Curtis Judd 8/5/17 Curtis Judd 8/5/17

Sound for Video Session: Sound Devices 633 Setup Basics

In this week's Sound for Video Session we walk through the basics of setting up your Sound Devices 633 for recording.

Links to gear we discussed or used to record this session:

Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer/Recorder - my main pro-level recorder

Shure SM58 Vocal Microphone - I wanted to record this session with a dynamic microphone because there was a lot of wind outdoors and some gremlins watching TV upstairs. I don’t love the sound of this mic for recordings like this, especially on my voice, but it is a reliable mic and good to have one in the kit.

Panasonic GH5 Camera - This session shot on the GH5

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 Lens - This session shot with this lens

Curtis Judd 7/27/17 Curtis Judd 7/27/17

Sound for Video Session: Cleaning Up Background Noise from dialogue recordings in Audition and RX

In this week's Sound for Video Session I show an example of how to reduce the noise (fairly extreme background noise) in a dialogue recording using Adobe Audition and Izotope RX 6.

Links to gear we discussed or used to record this session:

Focal Solo6 Be - Top-end professional near-fields from Focal. Beryllium tweeter. These are the monitors I finally decided to purchase for my mixing work - just to follow up from last week's session where we talked monitors.

Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone - this is what I used to record my voice for this session

Antelope Audio Orion Studio Audio Interface - this is what I used to record my voice for this session.

Curtis Judd 7/23/17 Curtis Judd 7/23/17

Sound for Video Session: Some Thoughts on Near-field Monitors/Speakers

In this week's Sound for Video Session I talk more about my search for the right near-field monitors for my post and mixing work. In that quest, I had a chance to listen to several more including those listed below. Still no final decision, but I’ve very tempted by the Focal Solo6 Be. My pocketbook is not quite so sure. :)

Links to gear we discussed or used to record this session:

KRK Rokit 8 G3 Near-field Active Monitors

Focal CMS 65 - Same as the 40s but with 6.5 inch woofers and bass response that reaches a little lower on the spectrum. These are on closeout so a good time to buy if you’re in the market.

Focal Shape 65 - These are the newer versions of the CMS. Will be included in our upcoming comparison

Focal Solo6 Be - Top-end professional near-fields from Focal. Beryllium tweeter

Presonus R65 AMT Near-field Monitors - pretty impressive “budget” option with ribbon tweeters

Adam A7x Near-field Monitors - Adam made the ribbon tweeter a bit more mainstream. Great sounding mid-range monitors

Antelope Audio Orion Studio Audio Interface (This is what I used to drive all of the monitors we tested)

Curtis Judd 7/7/17 Curtis Judd 7/7/17

Sound for Video Session: Sync, Blending Mics, Recorder Setup, Mouth Noise, Loudness, Multicam

In this week's Sound for Video Session we discuss some of your questions:

- How to fix audio that drifts out of sync
- I have several mics, how do I blend them? When should I use which?
- How should I set up my Zoom F4?
- How can I manage mount noises in voice overs?
- How do I (batch) fix clips which are not the same loudness?
- How do I send audio from my MixPre to three cameras for a multi-cam shoot?

Previous episodes referenced:

Booming a camera-top Shotgun Microphone:

Loudness Export Option in Premiere Pro:

Links to Gear Discussed and Used to Record This Session:

XLR Microphone Cable - Your basic 25 foot long XLR microphone cable

RODE VXLR 3.5mm to XLR Adapter - use this to adapt the RODELink receiver's 3.5mm output to XLR for input into your Zoom F4 recorder

Tascam DR-60DmkII Audio Recorder - Nice intro level audio recorder with 2 XLR inputs

RODE NT2A Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone - nice option for voice over work if you're recording in a room that doesn't have a lot of reverberation issues

Electrovoide RE20 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone - Used to record me for this session. Better option if your room does have a lot of reverberation.

Curtis Judd 6/28/17 Curtis Judd 6/28/17

Sound for Video Session: Set Audio Levels From Recorder to Camera with Tone

In this week's Sound for Video Session we demonstrate how to use the an audio recorder to send the audio directly to camera. This way you get the better sound quality of the dedicated audio recorder and the sound is all synced up while shooting so you don't have to sync in post.

This requires that your camera have an input, that your audio recorder has an output and that your recorder can generate a tone (sometimes called slate or slate tone).

There are some other nuances that we cover in our production sound fundamentals course on line vs microphone level and the need to match between the camera and recorder.

