Hi, so we were filming with a sound device 302 mixer to capture audio and we had to turn it ALL the way up AND GAIN ALL THE WAY UP just to barely get in the sweet spot between -18 and -12. None of us are pros with audio and we are a bit confused. We had a senheiiser mkh416 and surely we are doing something wrong? We do not know the proper settings. The audio turned out find and can be boosted in pro but surely it shouldn't have to be cranked up all the way with gain all the way when just 3 feet from the actor?

oh, and yes we did a 1k tone to match the audio recording devices sweet spot!

David,
What camera or recorder where you using? Sound Devices line output can be a bit low for some cameras. There have been plenty of discussions about this using Canon XLH1 cameras. You might want to search there to get your answers.

Hi, so we were filming with a sound device 302 mixer to capture audio and we had to turn it ALL the way up AND GAIN ALL THE WAY UP just to barely get in the sweet spot between -18 and -12. None of us are pros with audio and we are a bit confused. We had a senheiiser mkh416 and surely we are doing something wrong? We do not know the proper settings. The audio turned out find and can be boosted in pro but surely it shouldn't have to be cranked up all the way with gain all the way when just 3 feet from the actor?

oh, and yes we did a 1k tone to match the audio recording devices sweet spot!
As was said in the other forum, 3 feet is too far away from the subject for good dialog recording. 18 to 24 inches and aimed right at the talent's mouth is more like it. Has the mixer's output level been adjusted in it's menu away from the factory default line level?