Best setup recording a live band
 

Hello,

this weekend I am recording a live band, and I was wondering what's the best setup I can configure with my equipment.

The band is a electro-rock band, so they will play keyboards and distorted guitars through a mix board. It is important to note that we will record them in an open air stage, but without audience. We will be recording two songs they will play after the sound test. The camera will be in the scenery with the band, and they will do close-ups, more general shots, etc. There won't be any editing, just camera-on-shoulder movements. you hear what you see.

I was planning to record a clean track from the mix board, and a second source from an AT825 (stereo mic) I own.

I have the following equipment:
Cams:
- HPX171 (we will use this in the stage, for getting the image)
- DVX100 (we were planning to use this one together with the AT825 to get the second audio track, we don't need the DVX100 image)
Sound equipment:
- AT825
- Roldand Edirol FA-66 connected to MacbookPro (we were planning to connect this one to the mix board).

My existencial doubt regards the second track: will it be better to set up the AT825 in a stand, in front of the band? Or it will be better to shock-shoulder mount to the HPX171? Not sure what's the better option, as I don't have much experience with audio, but I'm leaning on the stand option.

Any tips would be appreciated. You can suggest a radically different sound setup too.

Thank you!

Put the 825 on a stand in the audience center to avoid sound changing when the camera is moved.
If your taking a house mix from the board, I find it's usually better to create a record mix via the mixers Aux. sends... if you do not have the resources to record individual tracks or sub-mixes.

For good audio you'll need it from a source that is stationary. With a stereo mic on a moving camera you'll get phase issues. Use the 825 on a stand centered between the house speakers and far enough back until you hit the "sweet spot". Depending on how the venus is set up you may be limited in position though. The sound booth will usualy be set near the spot you'll want. Again, that depends on how the venus is though. Grab a feed from the board onto a second recorder and mix the 825+sbd in post. This should give you decent results. A straight 2 channel board feed often sounds less than ideal due to the engineer mixing what sounds best in the room. The audience source will help to fill in what the board feed can't provide.

Thanks for the advice guys, we ended up setting the stereo micro on a stand in front of the board. The mic+board audio feed sounds incredible.

I'll post the link when we edit the video and put it online it in a couple of weeks.

Cheers,
Ricardo