Headphones????

[leolo]

Does any good headphones bought into any stores can do the job while filming??
Or do you get a far better result with headphones designed specifically for filmaking??

 

[jhart]

Depends what you're willing to spend, I guess. My brother bought some refurbished Sony studio monitor headphones for $60 and they're among the top headphones you can buy. New they'd run around $170, give or take. I can't imagine it'd hurt you too badly to use regular head phones though. It's not like you're trying to master the audio; just capture it cleanly.

 

[funkbomb]

Just look at pictures of Spielberg during production. He's always got a pair of cheapo non-enclosured headphones around his neck. When you're on set all you're trying to do is monitor levels, noise and clairity, not things you need particularly accurate phones for.

I have a pair of AKG K240 headphones that work like a $400 pair. They're considered industry standard for audio mixing, so they're very accurate, but they're open-aural (for increased bass response) and I doubt you really need that kind of thing on set. Get a pair of isolation headphones, I find it's so much easier to monitor levels when you're not getting ambiance around you.

 

[Evan Kubota]

My brother bought some refurbished Sony studio monitor headphones for $60 and they're among the top headphones you can buy

Uh, no... something like the MDR-V6 is widely used for news production audio, etc. but the audiophile-preferred headphones are generally better (and not isolated at all).

FWIW, I wouldn't take a picture of Spielberg on set as a guide - he isn't the soundman

I personally don't have this issue as I've been shooting silent Super 8 lately (and soon 16mm). My cameras are too noisy to use location sound as anything other than a reference for foley work later. I prefer to build the entire soundscape in post - gives the most control and most professional results.

 

[jhart]

Whatever man, the band's gonna make it.

 

[Diego]

Whatever headphones you decide to buy, just make sure they're the same impedance as the camera recording jack. Otherwise you might get false readings.

I recommend any sony enclosed earphones though.