people on camera with dialog helps determine the number of wireless lavaliers and booms needed for your shoot. What this means for equipment may vary depending on the content type, from narrative to commercials, reality TV, and more. For a multi person sit down interview, generally speaking best practice is a boom mic & lav mic per person. With different content types where multiple booms isn’t realistic we can still capture quality sound with lavs alone. For some content types, the addition of plant mics or a dedicated boom operator may be necessary as well like in the case of narratives, some commercial content, or comedy specials.
How many and what model cameras will we be filming with?
Knowing the number of cameras & what model will help determine how many timecode boxes & cameras will need to be fed a mix. It also lets me know what types of cabling I will need to interface with each camera. While rental houses should include the breakouts for each camera, often they do not come with the necessary accessories. Therefore I stock custom cabling to support a wide range of cameras including Arri, RED, Sony, Canon, Blackmagic Designs, Panasonic, and more so we are ready to go no matter what camera we end up with on set.
How much camera & talent movement will there be?
The amount of camera movment and talent blocking impacts the practicality of sending hardline mixes to cameras and determines if we need to use wireless camera hops or need a boom oporator. While a hardline feed is superior in terms of quality, when it comes to unpredictable shooting environments, complex camera movement, or talent moevement it becomes a matter of safety & feasibility.
Is timecode part of your post-production workflow?
Timecode has become a mainstay of professional video production, and for good reason, it saves a lot of time and money in post-production by speeding up the workflow. To ensure the separately recorded sound and one or more cameras stay in sync with one another timecode boxes get attached to each camera. This common timestamp is then recorded as metadata to every video file & audio file. Even if shooting with cameras that don’t take timecode natively, it can still be implemented with the use of a smart timecode slate or by recording linear timecode to an audio channel and decoding it in post. Here is an explanation of audio timecode workflow.
Are we rolling takes longer than 30 minutes? Do we need genlock sync?
For productions that require continuous takes longer then 30 minutes (i.e. Reality TV, Comedy Specials, Documentary, etc), the use of genlock & wordclock in addition to timecode is highly recommended. Timecode is only metadata, but genlock clocks the cameras’ sensors at the frame rate level to prevent them from drifting apart once recording and hang small clocking differences stack as clips get longer. Like Genlock, wordclock is used to clock audio equipment at the sample rate lavel. It’s not unheard of to have 2-5 seconds of drift between cameras by the end of a take longer than an hour, while the beginning might be perfectly in sync.
There are also needs for Gelock when working with LED walls, projectors, certain strobe lighting, motion control rigs & camera robots for compositing, and 3D camera rigs where each frame needs to happen precesely at the same time accross every device on set.
Do you need a timecode smart slate?
This depends on your production and post-production workflow, but slating camera are best practice as it can stremline the editor identifying clips and provide an additional redundancy in your sync workflow even if audio and timecode are embeded into the video files. It's also highly recommended anytime audio isn’t recorded on camera or when cameras don’t allow for timecode inputs that you also use a timecode slate to visually burn in timecode to the video clips. Not every type of content and shooting style is slating practical, but in scenarios like interviews or shoots with an AC slating is always a good idea!
Do you need wireless IFB headsets for clients, directors, reporters, or other crew to listen in on?
The ability for the Director, Producer, Clients or various crew positions to listen in and clearly hear the audio being recorded can be incredibly valuable; When video village is a distance away from set or shooting outdoors it can be hard to hear talent to evaluate performences. This is where wireless IFB headsets come in! Sometimes additional crew may need a IFB headset in order to perform their job. This may include camera operators 1st assistant camera, assistant directors, script suporvisor, telepropter operatore, or anyoen else who may need to hear dialog for cueing.
Additionally when doing live television the reporters in the field needs to hear an IFB mix-minus feed of the show in order to talk back to the hosts in the studio.
How many people on your production will need to listen in?
Is there a need for a remote feed to Zoom or similar video conferencing software?
Virtual productions & remote clients, producers, interviewers, etc has become more and more commonplace. Is there anyone on who will be remote who will need to listen in as if they were on set with an IFB headset? Is there a video feed too or just audio? To get audio reliably into a computer a USB interface is usually the best method. While many cameras and capture cards are capable of passing audio downstream, it’s fairly common to run into issues that way too so I highly recommend using an USB audio interface. This can also be incredibly useful for remote voiceover recording.
What kind of locations are we filming in and what kind of footprint can we have?
Are there more than one location in a day? What is the filming location like? What kind of access to space do we have? Is it cart accessible? What kind of footprint can we have on location? Is there a place to stage equipment? The answers to these questions are invaluable information when planning the logistics of getting gear in and out of locations and traveling from location to location. Poor accessibility makes for a much slower moving crew, and should be factored if you intend to shoot at multiple locations.
