Hi shooters everywhere.
I have recorded a short interview sequence where the audio level on the speech is fine however, in the background, there is a lot of unwanted noise caused by the wind blowing through the trees. Does anyone have any idea how I can eliminate this noise.
It was recorded as a 16 bit stereo track and I am using FCP3 on a G4
Many regards to all.
David

Hmm, sounds like a job for the Parametric EQ (in FCP audio filters), but in all honesty this sounds like a very tough nut to crack. Any chance you can re-record it? Find the freqs of the voices and pump them up a notch or two while lowering the overall volume of the clip. Just thinking out loud,

Thanks Chris, I'll give that one a try.
No, can't re-record that's too easy.

David,
You might also have some luck massaging the sound tracks with Peak DV (which is supplied free with FCP3). It's a dedicated sound crafting app and has a few more facilities than the filter provides. I agree with Chris, however, that this will be a tough problem to fix. I'd bet that the noise comes in waves (with gusts off wind) so any intermitent mitigation might be unfortunately noticeable unless it's applied to the whole track uniformly.

Good luck.

that IS the question...

I'm going to try and and solve the balanced / unbalanced xlr cable run noise quandry once and for all.. I guess I need to know before I actually have to do this at a gig.

I have a 100' x 16 channel audio snake. I'm going to hook up my AT835b condenser to my MA300 on the GL2 at 100' then by daisy chaining the input to output I'll do 200', 300', to 1000' etc. and record the results, Then I'll do the same test with a dynamic mic.

Let me know if you're interested in the results and I'll post the audio clips for everyone's review. Maybe that will clear the air on just exactly what is possible with an unbalanced connection.

One last note: the folks that record symphonic music try not to use transformer balancing, the most common method by far (and the one used in virtually EVERY DV XLR circuit), because it imparts too much of it's own flavor to the signal. They tend to use circuits that are transformerless.

Check out this link for some in depth info on mic pre design & balancing methods from Millenia Media. If you think you are concerned about audio, then you must read this.
http://www.mil-media.com/docs/articles/design.shtml

I would be very interested in the results. Thanks Mark!

I recently picked up a Gitzo G557 fishpole. One of the features of this pole is that though it doesn't come fed with cable, it has 'port holes' for threading the cable yourself.

However, these holes obviously don't accomodate the connectors (the holes aren't wide enough for any XLR connector that I've ever seen). So my question is, what's the point of having the holes in this thing? Is it for expert techs out there who perhaps can feed the cable and then fashion their own connectors?

Anyone fed a cable through a Gitzo before?

You will need to soldier your own ends. Their are different types of XLR connectors. I have several mics that require what is described as mini XLR connectors.

Jeff

Just picked myself up a Tivoli PAL speaker as I had seen it mentioned on a location audio mixer website. I occasionally need amplified playback on location for one reason or another, and I had never seen a small 12v power speaker that sounded decent for the right price.

The PAL is a gorgeous little unit that has an integrated FM tuner (great quality, and the manual knob is delightfully old-school). It accepts a stereo mini-plug input, has a 3 hr NiMH rechargeable pack inside and sounds unbelievably good. You'll wonder how they got this sort of bass response out of such a small unit, but then again it was designed by audio wiz Henry Kloss. It's rubberized for location use, it's exceptionally solidly built, and comes in a bunch of cool colors. And priced right at $129! Ya gotta love the pricing on consumer-level gear.

Check out:

http://www.tivoliaudio.com/palinfo.htm

The usual disclaimer--I'm not affiliated with Tivoli etc. Just thought you cats might like it.

I bought a mini-mount + universal shoe carriage + sleeve for the ME66 less than a month ago.

Today I went on their website and discovered a complete new design for the minimount !!!

What happened to the previous one (the one I just got) ?

Is there any issue with the older one ?

I suspect this one to be more cost effective as it doesn't require a sleeve to adapt to the different mics.
[correction] It's probably more cost effective but not cheaper ... went up to $189 !!!

Any information/comparisons for this new mount are welcome because I would feel bad for my very recent purchase if this new design is correcting major issues from the first gen.

