A little help for a first time film-maker.

[shirt]

Okay.....

There are few directions you can with on the microphone thing. First off, where are using it... and where will it be used in the future? If you plan on using it ourdoors then DO NOT bother buying a condensor or ribbon microphone. They are not very durable, and they take wind and other high frequencies poorly and overload. Sooo... that leaves you with a Dynamic Microphone...
Theses are the most common, and cheapest mics so finding a decent one can be difficult. The next step is to determine, how are you going to use it? If you want one that would make a good boom mic, then go with a unidirectional (ie. shotgun)... but if you just want to duct tape it close to actors, then get a omnidirectional one...
Here are the two mics I recommend...
Dynamic Omnidirectional- (REG. MIC)
Shure Beta-57A
Good pickup.. goes for about 150$ Canadian.

Condensor Unidirectional- (SHOTGUN)
Audio-Technica ATM10a Omnidirectional Condenser Microphone
It also goes for about 150$ canadian...


A good site about mic's is... http://homerecording.about.com/music...ms=microphones

NOW...

Since you using Mini-DV, you should honestly just record sound through the mic and camera... HOWEVER... the quality of the Minidisc is amazing. Many filmmakers use it now to record their sound, instead of DAT.
So... if you want, go ahead and use it.

FINALLY...

Before going to any film equip. site check out http://www.ebay.com If you research want you want to buy, and find out some basic consumer prices, go out and search through E-bay... 76% of the time you can find a better deal through it. But... if you want a good film site, check out both... http://store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/
where I have found the odd deal, and... http://www.filmemporium.com/

Those are two that I have used... search around though... maybe some other people can offer you better film equip. suppliers...

Good Luck! and sorry for any confusion...
[email protected] http://www.satanspig.itgo.com

[Ned Hartley]

Hi everyone! How's it going?

I'm a student film-maker. I've got a script, crew, actors and a camera. I just need a little bit of advice on a few things.

First. I've got a Panasonic DS11 mini-DV camera. I've been told that the mike on this won't be good enough for a shoot. What type of mike should I buy, and where is a good place to buy microphones online?

Second. Can I record sound onto my MiniDisk and have it come out good enough to use?

Third. Where is a good place to buy film equipment online? (I know that's sort of in question 1, but we'll let that go.)

Thanks alot,

NEd