I’ll be shooting a dance documentary in August. For a week, I’ll have two small crews shooting dance classes simultaneously in studios right next door to each other. I need to capture audio from:
1) Pianist
2) Teacher
3) 1 Dancer in each class
I’m planning on hiring an audio guy to advise me and help set up the shoot. However, if money is too tight (a documentary with money problems 😯 , who ever heard of such a thing) I may be forced to set up audio on my own. So, I’m seeking advise on what the best way to mic this would be. I’ll be shooting on Panasonic 100A’s. Cameras will be mobile during classes, not locked down, so any audio feeding into the camera needs to be light weight enough and contained enough to allow me to move freely around the room. The pianist could be as much as 25 feet away at times.
I thought about wireless micing the teacher and the pianist into a mixer, then putting a shotgun on the camera to pick up the dancer. The piano is not so important. I’ll be dubbing music over the images later and can match the music being used in class. Would a wireless mic on the teacher be sensitive enough to pick up the piano, eliminating the need for a piano mic? I don’t want to put any mics on the dancers. They aren’t used to it and I don’t want to interfere with their movement in any way.
Audio is a complete mystery to me. Any suggestions on the best way to approach this situation and, perhaps, which mics and wireless mics to use? Keeping in mind, there will be a second crew doing exactly the same thing right next door. I also need to be mobile enough that when dancers change studios throughout the day (there are 5 studios in this facility), I can follow them from room to room with the least possible disruption.
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