Thanks

I'm suprised that nobody jumped on my post to give me a feedback.

There must be somebody that bought the new design and owned the old one before.

Any comments are welcome !

I have talked to Thomas Dyer at LWS about their new design, but have not seen it yet. We do need to get a review or comparison up on dvinfo.net -- I'll put this on my agenda.

I know there are a few headsets out there for cell phones, but is anyone developing a high quality microphone or microphone adapter for BlueTooth transmission?

I have heard Bluetooth is less susceptible to interference plus a notebook USB receiver unit is remarkably cheap

it's low power so you wouldn't get high quality, and its limited to 30ft.

check out http://www.bluetooth.com and do a search, it's a great web site.

I just got a new Sony minidisk for a backup sound unit. My question is what microphone are you all using? Mono, stereo, mono/stereo adapter etc. I know that it has a stereo mic input, but, someone said I could use a mono mic with a stereo/mono adapter and it would input over both channels.

Chances are it will record to both channels without an adapter. However, sometimes I have noticed a little noise on some systems when you do this. Using a mono to stereo adapter would likely cure this problem. In post you can put the audio on both tracks if you like.

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone has any experiences with this wirless lavalier setup? If not any recommendations?

Hey all. I have my credit card in my hand almost ready to purchase the Evolution 100 as a lot of people seem to suggest them for the price bracket they are in. One thing though, is that I've never heard one in action, and unlikely to find a place where I can test one first. So I was wondering if anyone has any sound bites they can post where I can download and listen through some good headphones. Anything would help.

Cheers
Aaron

Its in Real if you like:

BikeSouth 2000 Rolls (http://www.southerncyclist.com/video06032000aFast.rm)

The mic used was a Shure, but the rest of the gear was an ew112p.

Thanks Nathan, but do you have that sound as an .wav that hasn't gone through the mega compression of realplayer?

Cheers
Aaron

does anyone know how to connect digial audio device to DV camcorder (via either S/PDIF or AES/EBU)?

thanks in advance.

Erik,
I don't know of any DV camcorders with S/PDIF or AES/EBU jacks on them. Assuming the device in question also has a line level output...this may be the only way to go.

thx Casey,
I just wanted to feed digi audio from my apogee compact AD converter (Mini ME) which doesn have line level outputs. I used to feed audio directly from either mic preamp or PSX100 AD/DA converter. consumer portable MD recorder does even have digi input. digital audio input port should be added in DV camcorder or at least adapter should be available. just thought. ^-^

Has anyone used trhe Samson UM32L350. It is supposedly a diversity UHF unit with 32 different switchable channels (maybe you can avoid interferance) I can get it with the Audio-technica MT350 for about $400.00us and has xlr connectors. Would it be better with a Sony ecm44 or a SamsonAT831? Anybody?

The reason I ask is that while I find it offered by B&H I cannot find any mention of it on the Samson web site.

Is it possible to replace the earpads on the Sony 7506? I have a pair that are about 9 years old and the pads are wasted.Has anyone done this if its possible?And can you only get the pads from sony? thanks for any info.

Give Coffey Sound a call at (888)293-3030. They can do this for you very affordably.
http://coffeysound.com

- don

thanks for the link Don! I will contact them.

This may not be an odditie at all....I just figured I'd ask. Until now I've been working with a GL-1 with a beachtek xlr adapter to utilize my Sennheisser ME66/K6. Once I got my DVX100 I was happy to ditch the heavy xlr adapter beings it has built in phantom powered xlr connections.

Once I connected the ME66/K6 to the DVX100 I almost immediatly noticed it's sensitivity. I mean that by way of distortion whenever the mic is moved quickly in any direction. Now I'm not talking about windnoise it's actually like a digital fluttering noise. For example, the mic is mounted on a Sennheisser shock-mount so if I, say, tap it with my finger to get it to shake whithin the confines of the rubberband'ish mounts, it produces a digital distortion flutter. I've also found that it mainly does it when the mike is moved quickly on a front to back axis and not side to side.

