Sound for Video, Sound Session Curtis Judd Sound for Video, Sound Session Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Wireless Hop from Mixer/Recorder to Camera with Sennheiser G3

In this week’s sound for video session we had a chat with Gregg Palmer, one of our friends and fellow sound mixers from Oregon. Gregg explains his experience using Sennheiser G3 wireless systems to send audio from your recorder/mixer to the cameras so that they also record high quality production sound.

Greg discusses the following gear:

Sennheiser G3 Wireless Lavalier System (Be sure to research whether this frequency band can be used in your local area)

Cable to Adapt from G3 Receiver to XLR input for Camera (if your camera has an XLR input)

Cable to send audio from Zoom F8 or F4 to G3 Transmitter and from G3 to camera

Sennheiser AVX Wireless Lavalier Kit (MKE2 Microphone)

Ethics statement: Some of the links above are affiliate links which means that if you click on them and buy, I get a small commission. You don't pay more by clicking these links than if you just went to the retailer’s web site on your own. I use the proceeds to buy additional gear to review and help you improve your sound, lighting, and video. Thanks for your support!

*Added 2 Jan 2017*

Mark Kirchner added additional technical information for those who would like to use this method to optimize the signal from the mixer to the transmitter:

Your guest on your G3 hop video can optimize the signal with a custom cable to turn his transmitter into a hop-transmitter that will receive a "tape level -15 dB audio signal. The wiring on the TX side should not be soldered to the tip of the TRS plug. The transmitter want to "see" a mono "unbalanced" signal, not a L/R signal like your video guest was sending it using stock TRS to TRS mini 3.5 plugs. E.T. designed this cable for me to "sum" the left/right channel(left/right mix-bus) to the G3 transmitter.  The audio signal leaves the mixer as L/R unbalanced signal (tape level -15 dB). To use this tape level signal correctly it must be sent (soldered) to the "ring" of the TRS plug.  If you like I will make you one for free for your Sound Devices 633 and then you can try it with a G3 TX and RX yourself.

The following are notes from a conversation with E.T. He designed this cable. I know you are not a "soldering guy" and purchase your XLR cables. It will take awhile to understand what I have written. Unity Gain, Reference Level, Gain Staging and Unbalanced/Balanced are concepts that take time, but worth the struggle to put them into the old gray matter. You might find it helpful to draw a diagram of the 2 connectors, using colored pens and different colors for each conductor.

Last, my family roots come from Grantsville Utah. There was a film made about my second cousin Kimball Johnson called "Pigweed Philosopher." Check it out it is about film-making. If you have been to Grantsville, you may have seen the old Victorian house on main street. That's the Johnson house, our family house. I saw you have not been on this sight in a while, so this letter may find you in 2017.

Best,

Mark Kirchner mkirchnersound@gmail.com

PS Thank you for interviewing "The Senator" Mike Michaels!

 

WIRELESS HOP from the 442 MIXER w/ SENNHEISER G3

Set-up

1.    Use the Sound Devices 442 Tape/Mix out (TA3) connector.

2.    Tape/Mix Out = -10 dB *

3.    Use Custom E.T. Mix-Out Hop Cable**

4.    Connect 442 to the G3 Tx

5.    Starting recommendations from E.T.; settings for the Tx –12 dB sensitivity.

6.    Set the Rx about the same and test.

*The Tape/Mix out of the 442 sends both left and right signals at a –14 dB level if the mixer is set for a "0" dBu reference level. All left channel assignments (channels 1-4 on the 442 mixer) will be “mixed” and output as a discrete “mixed left channel.” The right channel will mix all right channel assignments.

**The E.T. Hop Cable sends a unbalanced, left and right signal to a TRS connector, assigning the left and right signals to a single terminal (ring) on the TRS connector making a “summed mono signal” that the Sennheiser G3 transmitter needs for the proper signal input.

Note; The Sound Devices manual for the 442 mixer lists the maximum output level for the Tape/Mix Out as follows.

Page 24  Tape/Mix Out +6 dBu

Page 26  Block Diagram Inputs and Outputs

The schematic diagram (page 26) displays the Mic / Tape / Line  as  0/-14/-40 which should be written as Mic – 40 / Tape – 14 / Line “0” .

A “Tape Level Signal” is normally –10dBu. The designation of “tape level as –14” is based on an “0” dBu reference level. The Sound Devices schematic is based on a “0 dBu” reference level (-14 dBu @ “0” reference level = -10dBu @ +4 dBu reference level).

E.T. WIRELESS HOP CABLE (Sennheiser G3)

This cable was engineered for use with the Sound Devices 442* “mix/tape out” output on the TA3 output.

