Wireless Headphone Feeds (Comtek)
What do you do when the director or producer come to you and say, "I need 4 headphones..."?
Here's a brief overview of setting up wireless headphone feeds for producers, directors, and others on set. You can do this a variety of ways, even using a spare wireless lav system (but that only gets you one set of headphones). On the pro sets, they often use Comtek or similar wireless systems which are nice in that you can send the same feed to as many sets of receivers as you need from a single transmitter in your sound bag.
Links to gear discussed in this session:
Comtek M-216 Transmitter (Option P7) - expensive but sturdy and up for several years of service on rough and tumble sets and locations.
Comtek PR-216 Receiver - This is the thankfully less expensive receiver. You can use as many of these as you need with a single transmitter. Also well built for years of service
Comtek XLR to 3.5mm adapter cable - If your mixer/recorder has an XLR output that you'll use to feed audio to the Comtek transmitter, here's an adapter cable to make that work. If your mixer/recorder has a 3.5mm output, any 3.5mm TRS to 3.5mm TRS cable will do. Just keep it short so it doesn't pick up interference.
Sony ZX110 Headphones - Good enough to get the job done with comfort, plenty loud. They fold and have flat cables which help prevent tangles. Not too hard on your pocketbook if they get destroyed by a crew member (about $15 USD each).
Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd
3 Professional Indoor Boom Microphones: Sennheiser, Schoeps, Audio Technica
Several requests came in to look at more professional level microphones for recording dialogue sound for film and video. So let’s have a look at and a listen to three higher-end microphones that are well suited for recording dialogue while indoors. We’ll have a separate episode on shotgun microphones which are better suited for outdoor use.
The Schoeps CMC641 is used in many mid to large budget film and TV productions. It's one of my favorite all-purpose microphones when recording dialogue indoors. It's only potential downside, and not an issue I've encountered yet, is that it can have issues when recording in very wet/humid environments (e.g., jungles or rain forests).
My newest addition is the Sennheiser MKH 8050. This one is also a good all-rounder but does have its own signature sound that works particularly well for voices with a lot of mid-range energy. For these voices, it seems to smooth them out in a rather pleasant way (this definitely applies to my voice).
Then there's my long-time friend the Audio Technica AT4053B. This one is actually a hyper-cardioid microphone. It works really well and sounds great for many voices. The only time I don't love the sound of this mic is when recording people with particularly sibilant voices (lots of "S" and "C" sizzling energy). It also has high pass filter and -10dB pad for recording especially loud sound sources.
If I could only choose one of them? Wow, that's tough but it would probably be between the Schoeps and the Sennheiser. Please don't make me choose. ;-)
Links to other gear discussed or used to shoot this episode:
Rycote Shockmount - Shockmounts are a necessity when you're handling a boom pole with a microphone on it otherwise you'll end up with a bunch of handling noise in your recording.
Aputure COB120t LED Light - My main light for headshots and product shots
Aputure Light Dome Soft Box - I use this for almost every interview/talking head shot
Sound Devices 633 Audio Recorder - a pro-grade recorder/mixer which makes most microphones sound their best
Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro - The camera I used for most of this episode. It's pretty good.
Panasonic GH5 - The camera I used for the product shots in this episode. It's a good all-rounder as well.
Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd
Sound for Video Session: Sync, Timecode, Noise, Preamps, Monitors and More!
