Curtis Judd 6/4/16 Curtis Judd 6/4/16

Sound for Video Session: Limiter vs Compressor

In this week's session, we talk a little about the difference between a limiter and a compressor when it comes to recording dialogue thanks to a question from Gary Davies. Thanks Gary!

In short, a limiter is a very aggressive compressor, typically with a rather extreme compression ratio like 20:1. Limiters are generally used to prevent clipping and distortion when someone suddenly modulates and gets really loud. A compressor can also do that but is often used for other types of effects as well. More in the video!

Curtis Judd 5/28/16 Curtis Judd 5/28/16

Choosing Reference Monitors for Editing Sound for Video

To edit your sound for video and film projects, you’ll need some speakers to play back that sound. You could just use whatever speakers for headphones or earbuds you happen to have kicking around, but its really difficult to get a consistent sound with these.

So what do you do when you’re ready to take your sound to the next level? You may want to look at reference monitors. These are speakers which are specially designed to play back your recorded sound as accurately as possible. This will help you find and fix any problems with your sound.

In this episode, we have a look at 5 different reference monitors (below) and talk through which of them might suit you best, especially if like me, you’re editing in a small spare bedroom at your home.

If you want to measure your monitors and room, you can use the free Room EQ Wizard. Here's a tutorial on How to use Room EQ Wizard (Courtesy of GIK Acoustics)

Also, special thanks go out to B&H Photo/Video for lending us the monitors for evaluation.

Focal CMS 40 Monitor 4” woofer - this was my pick for sound editing in small rooms. Priced at $425 USD each.

Focal Alpha 80 Monitor 8” woofer - this was the most exciting monitor and would work great in larger rooms. Steer clear for smallish rooms (e.g., 6 meters by 6 meters or less)

KRK Rokit Powered 8 Monitor I’ve had a set of these for 6 years and they’ve served me well. They’re quite good in rooms with bass traps

JBL LSR308 8” woofers. They’re quite good in rooms with bass traps, but do have rear facing ports - best for larger rooms.

Yamaha HS8 Very popular monitors in the music production world. 8” woofers. They’re quite good in rooms with bass traps, but do have rear facing ports - best for larger rooms

Curtis Judd 5/28/16 Curtis Judd 5/28/16

Sound for Video Session: Choosing Audio Monitors

Here are some more thoughts on things to consider when it comes time to invest in reference near-field monitors to take your audio processing to the next level.

Curtis Judd 5/12/16 Curtis Judd 5/12/16

Record Audio Wirelessly to Your Phone: Samson Stage XPD1 Wireless USB Microphone System

Samson’s Stage XPD1 wireless USB microphone system allows you to record audio wirelessly to your phone, tablet, computer, or even to one of Samson’s Expedition PA speakers for live sound. The kit with the headset microphone is a nice option for those doing demo videos, whether that be exercise, cooking, or anything similar to that.

The headset microphone is ideal for demo videos where you’re ok with the microphone showing in the shot because it places the microphone on your cheek which results in very good sound quality and is immune to the clothes and movement noise you will often get with lavalier microphones. The kit with the headset microphone is priced at around $100 USD at the time of this review.

Curtis Judd 5/9/16 Curtis Judd 5/9/16

Linear Phase EQ Plugin Special Pricing

In our last sound for video session we covered high pass filters. One thing I showed was that applying a high pass filter can mess with your waveform's symmetry, essentially robbing you of headroom. Then I showed that the RX5 high pass filter, didn't see to have that effect.

It turns out that RX's digital high pass is what is called a "Linear Phase EQ" which means that it is generally won't change the phase of your waveform when applying a high pass. That's a good thing.

But Izotope RX is a pretty expensive piece of software and not all of us can afford that. As an alternative, I just received an email from WAVES, makers of audio plugins, with a deal today on a linear phase EQ (which includes a high pass filter) and a linear phase multiband compressor for $69. The normal pricing for these two is about $300 USD. WAVES makes quality plugins so if you are in the market, this is probably worth a look.

Curtis Judd 5/5/16 Curtis Judd 5/5/16

Why do Pros Use Zaxcom Mixers/Recorders/Wireless?

Consider this an educational piece. I am not trying to convince enthusiast and semi-pro film-makers that they need gear in this price range to make meaningful films. Instead, consider this a quick tutorial so that some day when you reach sound ninja status and you're working or assisting on a job where they are using Zaxcom gear, you'll be all set with a good overview of why they chose to use Zaxcom.

Knowledge is power. Here's some knowledge.

Again, not trying to sell here, but if you are curious about pricing, you can visit Trew Audio.

Curtis Judd 5/4/16 Curtis Judd 5/4/16

Sound for Video Session: High Pass Filters 4 May 2016

What are high pass filters and why would you want to use one? What's the difference between analogue and digital high pass filters? Which problems can they help you solve? What are the costs of using a high pass filter?

High pass filters reduce low frequency sound - bass. You can use a high pass filter to reduce low frequency rumble that your microphone picks up due to handling or wind or things like air conditioners or wind. You can also reduce proximity effect. But there are tradeoffs and not all high pass filters work the same. Details in the video!

Curtis Judd 5/1/16 Curtis Judd 5/1/16

Tentacle Sync: Simplify Sync of Audio to Video

At NAB 2016, we talked with Ulrich of Tentacle Sync about their new little timecode devices and software to simplify syncing audio to video when you recorded them separately. We know that to get the very best sound, you usually need to record your audio to a proper audio recorder, separate from the camera. But then you have the manual process of syncing the audio back up to the video in post production. Tentacle Sync makes this much simpler by automating the sync process for you, even if your camera or audio recorder don’t have timecode features.

Tentacle Sync is the result of a recent successful Indigogo campaign and it looks like their first round of product have sold out but more should be available by the end of May according to their site. Also note that the software to automatically sync is currently Mac only and is included in the kit. The kit also includes a utility for Windows which takes the camera tracks and converts the audio timecode to file timecode so that when you do import the camera footage and your audio files into your NLE (video editing app), you can sync from there (not quite as fast as the Mac app, but still much quicker than manually syncing).

Special thanks to Scott Vanderbilt who was kind enough to bring his brand new Sony FS5 camera to film this series.

You can learn more about Tentacle Sync at their site.

Curtis Judd 5/1/16 Curtis Judd 5/1/16

VideoDevices PIX-E 4K Recorders and PIX-LR XLR Audio Inputs

At NAB 2016, we talked with Jon Tatooles of VideoDevices about their PIX-E series of 4K recorders and their new PIX-LR Audio Mixer which integrates with the PIX-E recorders. The PIX-LR looks especially interesting to me and runs only $399 USD for a dual XLR input/dual XLR output audio mixer with the legendary quality Sound Devices preamplifiers, analogue limiters, high pass filters, and build quality of SoundDevices mixers and recorders.

Special thanks to Scott Vanderbilt who was kind enough to bring his brand new Sony FS5 camera to film this series.

Pricing for those interested:

Curtis Judd 4/29/16 Curtis Judd 4/29/16

Zoom F8 Firmware Update & Production Bag NAB 2016

At NAB 2016, we talked with Samuel Greene at the Zoom booth about the Zoom F8. The F8 was actually introduced at NAB 2015, but the last 12 months have seen some interesting improvements to the firmware, with a major release back in December. We cover some of the details here.

Then Samuel also gives us a quick look at the production bag they have created for the Zoom F8 which is custom fitted and keeps the overall package very compact.

Special thanks to Scott Vanderbilt who was kind enough to bring his brand new Sony FS5 camera to film this series, and haul it around most of the Las Vegas convention center.