Now matter what the production requires; contact me to customize a sound recording equipment package to suit your project’s specific needs.
Sound Recording Equipment for Film Production
Let’s work together to figure out an equipment package that makes sense for your production meeting the needs and requirements of your production’s unique content.
Field Mixers w/ Integrated Multitrack Recorders
The field mixer / recorder is the heart of any location sound kit, allowing multiple inputs & output busses, multitrack recording, and timecode capabilities, it’s truly the workhorse of every production. Having small lightweight bag based options up all the way to larger cart based high channel count field recorders.
Control Surfaces
Adding a control surfaces connect to your field mixers to really open up it's mixing capabilites by gibing you all your mix controls at your finger tips enabling you to produce better quality mixes. It's truely an essential tool for live stream productions, broadcast television, narrative film, or any type of production where mobility is less of a concern.
Automixing, EQ, & Compression
When it comes to delivering a quality mix, whether for dailies, as a backup to camera, to speed up post workflows, or if going out live on air; You want it to sound as good as possible. A lot of video content out there unfortunately doesn’t have the luxury of dedicated audio post production. In these circumstances having tools like EQ, Compression, & Automixing comes in to deliver better sounding ready to use mixes on location.
Realtime Noise Suppression
Not all locations are ideal and some need a little help from noise reduction to clean up the audio in that environment. While the tools available in post have far more finite control, not every production has dedicated audio post, and some shoots are even live to air. In these circumstances having active noise reduction pushing the noise floor down in real time can create some much needed signal to noise separation of talent from the environment they are in.
RF Master Clock
The RF masterclock creates a network between the cameras and audio recorders sharing a single clock source (via RF sync boxes) for timecode, genlock, and wordclock achieving perfect sync indefinitely.
Timecode & Genlock Sync Boxes
Timecode sync boxes are an essential part of modern video production workflows, saving time and money in post-production. Every timecode kit includes a RF master clock, and RF jammed sync boxes for each camera that provide Timecode & Genlock, cabling for most cameras, & mounting accessories.
Timecode Smart Slates
Smart Slates are a convenient way to ensure sync between audio and any camera (even those that don’t take timecode). The auditory slate clap will match perfectly to the visual slate while also flashing a timecode display to camera burning a visual LTC indicator into the footage.
Boom Mics with Wind Protection
When it comes to detail and quality in recorded dialog there is no substitute for a well placed high end boom microphone. Whether shotguns or small diaphram condensers, each type of microphone excells in different environments and schooting scenarios encountered. Having an array of microphone options allows you to capture the best quality audio under each given circumstance.
Stick Mics & Studio Microphones
Dynamic microphones are especially useful in high noise environments for their ability to reject unwanted sounds; for example in scenarios like rushing a stadium field with reporters after a game, as the the dialog mic for a comedy special, or for doing live hits while at a poltical rally. Occasionally shoots like music performance videos & comedy specials require studio microphones to capture the nuances & character of instruments, crowds, and more. High end studio condenser microphones have incredible sound and practically non-existent noise floors, making them great on nearly any source.
Plant Mic’ing Solutions
Plant mics can be an excellent way of capturing dialog (like in vehicles), or for capturing nat sound, ambiences, or crowds. Similar to boom mics, it’s essentially a different way of rigging the same mics, often hidden within a scene.
Wireless Lavaliers / Talent Mic Kits
Not every schooting scenario will allow for ideal placement of boom mics, this is where wireless lavaliers come in. With unpredictable dialog, challanging talent actions, or camera angles we can still capture great sounding audio by using high end wireless paired with the best sounding lavaliers avaliable.
Wireless IFBs Headsets for Client, Producers, Directors, or Reporters
Being able to listen in and clearly hear what’s being recorded and monitor perfomances can be a valuable asset for producers, directors, & clients. Additionally for live TV reporters typically need to be able to hear a mix minus feed from the TV studio so they can communicate and hear timing cues.
Wireless Camera Hops (Camera Links)
Shoots that require any type of camera movement makes wireless camera hops a necessity to be able to feed a mix for the editor to camera without having any cabling tethered to the camera. Coupled with a timecode box this can be a very effective combo for fast paced ‘run & gun’ shoot. This is also an essential tool for ENG broadcast news shoots where you need to deliver broadcast quality audio to a camera while staying mobile.
RF Distrobution & Remote Antennas
Many shoots require the sound cart to be hidden away a distance from set or need talent to be further away than the range whip antennas can provide. This is where high gain active LPDA antennas come in. They can provide exceptional RF reliability under challenging circumstances while allowing you to remote them with antenna cable runs allowing the antennas to be somewhere else from the wireless. RF Distribution allows all the receivers to share a single pair of diversity antennas. Anytime wireless channel counts increase (Above 4 channels), to prevent the receivers from interfering with one another in close proximity the use of RF distros is highly recommended to provide additional isolation between one another.
Computer w/ Audio Software, RF coordination Software, etc
Computers can be an essential tool on set whether for RF coordination, audio playback, recording (with overdubs), or media managent. As wireless channel count increases, getting every channel to all play nice together they need to be coordinated; and the higher the channel count grows the more complex of a task this becomes. Being able to run a scan of the wireless spectrum and use dedicated software to find the most araingment compatible channels ensures smooth problem free opperation.
Audio Playback w/ Timecode
Commercials, Music Videos, & Narrative Films sometimes require a dedicated audio playback, whether music, dialog, or FX for talent & camera to cue off of. Production requiring audio playback can still benifit from timecode. Striping the audio with playback, the playback can embed timestamps into camera metadata and burn in visual timecode with a smart slate display
Dante & Networking Equipment
Dante is. a method of transporting audio over a computer network with a very wide range of devises that support the protical; Everything from Dante headphone amps, mixers, wireless, computers, speakers, and more can send and recieve audio with a single network cable. Because of it's popularity in the live event world, it can also make for easy integration in live event capture. Having a variety of dante devices & the network equipment to connect it al, it can solve a nunch of problems for complex productions.
SDI Video Monitoring
When mixing live content or the sound cart needs to be out of visual sightlines from set, having the ability to monitor what the cameras are seeing with SDI video monitors becomes an essential mixing tool.
Van w/ Folding Cargo Ramp
Beyond the audio gear there is a lot of heavy support gear from carts to stands, shotbags, cabling, cases and more. Having a commercial van with a folding cargo ramp paired with a production cart allows me to unload and get going quicker and work more effciantly on location, especialy when there are company moves. The van always has extra gear on standby to solve problems whether it's rigging gear, extra cabling & stands, or a tent to deal wiyh inclement weather.
Equipment Transport Carts
Once on location working effeciantly and being nimble is made much easier with a production sound cart allowing have a rolling workstation to work off of no matter where our location is. Built around an Inovativ Apollo cart, it's built to handle just about anything and loaded up with the tools to record exceptional production sound. Roll it out of the back of the van and let's get to work!
Additional Support
While the audio gear is important, it only works when you have everything else around it you need to actually use it. From stands to shot bags, tent & weather protection, cabling, media, batteries, and all the expendables; the accesories esnure evey shoot goes smoothly.
Field Mixers w/ Integrated Multitrack Recorders
The field mixer / recorder is the heart of any location sound kit, allowing multiple inputs & output busses, multitrack recording, and timecode capabilities, it’s truly the workhorse of every production. Having small lightweight bag based options up all the way to larger cart based high channel count field recorders, we are ready for any scale of production!.
Control Surfaces
Adding a control surfaces connect to your field mixers to really open up it's mixing capabilites by gibing you all your mix controls at your finger tips enabling you to produce better quality mixes. It's truely an essential tool for live stream productions, broadcast television, narrative film, or any type of production where mobility is less of a concern.
Automixing, EQ, & Compression
When it comes to delivering a quality mix, whether for dailies, as a backup to camera, to speed up post workflows, or if going out live on air; You want it to sound as good as possible. A lot of video content out there unfortunately doesn’t have the luxury of dedicated audio post production. In these circumstances having tools like EQ, Compression, & Automixing comes in to deliver better sounding ready to use mixes on location.
Realtime Noise Suppression
Not all locations are ideal and some need a little help from noise reduction to clean up the audio in that environment. While the tools available in post have far more finite control, not every production has dedicated audio post, and some shoots are even live to air. In these circumstances having active noise reduction pushing the noise floor down in real time can create some much needed signal to noise separation of talent from the environment they are in.
RF Master Clock
The RF masterclock creates a network between the cameras and audio recorders sharing a single clock source (via RF sync boxes) for timecode, genlock, and wordclock achieving perfect sync indefinitely.
Timecode & Genlock Sync Boxes
Timecode sync boxes are an essential part of modern video production workflows, saving time and money in post-production. Every timecode kit includes a RF master clock, and RF jammed sync boxes for each camera that provide Timecode & Genlock, cabling for most cameras, & mounting accessories.
Timecode Smart Slates
Smart Slates are a convenient way to ensure sync between audio and any camera (even those that don’t take timecode). The auditory slate clap will match perfectly to the visual slate while also flashing a timecode display to camera burning a visual LTC indicator into the footage.