In this week's question and answer session, we tackle the following topics:
00:04 Audio Sync
02:15 Timecode, Breakaway Cables
05:16 Noise Reduction, External Preamps
08:06 Mixing Monitors
12:19 Sound Blankets vs Moving Blankets vs Quilts
15:17 Sennheiser MKE 600, Shock mounts, Wind Protection, Audio Interfaces
23:22 Monitor Placement
25:42 Compression Ratio, Sound Floor
Gear and links to previous sessions discussed in this session:
Remote Audio Breakaway Cable
Avantone Pro Mix Cube Powered Monitor (set)
KRK Rokit 5 G3 Powered Monitor (one)
Sennheiser MKE600 Shotgun Microphone
Rycote InVision Lyre Shock Mount:
Sennheiser MZS 600 Shock Mount for MKE600:
Rycote Hot Shoe Adapter - Mount your shock mount on your camera's shoe
Rycote Softie Furry Windscreen (good for light wind)
RODE Blimp Wind Cover (good for stronger wind)
Rycote Cyclone (the best wind protector I've used and own)
Electrovoice RE20 Broadcast Microphone - this is what I used to record this session
Producer's Choice Sound Blankets
Timecode demonstration:
Noise Cleanup:
Sound Design, Effects, Foley:
Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd
Sound Devices: Should I Get the MixPre-10T, 633, 664, or 688?
This is a question some people will ask themselves. And it is a fair question. Gotham Sound was kind enough to put together a nice comparison table to help answer that. Can't wait to get my hands on the MixPre-10T for review.
RØDELink Performer Wireless Handheld Microphone Kit
Sometimes I shoot live events. In my case that is mostly corporate conference meetings. In these cases, sometimes a wireless lavalier is the best option but in others, we don’t have time to get the lavalier microphone in place and a handheld wireless mic is a better option. RODE has just introduced their new RODELink wireless handheld microphone kit which fits this niche for me quite nicely. In this overview I cover my initial impressions as well as the features of the kit. In short: RODE has added an affordable, high quality option to their RODELink wireless system!
Thanks to RODE for providing the Performer kit for this review. They have not paid me beyond providing the mic and all of the opinions shared here are my own.
The RODELink Performer kit is slated to start shipping in mid October 2017.
Links to Gear Discussed and used to shoot this review:
RODELink Performer Handheld Wireless Microphone Kit
RODELink Filmmaker Wireless Lavalier Kit
My review of the RØDELink Filmmaker kit:
RODELink Newsshooter Wireless Reporter’s Microphone Kit
Aputure COB120t (used to light light me in the talking head shots)
FalconEyes CLL-1600TDX (used as the background light in the talking head portions of this video. This thing is HUGE)
FalconEyes RX-18TD (used as a rim light bounced off of foam core in the talking head portions of this video)
Aputure COB120d (used to light the product shots)
Sound Devices 633 Audio Recorder
Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera
Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd
Sound Devices Announces the MixPre-10T
Wow, I wasn't expecting this, especially this soon after the release of the MixPre-3 and 6!
Sound Devices' new MixPre-10T is very interesting from a few different standpoints. First, the 10T adds several features usually required by pros to the MixPre line including an in-built timecode generator, redundant storage, and a locking hirose power input. Of course there are more inputs - 8 XLR/TRS mic/line and another 3.5mm stereo unbalanced input. Oh, and balanced XLR outputs (on mini-TA3). Those were the main concerns I had about using the MixPre-6 for professional location gigs but it looks like they just addressed them all.
The second and perhaps more interesting thing is that with these additional features, the MixPre-10T potentially cannibalizes some of their 6xx series sales. This is a $1,800 recorder/mixer. The 633 sells for $3300, almost double the price.
It takes a bold company to make a decision like this and from my perspective, they're doing something good for their potential customers. Now I'm still not suggesting that the 10T completely replaces the 633 entirely. Maybe it does for many workflows, but I definitely plan to hold on to mine. Nevertheless, I'm really impressed that they are forward looking enough to move this direction.
Now I've got to figure out how to get my hands on one for review!
Sound for Video Session: Lav Mics, Recording to Phones, Presets in RX, Headphone Volume
This week we have a question and answer session. These are the questions submitted:
- Best lav mic for recording in very noisy environments?
- Best microphone for recording to phones?
- Universal presets in RX?
- What do I set my headphone volume to so that I can tell whether I’ve set the gain correctly?
