Curtis Judd 5/20/17 Curtis Judd 5/20/17

Sound for Video Session: Timecode Hardware & Compression in Izotope RX

In this week's Sound for Video Session, we have a look at some timecode hardware options and briefly discuss compression in Izotope RX.

Links:

Timecode Generators Comparison Spreadsheet

Previous session where we demonstrated timecode workflow:

Previous session where we demonstrated compression/loudness normalization in Izotope RX:

Gear Discussed in this episode:

Tentacle Sync Timecode Generator - Comes with Tentacle Sync Studio which is a one option among 3 options you will need if using a timecode generator with a camera or recorder which does NOT have a dedicated timecode input.

Moze Gear TIG Q28 Timecode Generator - The other generator I use. Great, solid design which you set using tiny switches. No fuss, no fancy wireless, just solid timecode.

Ambient NanoLockit Wireless Timecode Generator - Very interesting new wireless timecode generator at a reasonable price.

Timecode Systems :wave Wireless Timecode Generator with Genlock, Wordclock and B:link - sophisticated wireless timecode, genlock generator/transceiver. This is much more expensive but also much more capable.

Curtis Judd 5/13/17 Curtis Judd 5/13/17

Sound for Video Session: SD MixPre-6, Faders vs Gain Trim, High Pass Filters

In this week's Sound for Video Session we have a special guest: Allen Cavedo. Allen is a production sound mixer who has worked on a variety of commercial and narrative projects (links below). He’s here to help bring another perspective while we answer your questions:

- Please compare the Zoom F8 vs the Sound Devices MixPre-6?
- What are some good audio recorder options for a solo operator for even shoots?
- Why is my carefully normalized audio suddenly start clipping when I bring it from Audition to Premiere?
- When I have a dual mono clip, should I drop one of the channels before processing the audio?
- Will the NTG2 work ok with the Tascam DR-60DmkII in terms of noise performance?
- When should I use faders vs gain trim?
- Tips for recording 2 person interviews with one shotgun microphone?
- What are the general steps for processing recorded live music?
- What is the difference between Dialogue De-noise, Spectral De-noise, and Dialogue isolate in Izotope RX6?
- Should I always use the high pass filter on my microphone to eliminate low frequency noise?

Links for items discussed in the session:
Sample of Zoom H4n Pro and RODE NTG2

Some of Allen Cavedo’s projects:

TOMATOFACE - Ad for Texas Beach Bloody Mary Mix. Cast of four demonstrates the legend of saying ‘Bloody Mary’ three times. Production Sound Mixer, boom and four wired actors, camera audio feed and timecode to Alexa Studio camera.

T/I - 48HFP short film entry. Production Sound Mixer, boom and four wired actors. RED One camera with timecode and audio link.

Maybe Tomorrow – A short film. Production Sound Mixer. Six actors with wireless lavs, two booms, sound crew of three. Alexa XT camera, audio feed and timecode.
pw: Maybe Tomorrow

Battlefields of Astral - A web pilot for six-part series about card gamers, misperception and reality. Production Sound Mixer, boom and four wired actors, camera audio feed and timecode to Sony NEX-FS100 camera with Ninja Assassin video recorder.

Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone (this is the mic I used for this session)

Antelope Audio Orion Studio Audio Interface (This is what I used to record my sound for this session)

Sound Devices MixPre-6 Audio Recorder

Sound Devices MixPre-3 Audio Recorder

Curtis Judd 5/6/17 Curtis Judd 5/6/17

Sound for Video Session: Izotope RX6 Demonstration

Izotope RX is an invaluable tool for dialogue audio post production clean up and mastering. I rely on RX heavily for most of my dialogue processing projects. Izotope just released the newest version (RX6) and in this session we'll look at two new modules (de-wind and de-rustle) as well as at the dialogue de-noise which has been improved over previous versions.

Links/Gear used to create this session:

Izotope RX6

Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Microphone (Voiceover for this session was recorded with this)

Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro Camera (Talking head clips shot with this)

Antelope Orion Studio Audio Interface

Curtis Judd 4/23/17 Curtis Judd 4/23/17

Sound for Video Session: Sound to Camera, Matching Mics, Handheld Recorders, Etc.

In this week's Sound for Video Session we addressed several questions submitted by several of you:

- How to send sound to camera?
- How to make recordings with two mics sound the same?
- How to use a handheld recorder when booming a mic?
- Which type of mic to use when recording in very loud environments?
- Is there a single mic that can work in most situations?

Items discussed in this session and where to find them:
3.5mm Attenuation Cable

Sound for Video Session on Sending Audio from Mixer to Camera:

Zoom F8 Audio Recorder

Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer & Recorder

Izotope RX6 (Software for matching microphones)

Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro (Recorded the talking head portion with this camera)

Furman PL-8C Power Conditioner

Antelope Audio Orion Studio Audio Interface

Curtis Judd 4/15/17 Curtis Judd 4/15/17

Sound for Video Session: AES3 Digital, Ursa Mini Pro, EV RE50L, RODE Reporter and iXLR

In this week's Sound for Video Session we take a quick look at sending digital audio to camera using AES3 and also a couple of reporter's microphones.

Links:
Wikipedia article on AES3 Digital Audio

Sanken CSS-50 Short Shotgun Stereo Microphone - the episode was recorded with this microphone. This one is really nice but in reverberant spaces like this little room, it has a tough go with phase issues and comb filtering. Can't wait to test it outdoors.

