What would I need to video tape at a concert, and have clear audio?

Question

I've been asked to shoot video at a concert (paid) and want to make sure the audio is clear. I've seen people with little fuzzy mics attached to the camera before. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I suggest you get in contact with the live audio guy before hand. Ask him for a feed and go directly into one of the channels of audio on one of your cameras. If you can't get a line to the cam, buy a hand-held digital recording device like this:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Mi...

Either way, you will want at least 1 mic recording from the house and you will also want to record the feed from the board. Good luck and message me with any more questions.

Answer 2

The sound guys normally wud record audio from the production mixer/sound processors/amps to cd usually on Tascam rack-mounted recorders. Most audio systems used for concerts have vocals & all musical instruments lined-in (controlled thru the audio mixer to ensure balanced audio)... not much hazzle for you, just the camcorder... a tri-cam set-up would be average, not to bore the video audience later w/ one angle and jarring shots as u change locations.

If you cud get hold of a copy, that wud be the best audio to import to video editing app. Sync the cd audio with that of the vcam's video file audio before muting the latter.

Answer 3

You have several options - AFTER getting permission from the band and the venue management...

1) Use a camcorder with manual audio control

The least expensive camcorders that have this are the Canon VV20, HV30, Sony HDR-HC7 and HC9.

2) Use a field recorder like the earlier poster said... Zoom, Edirol, M-Audio, Marantz and others are available. Good ones are not cheap. Then replace the video audio with the audio from the field recorder when you edit.

3) Get a board feed... But the only way you get good audio using this method is if EVERYTHING is mic'd or has a DI box and the audio engineer on the board knows what they are doing. They need to send the camcorder its own discreet mix - NOT what the house mains are getting... Especially if it is a small or medium venue - the singer and any other quiet sound sources will be mic'd but the guitar, bass and drums may not be - or only mic'd a little because they can be loud without going through the PA system. If you take the house mix, you will hear LOTS of vocals and very little guitar, bass, drums... it will sound like garbage. If you get a board feed, you will want an XLR adapter if your camcorder has a mic-in jack... if your camcorder has not 1/8" mic-in jack, you cannot use this option. Do not depend on the audio person to take care of YOUR camcorder's cabling needs. Bring your own cables and adapters.