Granted I know mic movement/shock can cause distortion- thus the whole reason for the "shock-mount" in the first place. However I tested it on my GL-1 and couldn't get it to give me that same digital flutter noise no matter what I did- and with my DVX100 it seems all to often....even with the mic levels at a conservative setting. Heck I even heard it when I taped the tripod it was mounted to.

Does anyone know if this is normal. And if it IS, why doesn't it do it with my GL-1? Thanks!

I read a thread which stated that Sennheiser would upgrade existing MKE 300 microphones for $15 with some sort of damping material. Does anyone know if this damping material is applied to new units? Is there a different part number or some serial number at which they cut in the change? If I purchase a new MKE 300 today, what would I get? and would I have to send it back in to get the upgrade performed?

Hello, all. Quick question: What's the best way for me to record applause and regular croud noise? I'll have a Senheiser ME66 connected to the HHB Portadisc MiniDisc recorder. The crowd will be around 400 people in a school gym. Is there any way to get a decent recording of this with my setup? Or should I just try to foley in a sound effect in post?

Any advice would be great!

Thanks

That should be sufficient enough for background noise.

I’m curious, when making your films, what kind of mic do some of you use with your dvx-100? And do you have it camcorded mounted, boom mounted, or plugged directly into the XLR inputs of a recorder? When it comes to all the audio equipment/accessories that are essential for high quality sound, I am clueless. If anyone could write out a list, I would be eternally grateful. Thanx for any info you can provide.

The Sennheiser ME66/K6 is pretty good, depending on what you want a mic for. I like to mount a mic on the tripod or on the cam---depending on what you want to do.

We use an Audio Technica 4073a (http://www.audio-technica.com/prodpro/profiles/AT4073a.html) shotgun microphone, Lightwave GT-10 boompole (http://www.lightwavesystems.com/products/boompoles/default.htm), and Audio Technica 8415 shockmount (http://www.audio-technica.com/guide/other/misc/mounts/index.html) for our sound. Looking into getting a longer boompole and some windscreen equipment as well pretty soon. This is not connected to our AG-DVX100 however. Instead we're learning to use a double-system setup with a Tascam DA-P1 DAT recorder (http://www.tascam.com/products/dat_recorders/dap1/index.php).

Check out Equipment Emporium (http://www.equipmentemporium.com) for some good articles on sound equipment and sales.

I am looking to buy a cd of public domain music. What companies have you dealt with that you have been happy with?

"Public Domain Music"

Not sure what you mean by that. Music whose copyright has expired, is in the public domain... but that doesn't mean a particular recording of that music is... follow me?

Are you looking for "Royalty Free" music instead? Companies like Backtraxx and Mokol publish one-time buyout libraries... others publish libraries with "needle drop" rights.

There are also some sites on the web with people giving away short loops...

Is there a site that someone could direct me to that gives an outline of balanced audio vs. unbalanced audio (and any other info). rather than have you all write it out for me bit by bit I am hoping to be able to read about it somewhere and learn.

Thanks,

Marcello

Hi Marcello, that topic has been covered here on several occasions and you can find that information by using the search button in the upper right. I know that Mark Austin, a Wrangler, covered it once in very simple terms, but was quite thorough.

Just starting to search for a good, low-cost wireless system. Have heard good things about the Audio-Technica 100 series, but would it be practical to wear the receiver on a belt, rather than attaching it to my camera?

I'm using the DVX-100, and its small, light body design makes it impratical to mount wireless receivers on. Would wearing a receiver on a belt cause undue interference with the signal?

Or would it be better to seek out a system with a smaller receiver (The sennheiser evolution 100's receiver seems more svelte but doesn't have an XLR out).

Any suggestions? Anyone using the AT100 and not mounting the receiver to the camera, but carrying it separately? Thanks for any suggestions and advice.

the bad thing about small cams is that theyres nowhere to "expand"
With the senn series 100 wireless, im actaully strapping a velcro strap onto my right forearm then strapping or clip the receiver onto my arm...
can et tedious, but as the leads are short, its either that or clip it to the cameras handstrap.

Is this mic similar in quality to the ME66/K6 combo?

I'm interested in getting into video deposition.

Can anyone tell me some recommended make and model for mixer, mics, and PZM for that type of occupation.

I'll be starting out so price is a factor, but not the only one.
Since it is for a business, I'm willing to spend a little more than
the Radio Shack version.

Please see my post in "Taking of Business" - Article: Notice: Deposition Videographer

I have several questions, if anyone can help me.

Thanks
Bryant

So that next time I don't have to do so much tweaking in post, can someone give me tips on using a shotgun mic, specifically the Sennheiser ME66, for recording dialogue?

I've heard about two feet from the person(s), and aimed at the collarbone area, not the mouth. Is this right? Should you hold the mic point down at them from above, or up at them from below? Does it matter?

I'll be using the XL1s. I've been using the MIC ATT 20 setting for Audio 1, where the ME66 plugs in, because without the attenuation I hear a background noise no matter where I am. . .just a basic nasty hiss. I also have the bass rolloff switch off--meaning the more . . .um bassy frequencies are allowed to be picked up.

The show I'm doing the audio for has to master louder than it should. I go for around -6db, instead 0f -12 (which is the standard, right?). Should I let it peak at -12, and raise it in post? Is this better than raising it so that it peaks at -6 while recording?

Apparently I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. Please help!

Hey Josh, might want to check out Jay Rose's book Great Sound for Digital Video (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1578202086/qid=1053687442/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-5240351-2003350?v=glance&s=books) over at Amazon or your nearest bookstore. Some good info on booming in Chapter 8.

Then there's a collection of great articles at Equipment Emporium (http://www.equipmentemporium.com/articles.htm).

You should aim for the mouth getting as close as possible without dipping into the shot (some people place white tape at the end of the microphone so directors know when it enters the shot accidentally). One suggestion is to practice with a small flashlight in place of the microphone and keep the light on the actor's mouth. Should also get familiar with the dialogue so you can boom appropriately. Lots more in the resources referenced above, I recommend checking them out. I'm learning too.

I'll second Jay Rose's book ( I didn't even know he had one out!), that man knows his stuff. As far as which direction to mic from and does it make a difference? If you mic from above, sounds have a way of bouncing off of surfaces... like the ground. This isn't necesarily a bad thing, it just means you will have a bit more bass I believe. If the talent is wearing hard soled shoes on a basketball court, you will have to adjust for major reverb and echos.

Also... I believe that -3db is where you should aim for.

Well, I know nothing about PZMs, but I can definitely recommend a mixer. The Shure FP24 is a great 2-channel field mixer in the middle price range (about $800). It has dual XLR in/out, a stereo mini out (great connection to mini-in camcorders), phantom power, VUs, tape return, phantom power, high-pass (at either 80 or 160), full channel assignment, even a slate mic and a 1k tone generator. Good stuff...

If you are always going to have access to AC I would use one of the small Mackie (http://www.mackie.com/products/) mixers. The 1202 is well under $400 at most places.

has anyone used the Battery products made by EcoCharge? It's an external power source (battery.) I am thinking of buying one but haven't spoken to anyone that has used one...I'm going to use it for a Tascam DAP1...

Hi there people,

After filming people and talkign with them in a busy room, the sound quality was quite poor because of so mcuh backgroudn noise. So someone got me this as a present, being told that it improved quality and cut out abckground noise.

Does anyone know how effective this is, and how much of an imporvemeent it is over the built in mic on a SONY DCR-TRV950E ?

Is it good enough for making a short ow budget movie outdoors, or should I perhaps consider a better microphone? Thanks very much :)

I've noticed in loud environtments (particularly ones that are fairly quite that peak quickly to loud...like an applauding crowd) I get distortion. I set my levels in such a way in my DVX100 so that it's mostly in the white and that it NEVER spikes yet I still get minor distortion when a crowd is screaming. Is that because the decibles of the crowd are actually exceeding the limit of my mic? I'm asking because according to my levels I shouldn't of had any distortion?!