RODE Reporter Microphone - Getting ready for interviews on the show floor at National Association of Broadcasters again this year. Will be giving this a try. Last year we used the Sennheiser MD46 which worked pretty well but still suffered from some handling noise. Hoping this might solve that problem.

Electrovoice RE50L Dynamic Reporter's Microphone - And this is the other reporter's mic we'll by trying at NAB. Both this and the RODE are dynamic microphones with omni-directional pickup patterns. While I get why they are dynamic (helps reduce pickup of ambient noise in the background), I was surprised to learn that they have omni-directional pickup patterns. I would have expected cardioid to help focus the mic and avoid noise. Instead, the design seems to rely on the dynamic capsule to manage noise and keeps the pickup pattern open so that the reporter doesn't have to move the mic as much. Looking forward to seeing how well they work on a noisy show floor.

RODE iXLR Microphone Interface for iOS Recording - This is what I plan to use to record the sound for the interviews at NAB this year. Not sure the cable is long enough to use the phone as the camera, but we're going to give it a shot and see what happens.

Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro (Recorded the talking head portion with this camera) - My new main camera. One of my favorite features is that it takes AES3 digital audio from a mixer or microphone which can send digital audio. That means that the camera doesn't do the typically mediocre job of recording sound, now it can take top-notch sound from a pro-grade mixer or mic and just record the digital bits along with the video clips. Now we get the best of both worlds - amazing visuals from the camera and top-notch audio quality from my Sound Devices 633 all in a single file ready for edit.

Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer & Recorder - just tested the AES3 output for the first time this week and WOW! This solves another big problem. Now I get audio perfectly synced to video with my Ursa Mini Pro. Yay for more efficient workflows!

Curtis Judd 4/8/17 Curtis Judd 4/8/17

Sound for Video Session: Shotgun Mics, Wind Covers, Mixers, DAW Apps, Loudness

In this week's Sound for Video Session we run through several questions:

- Why is my shotgun mic picking up everything in the room?
- Why do I get clicks and noise with my wireless microphones?
- Should I use a blimp cover on my shotgun microphone indoors?
- Which DAW audio editing app should I use if I don’t want a subscription?
- How do I send sound from a mixing board to my camera?
- Which loudness standard do I use when loudness normalizing my audio?
- Which shotgun microphone and wind cover should I choose?

Links:

Broadcast Loudness Standards (tc electronic)

For internet delivery, Paul Figgiani recommends -16 LUFS for stereo, -19 LUFS for mono audio

Audio Editing Apps (DAWs)

- Logic Pro X
- Reaper
- Studio One
- Avid ProTools

Attenuation Cable to connect mixer output to camera (Panasonic GH4). You will also need a 1/4" to 3.5mm cable

Electrovoice RE50L Dynamic Microphone (Voiceover for this session was recorded with this)

Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro (Recorded the talking head portion with this camera)

Curtis Judd 3/31/17 Curtis Judd 3/31/17

Sound for Video Session: Sound to Director, Mixing Lavs, Crew, Gain, Wireless, Recorders

In this week's Sound for Video Session we run through several questions:

- How to get sound to a director?
- How to mix lavalier mics for dual talking head shots?
- Advice for working with crews?
- How to set gain for Senheiser G3 system?
- Recommendations for wireless systems in the less than 600 GBP range
- Affordable recorders for nature and concert recordings

Links:

Previous session: G3 Wireless hop to camera or director

Zoom H4n Pro - Affordable, decent stereo recorder for natural sound and concerts

Zoom H5 - Affordable, slightly better stereo recorder with better input controls

RODE NTG4+ - Shotgun mic with better rear rejection, slightly mid-range sound

Aputure Deity - Shotgun mic with slightly better sound but lets in more sound from the sides and back

The name of the iOS app which defines many of the terms you need to know when working on set of a larger production is Gobo. It looks like it may not longer be available in the US App Store. :(

Curtis Judd 3/25/17 Curtis Judd 3/25/17

Sound for Video Session: EQ Presets, Clothing Noise, 3rd Party Plugins

In this week's Sound for Video Session we run through several questions:

- Should I create an EQ preset for microphones which usually sound too bright (like the Sanken COS-11D when worn on the outside of clothing)?
- How can I manage clothing noise when using a boom mic?
- Are there benefits to using 3rd party audio processing plugins versus using the plugins that come with Adobe Audition?

Here's an example of using an EQ plugin to cut a hole in a music track for dialogue. You can use this same idea to create a preset which helps to reduce "presence boost" which sounds too harsh:

Gear mentioned/used in this episode:

Sanken COS-11D Lavalier Microphone

DPA 4017b Shotgun Microphone (This is the microphone I used to record this session)

Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro (my new camera which I used to film this session) Also available from DVeStore.

Curtis Judd 3/16/17 Curtis Judd 3/16/17

Sound for Video Session: EQ, Delay vs Reverb, Plugin Order, Affordable Strategies

In this week's Sound for Video Session we run through several questions:

- How to use EQ on a music track to make room for dialogue
- What is the difference between delay and reverb?
- Am I using audio plugins in the right order?
- What are some tips for getting better sound when shooting solo?

Links:

How to Boom a Camera Top Shotgun Microphone for Better Sound

Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Microphone (Voiceover for this session was recorded with this)

Antelope Orion Studio Audio Interface (Voiceover for this session was recorded with this)