Should I be using multiple mics to record dialogue and sound effects?

[Richard Crowley]

Originally Posted by Paul R Johnson

I really think that vocabulary for describing sound needs a revisit. Most of the participants seem absolute on terms, others vary so much and for sound people this is critical stuff.

We have had in the topic some common terms used to ask and answer questions, but some have been misunderstood. Clarity of language is problematic sometimes between us Brits and our Stateside friends, but I guess most of us have got a reasonable handle on the trouble free ones where it is just amusing and more important ones. Pants always makes me smile - as an instruction to quickly frame the one in pants could be er, interesting. Tights and panty hose often confuse too. We can live with hood and bonnet and petrol and gas we can interchange. We've even got bucks and quid sorted - but we use the same technical terms by and large, apart from perhaps jack and phono plugs which can mess things up.

However - some universally get mangled by new people to our area of work.

Hiss
Hum
Crackles
Static
buzzing
whining
distortion
clipping
wind noise
clicks
pops
thumps
bangs
tapping
rubbing
banging
wind noise
electronics noise
data noise
mechanical noise

Some of these continually get used badly. I think I can identify all of these and have my own limits to where one becomes another.

Maybe at some point we should have an audio clip of all this stuff. Until this topic I'd never really thought about how problems we hear are difficult to put down in words. I'm not sure we have quite so many words of description in vision.

This is quite possibly one of the most valuable posts in this sorry thread. I have been thinking about creating a database ("sound-base"?) of examples of all of these kinds of noise. It seems to me that it would be very helpful for communicating online with people who perhaps don't know what these different things sound like. Or they have associated the wrong word for them. I have several times gone around and around with a question only to discover that the OP was referring to "hum" as "hiss" (or vice-versa).

Can we collect Real-World examples of all these different sounds together. I would volunteer to assemble, curate and publish the sounds. But if Mr. Johnson or someone else would like to do this, I certainly don't want to step on any toes. Thanks for the comprehensive list, Paul.

[Paul R Johnson]

That's not a bad idea Richard - I'm up for collecting some of these. Give me a few days and I can collect and pass some on. Could be quite useful, I agree. So now I need some hums and noises - oh yes, I forgot. I have a studio, some most are in there somewhere!

[Josh Bass]

My personal favorite was the bit about how large indoor space might as well be an outdoor space and an outdoor space with beadboard and hard surfaces all around might as well be an indoor space, where reflections and mic choice purposes are concerned. Blew my mind right outta my head.

Remember those “I love the 80s” etc. shows on VH1? We should do a doc series where we reminisce about this thread.

[Greg Miller]

Originally Posted by Paul R Johnson

grab a teddy bear and make a hole up its bottom and stuff the mic in

Thank you for that! It's SO appropriate for this thread ... and for this "project" if there ever is one. I keep expecting an entry from the OP saying, "I'm really Allen Funt and you're all on Candid Camera" because the whole thing has been a spoof. I am so glad I've stayed out of this one because the frustration level would have been more than I could survive. You all are to be commended.

[Brian Drysdale]

All Ryan's threads run this way, I'm not saying he's starting threads as spoofs and being deliberately obtuse, but that's a possibility.

[Paul R Johnson]

I must admit that many of the topics Ive added to, I've discovered are ryan's and then he just vanishes and starts another one. I was frankly surprised how many there are and I just didn't pick up they were all the same member.


I've just plugged in a spare computer to do some work, and it's producing some wonderful noise - I'm going to see if I can capture it!

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

All Ryan's threads run this way, I'm not saying he's starting threads as spoofs and being deliberately obtuse, but that's a possibility.

I don’t want to be an arm chair psychologist or cruel. I think there is something else besides lack of experience going on here. All his threads seem to go round in circles. My biggest pet peeve with him, he uses this place as a data mine. I’m sure he doesn’t mean any harm, it’s just exhausting. The only benefit I derive is picking up some new perspective from the wealth of knowledge from members here that and reinforcing why you shouldn’t do all the bad practices he puts forth. In the end seems like a thank less job trying to help him.

[Josh Bass]

Arrrgh. You guys are gonna make me do this. Hopefully I'm not way out of line here, and someone touched on it briefly pages ago, but I think he might literally be on the spectrum. Would explain a lot. So..uh...tread lightly.

[Seth Bloombaum]

Originally Posted by Paul R Johnson

I really think that vocabulary for describing sound needs a revisit. Most of the participants seem absolute on terms, others vary so much and for sound people this is critical stuff....

However - some universally get mangled by new people to our area of work.

Hiss
Hum...

Add to list:

RFI hits on wireless mics
Ground loop hum (specifically)
The ringing sound created by slight feedback


We had a slight feedback in our studio last week; I was the only one to identify that what we were hearing was wrong, we needed to cut, fix, and start again with a second take. Others just didn’t know what that sound was, didn’t hear it as a problem. Granted I have decades over others in the room, but, it starts with “What is that I’m hearing? It doesn’t sound as typical, right?” Anybody can and should do that!

Part of what we’re talking about here is that people with any longevity in this have made many, many, mistakes, and, have learned from as many of them as they possibly could. I would say that one measure of success is making any particular mistake only once!

Part of creating learning experiences as a college instructor is developing a learning environment where students have successes and make mistakes, and, have an opportunity to learn and apply that learning in future projects... all in a safe environment where they won’t get fired or not get the call for the next job because they screwed up.

[Paul R Johnson]

I got a yelled shout in the theatre today - "I have a mic that needs to go through the PA", I replied "stick it in 23".

A few moments later channel 23 started to flicker its meter. I pushed the fader and got a very strong 70Hz or thereabouts honk, every time I raised the fader. It would go from silent to massive feedback with none of the usual ringing. I wandered down to stage. Followed the cable and found this.


Anyone care to even guess what it was actually doing? The US folk won't have a clue, but for the UK people, it's a 'sport' that people up North play, although there are world champions, I have discovered. It's a two person game, and usually involves beer and stretched waistlines.

[Brian Drysdale]

I guess you need the mic when they're playing it in an arena with several thousand people.

[Paul R Johnson]

10am call, total chaos, but mega money changing hands. Far too loud, but attempts to low the level met with failure. I've never been so bored in my life. One of the experts managed full score 5 times in a row.

[Ryan Elder]

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

Arrrgh. You guys are gonna make me do this. Hopefully I'm not way out of line here, and someone touched on it briefly pages ago, but I think he might literally be on the spectrum. Would explain a lot. So..uh...tread lightly.

Yeah I'm on the spectrum, why? Is it cause I ask to many questions about it? I just feel there are some variables that are not explained, and in order to understand the concepts of why I should do something a certain way, I just need to cover all the variables, that's all.

[Josh Bass]

I really wasnt trying to be offensive. Some others mentioned your repeated questions and Im trying to suggest maybe they not be so hard on you.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh yeah, for sure, I wasn't offended by you or anyone :).

I was actually meaning that response to be to the earlier posts about me being repetitive, not directed at your response so much. I don't mean to be repetitive, there are just variables and exceptions that I feel I need to cover, cause if I leave them unaddressed, then I do not fully understand everything in why to do it in such a way, when there is this variable, that variable, etc.