Getting the ball rolling...

So, update on the documentary.. not too much to report this week, because just got done with midterms/ being sick - but this week I am going on Thursday to a show, and on Friday to another where I am going to take a camera and start shooting. I am thinking about angles that I might take with this doc, and there are two - I think that as I get more into shooting it will be easier to see which angle will pan out the best. The first is the lives behind these comedians - a lot of them have pretty interesting stories behind them and where they're from and why they decided it would be a good idea to give up whatever they were doing to take up a job as a comedian. The other angle is literally just how to be funny. There are some stand up classes given by comedy clubs around New York, and each comedian I feel has a different way of coming up with their jokes, including where they get their inspiration, etc. Like I said, I think as I start getting more into this project, the best angle will emerge.
On a technical level, I've been talking to some friends who work in movies, and talking about how to get the best audio in less than ideal circumstances, including mike set ups and sound mixing. Does anyone know much about sound mixing besides just using the things we have talked about in class and audio channels on the editing software? I'm curious about the type of sound mixing they do in cinema - because it is ideal when working with multiple mikes. It's just I can't say I've ever worked with anything much more technical than the editing software I have for audio...
Last question - I have a musician friend who will likely be working on composing some sort of sound track for me - is anyone familiar with how to record that in a way that I can use it? Do I use rock band, or whatever?
Thanks guys, lemme know if you have any solutions.