<p>My son needs to record a pre-screen video for a couple of trombone performance programs. I was hoping we would avoid this part of the ordeal, since most schools do not pre-screen for his instument, but there have been some changes to the requirements of a couple of schools. Unfortunately, it is only for a couple of schools...we will still be doing some pretty expensive travelling for the others!</p>
<p>Does anyone have any suggestions? Should we record ourselves, and if so on what equipment and in what location? If not, where do we find either a qualified, and nto too costly engineer, or a good studio? They need to be video, not just audio.</p>
<p>If you have an iPhone or iPad, I would recommend buying an Apogee Mic - costs $199 but has incredible sound. Put the iPhone on a tripod and the Mic on a mic stand and you’ve got HD image with incredible sonic clarity. Plus he can take the mic with him to college and use it to record lessons, practices, etc. It’s ttrue plug & play and works semalessly with GarageBand or Logic. Search for “Apogee Mic review” and you’ll find plenty of good write-ups. Good luck!</p>
<p>My son is at NIU in Dekalb and he paid for a DVD recording and they also uploaded it to the Arts App that some schools require. I think they charge $30/hr or something like that. It was very professional. Let me know if you need names/#s</p>
<p>Ideally, you belong to a church with nice acoustics and good sound system. If so, that is your cheapest option. Get the sound recording from them, and video on your own camera. If you are really lucky, they also have video equipment.</p>
<p>You can then take the audio cd and the video dvd to someone to have them replace the audio track on the dvd with the audio track from the cd, and create your pre-screen dvd or mpg video file that you can upload to the school’s website.</p>
<p>Its 199 dollars direct from Apogee or via the Apple Store. We bought an adaptor that attaches it to a standard mic stand, and i also bought the 3 meter cable to run it from the mic to the iPhone/iPad. The benefit to me over the zoom approach is that the iPhone shoots HD and you can go right into editing in iMovie, Garage band, etc. Plus the Apogee Mic can also plug right into a mac for use with Garage band, etc. The Apogee One does not plug right into an iPhone or iPad. There are ways around it (Camera connection kit from Apple) but apogee dos not fully endorse that approach.</p>
<p>its a solidly-built condenser mic that really isolates the sound. Whatever you decide to do, do it early and try a few dry runs a couple weeks before the actual recording has to be done. You want to be comfortable with the gear before you shoot the real thing.</p>
<p>I will try to pick up the mic this weekend, and see how it goes. I am completly non-technical, but hopefully my son can figure this out! </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I actually belong to a congregation without a building, so I may be trying to find a friendly church or synsgogue willing to do a favor for a would-br orchestral trombone player. If anyone has a suggestion in the Chicago area, let me know!</p>