Last minute advice...
 

Hello, not long now until i begin shooting for my first short film and im confident about everything except the audio. I will be using an audio technica 897 and rode nt3 to capture 2 way convos indoors and outdoors. I also have a preamp which will boost my signal and allow the phantom power to my sony vx2100.

Anyway, i would just like to know if anyone had any last minute feedback for me, any tips really that will help me while im out shooting which i may have overlooked. Even better would be to hear of anyones expereince with similar mics used for a short film Thanks.

Oh and just a side note, what's the difference with using a batter to power a mics phantom power over using a preamp with phantom power installed?

#1 tip: Monitor all audio all the time always. If you don't hear what you want in the headphones, it's unlikely to be there when you edit.

Concentrate on getting the mics close to the talent. Trying to record from too great a distance is a common problem. Even your shotgun - contrary to what some people think shotguns are NOT an audio "telephoto lens" and need to be within about 2 to 4 feet of your talent to give you best quality sound. Same goes for the NT3 but closer, 18 to 24 inches.

Battery allows you to use the mic when the mixer or camera doesn't provide phantom power - when you have the choice, phantom usually gives you slightly better performance.

Good advice thanks, any recomended cans?

Industry standards are the Sony MDR7506. Sennheiser HD-25 are also popular.

FYI, the Sony V6 is the same headphone as the 7506, but without the gold connectors. It costs about $69 vs $99... Not sure how big of a deal the gold is.

I would say the gold makes no difference.

The V6 also don't fold, whereas the 7506 do. I think this is probably the main difference in price. Most of the parts are the same for both.

The V6 do fold -- you may be confusing them with the V600s?

Literally the only difference between the 7506 and the V6 is the connector metal, a different decal on the side, and about $30...

Here is a comparison of the two headphones, from Wikiedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_MDR-V6

Yes, I was confused, I think with the 7502 model, with smaller earpads and not folding.