For details on powering your MixPre-3 or 6, please see the tech notes over at Sound Devices: https://www.sounddevices.com/tech-notes/mixpre-3-mixpre-6-powering-options

Links to Gear Discussed and Used to Record This Session:

Sound Devices MixPre-6 Audio Recorder/Mixer

Sound Devices MixPre-3 Audio Recorder/Mixer (the little brother)

Sound Devices 633 (Pro level recorder used to record my voice for this session)

Oktava MK012 Microphone (used to record my voice for this session)

Panasonic GH5 Camera - My second camera. Love this little thing!

Curtis Judd 6/23/17 Curtis Judd 6/23/17

Sound for Video Session: Set Up Sound Devices MixPre-3 & MixPre-6

In this week's Sound for Video Session we walk through set up of the Sound Devices MixPre-6 (99% of this also applies also to the MixPre-3).

For details on powering your MixPre-3 or 6, please see the tech notes over at Sound Devices:

Links to Gear Discussed and Used to Record This Session:

Sound Devices MixPre-6 - my new favorite sub $1000 audio recorder/mixer.

Sound Devices MixPre-3 - even smaller with 3 XLR inputs

Sound Devices 633 - my pro level recorder/mixer used to record my voice for this session

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

Curtis Judd 6/16/17 Curtis Judd 6/16/17

Sound for Video Session: Shockmounts, Comedy, Cameras, Timecode, and Live Streaming

In this week's Sound for Video Session we answer some of your questions:

- Are the Rycote shock mounts better at isolating boom pole movement from the microphone vs. rubber band style mounts?
- How would you record a comedy routine with a live audience?
- Which camera should I get (From the perspective of a sound guy)?
- Is timecode going to replace slates/clapperboards soon? What’s with these expensive timecode slates?
- How would you record podcast sound and livestream via Facebook live at the same time using the Zoom U-24?

Links to Gear We Discussed:

Rycote Lyre Pistol Grip Shockmount (bare bones and my go-to mount for indoor booming)

Rycote Cyclone Windshield with Lyre Shockmount (go-to for outdoor booming)

Presonus FaderPort - Hardware fader controller which works with Adobe Audition and other audio editing apps.

Panasonic FZ2500 - Fixed lens, 1” sensor, ND filters (wouldn’t be my first choice because the sensor is a little on the small side)

Panasonic G7 - Interchangeable lens, micro 4/3 sensor which is larger, no ND filters (this would be my choice over the FZ2500)

1/4" to 3.5mm TRRS cable for feeding audio from Zoom UA-24 to smartphone

Ambient Timecode Slate

Previous Near Field Monitor (speaker) Comparison

Focal CMS 40 monitors - These were my favorites in the comparison a year ago but I still wanted to first try the 6.5 inch woofer version. Remember, with monitors, they are sold individually so you need to buy 2

Focal CMS 65 - Same as the 40s but with 6.5 inch woofers and bass response that reaches a little lower on the spectrum. These are on closeout so a good time to buy if you’re in the market.

Focal Shape 65 - These are the newer versions of the CMS. Will be included in our upcoming comparison

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)

Curtis Judd 6/8/17 Curtis Judd 6/8/17

Sound for Video Session: Mixing Headphones Compared

In this week's Sound for Video Session, we compare 6 sets of headphones for mixing film and video projects (plus a bonus set that almost nobody can afford, just for fun). We also cover why using headphones alone is not ideal and can make mixing a frustrating experience. We also underscore the importance of reviewing your mixes on lots of different playback systems: Near field monitors, hifi system, car sound system, smartphone earbuds, TV, etc.

Jump ahead to particular headphones:

06:55 AKG K240
12:37 Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro
16:10 Audio Technica ATH-R70x
20:09 Shure SRH1840
22:45 Sennheiser HD 800
25:23 Audeze LCD-X
30:40 Sennheiser HE 1 Orpheus

Gear discussed in this session:

AKG K240 Studio Pro Semi-Open Back Headphones

Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro Semi-Open Back Reference Headphones

Audio Technica ATH-R70x Pro Reference Headphones

Shure SRH1840 Pro Open Back Headphones

Sennheiser HD 800 Open Back Headphones

Sennheiser HD 800 S Open Back Headphones

Audeze LCD-X High Performance Reference Planar Magnetic Headphones

Sennheiser HE 1 Orpheus Headphones

Curtis Judd 6/4/17 Curtis Judd 6/4/17

Sound for Video Session: Reduce Reverb with Izotope RX 6

In this week's Sound for Video Session, we discuss how to reduce reverberation. The best way is to use sound blankets while recording. But if that doesn't work out, then this is how to *reduce* reverb, not eliminating it, in Izotope RX 6.

Previous session demonstrating how to use sound blankets to reduce reverb while recording:

Gear used to record this session:

Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Microphone

Antelope Audio Orion Studio Audio Interface

Sound Blankets

Spring Clamps to hang sound blanekts

Century Stand to hang the blankets