Audio for feature film: Where do I start?
 

I have no clue of what mic to use for my feature film. I have been shooting music videos for years, so I never used any special audio equipment. If anyone has any tips, please fill me in.

Hire a pro sound person. This will more than likely save you money in the long run. Fixing poorly recorded audio in post is costly.. and at best, "polishing a turd" . ADR is very costly too, and talent generally dislikes doing that too.

Mics are to sound guys like lenses are to film guys, one mic is not necessarily going to do it all. If you are a video/film guy then hire a pro sound guy, Rick's advice is spot on. No disrespect intended but a person who knows video or film doing the sound themselves is akin to that person hiring a sound guy to shoot the images. John.

To start please don't take offense at my answer.

You say you have done music videos - which suggests you have acquired camera and editing skills, in fact probably some pretty darn good editing skills, to enable you to lip synch multiple clips to a pre-existing sound-track. That's all well and good.

Sound, especially for a feature, is not as simple as "which mic" type of questions or responses. It is which mic for which location, which actor etc, and then what boom pole or poles, what wind protection might I need, what field mixer should I use, what earphones to monitor with, what recorder or am I going to use a camera with a rotten compression scheme <g>etc. So.. A single mic for the entire shebang? Hmmm. Can be done but would be better to tailor the mics to the needs at hand - meaning unlikely just one.

The percentage attributed to sound as an overall part of a movie varies depending on who states it but the usual range attributed to sound is 50-60% of the audience experience in a movie. Don't shortchange your efforts with poor audio.

What I am saying is that your question suggests a lack of real understanding about location audio. The cost of proper equipment (let alone learning how to use it) would more than pay for a pro sound guy in all liklihood... and then you are working with a good sound bed on which to build the rest of the audio for your feature.

PS. You might further check out the FAQ's in the sticky section at the top. It has a lot more info for you to digest along the lines of equipment.

Thank you all for your advice. I think I will go with the "finding a good sound guy" idea. lol

Yeah, hiring is the best route. I am currently working on my first feature, for free naturally as the budget is ultra-low, and can share some of my experiences either for entertainment purposes or as lessons that I've learned.

Definitely the best option - you won't get any change from £20,000 for a decent sound kit for a feature film - and then you kave to have the knowledge to use it properly.

And the same sort of answer would be given to someone asking "I want to shoot a feature film, what camera should I use?" ;-)

I may save time and money using this route. While at the same time
getting a better product. Because now I can invest more time
with the video.