How Recording Music is Similar to Lighting a Film

Arri 650 plusThe camera department and the sound crew tend to be thought of as existing in different universes, but I’m starting to see how we may have a lot more in common than you might think. As you may know, I do not yet own a video-enabled DSLR camera, but I plan on buying one soon. My search for the ideal camera has been grueling. I’ve read endlessly about it, and picked the brains of my DP friends incessantly determine which way to go. The more I dig into the practices and theories behind shooting high-definition video, the more I see parallels between recording sound and capturing moving images. Continue reading “How Recording Music is Similar to Lighting a Film”

Shooting HDSLR Video as a One Man Band

Shooting DSLR video and audioI’m fairly new at shooting HDSLR projects as a one-man band. Being in charge of sound, picture, and subject is tricky stuff. Some people fear this is the future. Cutting costs equals shrinking crews, and ultimately you’ll have one person doing everything. I don’t think this is the case. When a production company can afford a crew, they should have enough experience to know that they’ll have a better project if they put a good crew together. Shooting as a one-man band isn’t something that should be frowned upon by the production community. Rather, it should be embraced. It’s hard work to do everything yourself, and it’s totally amazing that it’s even possible.

The power of this production technique was highlighted again this week with the release of Andrew Wonder’s Undercity documentary. I originally read about Undercity on Philip Bloom’s blog, and I was impressed with this piece. It shows you the raw power of this production approach. To be able to capture HD footage with excellent sound with a completely inconspicuous amount of equipment is nothing short of revolutionary. It allows documentary to squeeze in where it hadn’t fit before, and its high-def resolution plunges the viewer deeply into that world. If you have any doubts, check out this first five minutes of this Frontline footage. It was shot by Danfung Dennis who was armed with a Canon 5D mkII, a Beachtek XLR adapter, a shotgun mic, and a Sennheiser wireless system (his portion starts at 1:38):

Continue reading “Shooting HDSLR Video as a One Man Band”

My One Year Anniversary Post! (…and a dorky video)

One year ago today I made my first blog post at www.sam-mallery.com. Granted, it was a pretty dull post, but it was a start. This website started out as a way for me to get more work as a production sound mixer. I ran the site for a while like this, but I thought it was kind of boring. I added the blog section to kind of liven things up with some fresh content.

This site still serves its main purpose as my location audio resume, but I’m having fun writing the blog too. I’m really glad that people are getting involved, posting comments, and saying hello.

Like my first post one year ago, there isn’t much point to this post either, but I figured I’d leave you with something. Below is a video I shot a little while ago. It was the first video I made on the Nikon D90. It’s a little how-to video for making an echo effect with two mobile phones. Check it out:

Continue reading “My One Year Anniversary Post! (…and a dorky video)”

The Top 10 Trends and Innovations of 2010

3D TV failEven though it may not feel like it, there were a number of trends and innovations in 2010 that will make a lasting impact on creative production. The bad news is that not all of them have been happy and positive. The evil villains really came out to squash the little guy in 2010. But thankfully the little guy proved that with a dash of ingenuity and motivation, they could still pull off a devastating surprise attack.

10) The rapid failure of 3D TV

I’m not a fan of today’s 3D movies. When I was a kid, 3D movies just seemed more fun. Shark jowls would swim straight at you. Laser beams would touch your forehead. And evil doctors would always point a giant syringe directly in your face. The directors of today’s 3D movies have too much integrity to have a character deliberately wave a giant battle axe over our heads. The 3D element is just tacked on to make the price of the ticket higher. Continue reading “The Top 10 Trends and Innovations of 2010”

How Good is a $250 HD Camera with 24p?

When I was putting together my list of gift ideas for video nerds, I stumbled upon the Canon Vixia HF R100, and was totally amazed at the price of this thing. But my jaw didn’t really hit my toes until I read about its extensive audio capabilities. For $250 you get a full-blown camcorder that shoots 1080i HD video at 24p, has an external mic input and a headphone output. Then I discovered it had manual audio control of both the external or the built-in mics. Now I was envious in addition to being amazed! I decided to go see what this camera felt like in my hands, and to try out its manual audio control functions. I walked away impressed, and I think I grumbled something under my breath as I passed the HDSLRs on my way out. Continue reading “How Good is a $250 HD Camera with 24p?”

Gifts for Video Nerds (Obsessive DSLR Dork Edition)

Video nerds are a special breed. Photography geeks can inhabit a false sense of glamour. They can imagine that they’ll eventually be shooting supermodels for the cover of a glossy. Audio nerds can cling to a similar shred of unrealistic hope. Right now they may be shoving a beltpack transmitter into a fat, sweaty pastry chef’s underwear, but a year from now they may well be producing the next Sgt Pepper’s. Video nerds don’t really have an unrealistic ideal to keep them going. I guess they can daydream that they’re George Lucas’ cinematographer, sitting atop a large crane with a camera rig, squinting while making an imaginary frame with their thumbs and index fingers. But let’s face it. That person still comes off as a dork. Continue reading “Gifts for Video Nerds (Obsessive DSLR Dork Edition)”

Using a Zoom H4n as an On-Camera DSLR Mic

Most portable audio recorders, like the Zoom H4n Pro, have a pair of great sounding built-in condenser microphones, but the microphones built into your camera sound pretty awful. However, if you have a portable audio recorder and a camera with a mic input, you can connect them and use the recorder as a high-quality microphone for your camera.

A Zoom H4n mounted on a Panasonic mirrorless camera with a Sescom cable
Continue reading “Using a Zoom H4n as an On-Camera DSLR Mic”

Gifts for Photonerds (Photo Dork Edition)

Here’s the situation: you or someone you know is a photography geek, it’s the holiday season, and the person in question needs a gift. What do you do? Do you buy them that full-frame DSLR they’ve been dreaming about all year? Hell no! I decided to make this list of five affordable gifts for photographers to help you out. It’s all stuff you can afford and crap that they will love. Continue reading “Gifts for Photonerds (Photo Dork Edition)”

Gifts for Sound Freaks (Audio Nerd Edition)

Cassette Tape CufflinksIt’s going to happen to you in the next few days and weeks. Your friends and family will unexpectedly corner you and ask you what gifts you want for the holidays. Despite the fact that you spend much of the year dreaming about buying production equipment, you will draw completely blank. Your loved ones will rightfully be annoyed when you answer “I don’t know,” because they know you dream about gear all day. Their problem is that they don’t know the first thing about gear you desire. It’s all a bunch of gobble-dee-gook to them. You’ve got to be prepared for this question, otherwise you’ll end up with a pair of cassette tape cufflinks this year. Continue reading “Gifts for Sound Freaks (Audio Nerd Edition)”

It Just Doesn’t Work

Yucky Snow LeopardIf you’ve been reading my blog, you may have me pegged as an Apple fanboy. Sure, I own an iPhone, three Mac computers, and I even have the new Apple TV (a review is on the way). But I can assure you, even though I poo-pooed Windows 7 in my HP Envy review, I am not a blind Apple fanatic.

You’ve heard it before from others, but I’ll say it again: I just appreciate well-made products that make me feel like they’re worth the money I paid for them. So far I’ve had pretty good luck with Apple. Well, until recently.

For the past week and a half my six month old MacBook Pro has been malfunctioning. Here are the symptoms: If there are empty fields on a screen (such as Google’s search field) it will suddenly start filling them up with square box characters. Out of nowhere it starts making “bomping” noises. Bomp bomp bomp bomp bomp bomp bomp. It’s annoying. Worst of all, sometimes drop down menus become unusable. Continue reading “It Just Doesn’t Work”