Links to gear we discussed or used to record this session:
Countryman E6i Cardioid Ear Set Microphone:
RODE VideoMicro - miniature cardioid microphone you could use on a smartphone rig (with the adapter below)
RODE SC4 Adapter (Use the VideoMicro with your phone)
Aputure A.Lav Lavalier Microphone:
Previous Sessions where we’ve covered how to process dialogue audio in Izotope RX:
Izoope RX6 demo:
Reduce reverb with RX6:
Loudness normalization in RX:
Process dialogue demo with RX:
Clean up extreme noise in RX and Audition:
Electrovoice RE20 (recorded this session)
Antelope Audio Orion Studio Audio Computer Interface
Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd
Sound for Video Session: Recording Live Sound with Mike Stranks
One question that has come up quite often in our Sound for Video Sessions is, “How do I record a live concert?” I have done a tiny bit of this, but wanted to bring someone on to the show who has a fair bit more experience and in this case, that someone is Mike Stranks. Mike is based in the UK and has been recording live sound in various forms since the early 1970s. Thanks to Mike for generously sharing a bunch of information to help us get started on recording concerts!
Links to gear we discussed in this session:
Line Audio CM3 hypocardioid and OM1 omnidirectional mics:
Line Audio's Website
Pink Noise Systems - UK distributor but ship worldwide
The “public face” of Line Audio
Isolation Transformer (to eliminate buzz or hum)
Zoom F4 Audio Recorder (Mike’s primary recorder)
Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd
Voice Technologies VT500 Lavalier Microphone: Pro Quality Lav
We’ve had several requests to spend some time looking at pro-level lavalier microphones. In this episode we take a quick look at and listen to the omni-directional VT500 lavalier from Voice Technologies, a Swiss microphone company. For reference, we also have some sound clips from the Sanken COS-11D lavalier, one of the very common lavalier mics used by pro location mixers for film and video. And we include samples with male and female voice.
I was really impressed with the VT500 with it’s unusual front facing capsule and found it’s audio quality to be very good and its form factor easy to hide. The foam windscreen is thoughtfully designed with hard plastic backing to prevent noise from rubbing against clothing, and the RF shielding worked nicely to avoid those annoying interference issues. There’s also a waterproof model for those recording more exciting pieces in or near water.
You can find our previous review of the Countryman B6 lavalier microphone here:
Links to Gear Discussed and Used to Record This Session:
Voice Technologies VT500 Omni-directional Lavalier Microphone
Voice Technologies VT500 O Eco (same microphone without the waterproof case or extended accessories and lower price)
Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro - for talking head shots. quite a lot of moire with this particular shirt
RODELink Wireless Lavalier Filmmaker Kit
Sennheiser EW 112p G3 Wireless Lavalier Kit (516-558 MHz)
Panasonic GH5 Camera - for product shots
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 Zoom Lens
Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd
Sound for Video Session: Q&A Safety Track vs Limiter, Which Camera, Which Mic and More
In this week's Sound for Video Session we discuss several questions submitted by you!
Safety track or limiter?
Clipping at -2dB?
Is there a better way to rig a Zoom H5 to camera?
What’s a good camera for video and photo with a 3.5mm mic input and headphone jack?
Which other microphones should I get?
When should I use a hyper-cardioid mic instead of a shotgun mic?
AT4053b outdoors?
Why is my Zoom F8 picking up an FM radio station?
“Homeless” recorded outdoors with an Audio Technica AT4053b Hyper-cardioid microphone:
Session on how to match levels on audio recorder and camera so you can monitor levels from camera:
Audio Adapter comparison
Links to gear we discussed or used to record this session:
Sennheiser MKH416 Shotgun Microphone - Perhaps the quintessential pro shotgun microphone
Audio Technica AT4053B Hyper-cardioid Microphone
Schoeps CMC641 One of the most commonly used super-cardioid microphones by the pros for indoor dialogue
Rycote Cyclone Wind Shield & Shock Mount
Zoom F8 Audio Recorder
Shure SM58 Vocal Microphone
beachtek DXA-Micro Audio Adapter for DSLR and Mirrorless cameras
Panasonic GH4 Camera
Panasonic GH5 Camera
Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd
