Bro I just want this damn sound away from my audio so I can work. Is that really going to cost me over $100 to edit this one batch of footage? I didn't even expect to be editing Timecode or Red footage.. this has all become way too complex
Great stream. Worth checking is the Newfangled Audio(Eventide) EQuivocate EQ that uses filters that are modeled on the human ear. Its 26 linear phase auditory filters are distributed along the Mel Spectrum to approximate the critical band filters in your ear. Very powerful tool and unlike any other eq
I dont have any deity products but im thinking to get intos that ecosystem, i use a eos R8, i saw in the camara menus that timecode its an option, so the stupid obvious question is, if 8 buy the PR-2 i kust have to jam into the camera and the timecode will be set? Or do i need to do something else?
You said MS decoding on a recorder is baked in the output mix, but can't you undo the MS decoding in post (assuming you only mix one MS pair and no other sound sources on your recorder) by summing L + R - 3dB (mid) and L - R - 3dB (sides) and adjust the stereo width on DAW (if needed)? This way you wouldn't need to use extra tracks for isolated mid and sides? Also, when recording an MS pair, shouldn't the MS decoder on the recorder or mixer be always turned on for monitoring so you can monitor the inputs in left and right instead of mid and sides?
Something to keep in mind to get the most success with MS is that the capsules must be as close to each other as physically possible to minimise the effects of comb filtering. Small diaphragm mics have an advantage in this regard, however many of the manufacturer supplied piggyback style clips/mounts still separate the mics more than they really need to. It's also really critical to have the sound source as on-axis to the front of the array as possible. The more off off-axis a source is, the more affected it will be by comb filtering and it is highly advised that the mid mic is always on the bottom, especially if micing from above. The king of MS pairs is the Sennheiser MKH40+MKH30, however the MKH40 has now been discontinued. The MKH30 is the only figure-8 to have a truly symmetrical polar pattern, but perhaps they have achieved this in the new 8030 also. The Schoeps MK8 is also exceptional figure-8 and works extremely well in combination with an MK4, or an MK21 if you desire more room sound. As a point of interest, many large diaphragm mics used in figure-8 mode are actually simulating figure-8 with a double diaphragm, as opposed to a true single diaphragm as seen in a mic like the MKH30 (or a ribbon, for example). Something else to consider is that you can also do MS with two figure-8s. Rotating a Blumlein array 45 degrees counterclockwise becomes MS. Some recordists have also experimented with using an omni for the mid, which can produce interesting results in some situations. Sorry if you covered any of this in the video. I didn't get to see all of it. :)
I just don't understand why?? with the wireless go II you can plug in the transmitters to a iPad or smartphone Android, and you can Grab the internal recorded audio of the transmitters but with the wireless Pro i have to use my MBP,??
I was in the market for a stereo mic for recording atmosphere sound. But I was end up with a Sennheiser Ambeo VR mic. Sound fantastic clear and in the end I can decide what I want to hear in the recording. I love that mic! :)
I have a Rode ambisonic mic (also a first-order Soundfield mic, like your Ambeo VR) and I also record a bit of MS with SDCs like Curtis' Sennheisers. There are a couple reasons to choose MS or DMS: First, the decoding is less mathematically "aggressive" and that results in less noise amplification relative to the baseline performance of the capsules you're using. Speaking technically, the maximum values of the coefficients in the conversion matrix are lower for MS than for Soundfield. Second, AFAIK nobody makes a Soundfield mic with capsules as good as the Sennheiser 8030/8050 Curtis was using here. If you want that sound, you have to build your own stereo array.
I love the idea of using the XLR adapter as a “lav bullet” to add weight to the cable for feeding through clothing - genius! I have a few of these and will copy on my next shoot.
Hey Curtis, thanks for the Video! Is there a way to quickly edit the note of the last recorded take, without having to navigate through the finder and the edit metadata menu? I can edit the note for the NEXT take over shortcuts or the "NOTE" button of the FRC-8, which is kind of pointless I guess...
@Curtis another super-informative presentation and demonstration - really useful for me as I’ve just started working on productions with hidden lav mics (previously I had only used boom mics or externally mounted lavs). The big problem I had on a recent shoot was clothing rustle with the Rode Lav II mics that are included in the Rode Wireless Pro kit. It was interesting to see that you had similar issues, even with the Bubblebee lav cover and Viviana lav strap - so this looks like a common challenge! What would you recommend to mitigate or remove clothing noise if you are limited by mic placement position and clothing choice? It looks like sticking the mic to the clothing works better than sticking to the skin (or in a stationary chest strap). Would double-sided tape to immobilise the mic by sticking to both inner clothing and the skin be a solution? I assume that preventing anything (skin or clothing) from moving over the mic would be the best option? Like you, I find the boom mic sound generally much more forgiving and higher fidelity, but of course it does require more equipment or crew, and most producers want back-up lav mics in any case…. Great content - you’re an absolute gold-mine of useful information - please keep up the good work!
Thanks John. We're working to have a utility sound technician join one of our upcoming streams to teach us all about this subject. This is one of the specialties of a utility sound technician.
29:10 I think it is _fast_ (not slow) release that causes breaths etc. to be boosted (or rather, not-dipped) , e.g. immediately after a preceding word whose level went above the compressor's threshold. Or have I misconstrued something?
Nice video, Curtis, as always. Most people don't realize that for under $500 they can get to 80% of the way to the highest produced audio out there. As I know you know, you can spend a lot of money getting the next 20% of juice squeezed. It becomes a diminishing return. If you need that other 20%, you know who you are and who pays you to get there. LOL!
Great livestream. Lots of good info. Although you did make me recall a couple of bad mistakes I've done in my professional audio career that still make me cringe when I think about them even though I'm retired now. Still do a lot of volunteer audio/video work. I've heard much worse "mouth clicks" or "lip smacking" as I call it. Do you use RX11 "Elements", "Standard" or "Advanced" that has the "mouth de-clicking"? The other common dialogue problem is loud breaths in between lines of speech. Is there a noise reduction fx for removing breaths?
MOTU M2! 4 and a half years in and it's still serving me great for podcasting. I haven't been recording instruments much lately, but it can also manage that with very low latency and noise.
Fantastic session Curtis, thanks. Any tips for automatically levelling the "dirty stuff"? For example highly variable dialogue with variable background noise (including occasional walla)?, keeping some of that ambience but definitely not boosting it (only boosting low-level _main_ dialogue). As is typical for an informal live event with a number of people present. Some on mic, some holding mic too far away, some off mic altogether. I have tried several renowned levelling plugins, which all work amazingly 99% of the time, but occasionally, inexplicably, boost pure noise or over-boost or subtly fluctuate the main dialogue (possibly due to not optimising against proper-loudness?). I fix these via a (post-bounce/render) manual "tidy-up" pass, in terms of surgical clip gain edits. I do that post-render (of the stem track from the auto-leveller), thereby essentially leaving indicators (on the clip gain envelope/timeline) where each such issue happens to be located (handy for re-visiting/tweaking). How avoid such auto-leveller issues in the first place?
00:27:27 you don’t need to remove the micro sd card. Just connect the USB cable from the recorder Zoom to the computer 🖥️ and in the recorder menu look for the option: card reader, USB or storage and click. 32 bits floating is pretty good… God Bless you!
Before I buy the H4e, I hope they improved the lag time when turning on the recorder. I recall this was the reason why I ended up using my Roland edirol recorder more that the Zoom. However, it’s an excellent recorder.
I can hear the difference, but like the sound of the cos better. Am I crazy? (I know my hearing is pretty bad above 8k, so probably better not to go with my taste).
I didn't get the reminder email yesterday about today's session, so I missed it. I'm interested because as discussed last week, I'll be booming with two shotguns for a two person interview. I'm assuming that matching two different shotgun mics would be easier? I thought the FabFilter sounded better. Thankfully, since I$otope is expen$ive to get the EQ match version. Great sessions and super helpful for thinking about my upcoming project. I'll do some research on other plug-ins like Sonible, etc. Thanks!
I reckon they'll eventually bring out a version of these recorders that has great pre-amps in it. A little heavier and just better plastic. It would be great if we could have a feature where we could name folders as well. Just a thought.
Interestingly the term “Wireless” refers to not using a mic cable. XLR mic cables are never referred to as wires, so “Cable-less” should be used instead of “Wireless.” But I’m guessing it refers to the internal of a lav mic cable being reminiscent of a thin wire inside rather than a cable which would sound larger and thicker. I wonder if it actually derives from detectives hiding a mic on someone to secretly get information from a culprit. I remember all the police shows on TV in the 70’s referred to it as someone “Wearing a wire” when hiding a mic on them.
I use a lav mic under the bill of a baseball hat and then put a fluffy muff over the mic and use this outdoors for most of my RU-vid videos. The wind muff shows but that is ok for my use. I could use a clip on my chest but sometimes a mic on the chest gets obstructed by other objects in the scene, prone position for a rifle shooter for example. I would not use the hat bill location for photography demo videos where I might have the camera up to eye level as a camera would then be between the mic and mouth, and that would change the sound too much I think.
From when I was a twelve-year-old kid, pro gear, besides its generally better construction, could quickly be identified by the difference in the voltage levels. Most professional audio gear operates at +4, while most consumer audio gear operates at -10. Also, the signal path between pro gear generally travels through a balanced cable with XLR connectors while consumer audio gear typically uses RCA phono connectors. For instance, the audio inputs into my PrismSound Lyra are all XLR connectors.
I don’t think so, though admittedly, I don’t do that type of recording so I don’t know for sure. My sense is that for overdub recording, Zoom made the R4 recorder instead.
Agreed, for one attendee. We cut those inappropriate chats. That person made some valid points, just used the wrong tone for a community where we want everyone to feel confident asking newbie to advanced questions. Also, I acknowledge that there is more than one way to look at how to provide great sound for one's clients. My way is not the right way, just the way I do things.
I was a little late for the live stream, but watched the replay as quickly as I could. Great show, lots of great questions and responses. Have a great week!
hey curtis i am working on starting a video production business how many wireless lavs do you recomemmder i get to start and also what do you think of my sound kit ? i have 1x Sennheiser 416 1x sennhieser mke 400 1x zoom f6 1x k tek wired boom pole 1x deity theos2 trans wireless kit. 1x movo wind blimp ...... Do you have any recommendations if I'm trying to cater for businesses as a video production company?
Hi Curtis, FYI Rycote offer an upgrade for the first gen NanoShield with 3D-Tex sock (now shown on their product images) as some issues had been reported with the thin socking. I had electrical problems with my RF Filter/Low Cut XLR during slight cable movements and the kit included an updated version of this too - FOC via Thomann in my case.
Excellent comparisons. I started with DPA 6060 lavs so when it was time to purchase a shotgun mic I went with DPA 4017B and I’ve been happy with the cohesive sound. I had no idea Rycote made mics or that Videndum owned all those brands!
Thanks so much for this stream. It has opened my ears and eyes... I own an NTG5, it's the only directional mic in my kit. I want to focus more on indoor interviews. Do you think the Rycote might be a good entry? I don't have that great of a budget. Everyone raves about the Oktava given it's price but I cant say that I'm sold on it yet. I can't rent or borrrow to try out gear. So I depend on videos like this. Much appreciated
The NTG5 works pretty well indoors since it is rather short. But if you will be cueing a boom pole indoors, then yes, the Rycote pencil condensers would be a good place to start. 👍
Thank you as always Curtis! Interesting to see Rycote investing heavily into a segment that is already competitive. Pricing for the super-cardioid seems competitive with the 4053b, which is a good place to be if the sound is as good or better. Hopefully Rycote or B&H can send you the SC for review sometime in the future.
So how is the DJI mic 2 able to transmit and record simultaneously with the patent? And these can’t? Trying to understand how rode and DJI can legally do this.
First, DJI probably has a lot more money to fight any lawsuits than Zaxcom have. But also, they're not using removable memory, so that helps if they have to make the case in court. There are a lot of nuances and I'm not a lawyer, but hopefully that helps a little.