Computer w/ Audio Software, RF coordination Software, etc
Computers can be an essential tool on set whether for RF coordination, audio playback, recording (with overdubs), or media managent. As wireless channel count increases, getting every channel to all play nice together they need to be coordinated; and the higher the channel count grows the more complex of a task this becomes. Being able to run a scan of the wireless spectrum and use dedicated software to find the most araingment compatible channels ensures smooth problem free opperation.
Audio Playback w/ Timecode
Commercials, Music Videos, & Narrative Films sometimes require a dedicated audio playback, whether music, dialog, or FX for talent & camera to cue off of. Production requiring audio playback can still benifit from timecode. Striping the audio with playback, the playback can embed timestamps into camera metadata and burn in visual timecode with a smart slate display
Boom Mics w/ Wind Protection
When it comes to detail and quality in recorded dialog there is no substitute for a well placed high end boom microphone. Whether shotguns or small diaphram condensers, each type of microphone excells in different environments and schooting scenarios encountered. Having an array of microphone options allows you to capture the best quality audio under each given circumstance.
Stick Mics & Studio Microphones
Dynamic microphones are especially useful in high noise environments for their ability to reject unwanted sounds; for example in scenarios like rushing a stadium field with reporters after a game, as the the dialog mic for a comedy special, or for doing live hits while at a poltical rally. Occasionally shoots like music performance videos & comedy specials require studio microphones to capture the nuances & character of instruments, crowds, and more. High end studio condenser microphones have incredible sound and practically non-existent noise floors, making them great on nearly any source.
Plant Mic’ing Solutions
Plant mics can be an excellent way of capturing dialog (like in vehicles), or for capturing nat sound, ambiences, or crowds. Similar to boom mics, it’s essentially a different way of rigging the same mics, often hidden within a scene.
Wireless Lavaliers / Talent Mic Kits
Not every schooting scenario will allow for ideal placement of boom mics, this is where wireless lavaliers come in. With unpredictable dialog, challanging talent actions, or camera angles we can still capture great sounding audio by using high end wireless paired with the best sounding lavaliers avaliable.
Wireless IFBs Headsets for Client, Producers, Directors, or Reporters
Being able to listen in and clearly hear what’s being recorded and monitor perfomances can be a valuable asset for producers, directors, & clients. Additionally for live TV reporters typically need to be able to hear a mix minus feed from the TV studio so they can communicate and hear timing cues.
Wireless Camera Hops (Camera Links)
Shoots that require any type of camera movement makes wireless camera hops a necessity to be able to feed a mix for the editor to camera without having any cabling tethered to the camera. Coupled with a timecode box this can be a very effective combo for fast paced ‘run & gun’ shoot. This is also an essential tool for ENG broadcast news shoots where you need to deliver broadcast quality audio to a camera while staying mobile.
RF Distrobution & Remote Antennas
Many shoots require the sound cart to be hidden away a distance from set or need talent to be further away than the range whip antennas can provide. This is where high gain active LPDA antennas come in. They can provide exceptional RF reliability under challenging circumstances while allowing you to remote them with antenna cable runs allowing the antennas to be somewhere else from the wireless. RF Distribution allows all the receivers to share a single pair of diversity antennas. Anytime wireless channel counts increase (Above 4 channels), to prevent the receivers from interfering with one another in close proximity the use of RF distros is highly recommended to provide additional isolation between one another.
Dante & Networking Equipment
Dante is. a method of transporting audio over a computer network with a very wide range of devises that support the protical; Everything from Dante headphone amps, mixers, wireless, computers, speakers, and more can send and recieve audio with a single network cable. Because of it's popularity in the live event world, it can also make for easy integration in live event capture. Having a variety of dante devices & the network equipment to connect it al, it can solve a nunch of problems for complex productions.
SDI Video Monitoring
When mixing live content or the sound cart needs to be out of visual sightlines from set, having the ability to monitor what the cameras are seeing with SDI video monitors becomes an essential mixing tool.
Van w/ Folding Cargo Ramp
Beyond the audio gear there is a lot of heavy support gear from carts to stands, shotbags, cabling, cases and more. Having a commercial van with a folding cargo ramp paired with a production cart allows me to unload and get going quicker and work more effciantly on location, especialy when there are company moves. The van always has extra gear on standby to solve problems whether it's rigging gear, extra cabling & stands, or a tent to deal wiyh inclement weather.
Equipment Transport Carts
Once on location working effeciantly and being nimble is made much easier with a production sound cart allowing have a rolling workstation to work off of no matter where our location is. Built around an Inovativ Apollo cart, it's built to handle just about anything and loaded up with the tools to record exceptional production sound. Roll it out of the back of the van and let's get to work!
Additional Support
While the audio gear is important, it only works when you have everything else around it you need to actually use it. From stands to shot bags, tent & weather protection, cabling, media, batteries, and all the expendables; the accesories esnure evey shoot goes smoothly.