 

TA3f Connector

Redco TGS-1 Cable (2 conductors + shield and drain)

TRS 3.5 Mini locking connector

 

TA3f connector (output)

 

Pin 1 Ground  (Eric used drain wire)

Pin 2 Signal (+) red conductor (Left)

Pin 3 Return (-) clear conductor (Right)

 

 

TRS 3.5 Mini Connector **

 

Tip        No Connection

Ring      Signal and Return (+ @ -)

Sleeve   Ground (drain wire)

 

Notes:

*The Tape/Mix out of the 442 sends both left and right signals at a –14 dB level. All left channel assignments (channels 1-4 on the 442 mixer) will be “mixed” and output as a discrete “mixed left channel.” The right channel will mix all right channel assignments.

**The E.T. Hop Cable sends an unbalanced, left and right signal to a TRS connector, assigning both left and right channels to a single terminal (ring) on the TRS connector making a “summed mono signal” that the Sennheiser G3 transmitter needs for the proper signal input.

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Audio Gear, Sound for Video Curtis Judd Audio Gear, Sound for Video Curtis Judd

Tascam DR-10L Micro Recorder and Lavalier Review

If you need to record audio wirelessly but you don’t have a lot of money and you want to make sure you get the best possible audio quality, the Tascam DR-10L is worth a look. It is not a traditional wireless lavalier microphone kit. Instead of transmitting the audio to your camera, it records the audio. Then when editing your video, you simply sync the audio from your Tascam to the video recorded by your camera. Don’t worry, it isn’t hard as you can see here:

The audio quality of the Tascam is quite good, especially if you place the lavalier microphone on the talent’s forehead or their ear. I know, that sounds like crazy talk, but it sounds much better than on the talent’s chest. Try it some time!

The DR-10L has a solid feature set on the most critical things. Battery life is good at 7 hours on a single AAA alkaline battery (longer on Ni-MH or lithium), easy to use controls, a useful screen, a locking plug for the microphone, and more. Let’s have a closer look!

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Audio, Sound for Video, Sound Session Curtis Judd Audio, Sound for Video, Sound Session Curtis Judd

Demo: Mixing Sound for a Short Film in Adobe Audition

In this week’s sound for video session I demonstrate how I mixed a recent short film from my friend Levi Whitney with Uphill Cinema - http://uphillcinema.com

I recorded the production sound. Levi directed and DP’d.

In this demo, I quickly demonstrate the overall idea of mixing dialogue, music, and effects for a short film. For serious projects I would definitely spend more time on the details but wanted to give you a quick example to show the basics. I hope you find it useful!

Gear Used:

Audio Technica AT4053b Hyper-Cardioid Microphone (the dialogue and effects in the film were recorded with this)

Sound Devices 633 Field Mixer/Recorder (the film sound was recorded with the 633)

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

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

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Sound Session, Sound for Video Curtis Judd Sound Session, Sound for Video Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: EQ Basics

In this week’s sound for video session we cover the basics of EQ, a tool in your audio post-production kit. In this case, we’ll use Adobe Audition’s stock parametric EQ.

Apologies for my poor microphone technique which makes the loudness inconsistent. Also had to contend with a fair bit of noise in this recording - I was a little pressed for time and recorded in a busy office environment. Ah, the real world!

I hope things are going well and that you're learning more about audio. Happy Holidays!

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Audio Gear, Sound for Video, Technique Curtis Judd Audio Gear, Sound for Video, Technique Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Timecode Demonstration

First, for those I haven't somehow managed to tell yet, I have a couple of courses on sound for video - one on recording and one on post processing. Please have a look at them over at School.LearnLightAndSound.com.

In this week's session, we demonstrate how free-run timecode works. For those not familiar with timecode, this allows you to more efficiently sync your separately recorded video and sound clips before editing your video. It works by syncing up your camera(s) and audio recorder with the help of timecode generator clocks.

In this demonstration, we show how to do this with a Tentacle Sync, a MozeGear TIG Q28, and a Sound Devices 633 recorder. If your recorder does not have a timecode generator built-in, you can still do this by connecting another timecode generator (like the Tentacle or MozeGear) to your recorder.

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Sound for Video Session: Reduce Reverb, Lavalier Clothing Noise, Record Live Acoustic Bands

In this week's episode, we cover questions on these topics and more:

- How to reduce reverb in rooms with lots of hard surfaces
- Are there any special techniques for reducing clothing noise when hiding a lavalier mic under clothes
- Thoughts on recording live acoustic music groups

Here are links to a few videos we mentioned:

Using sound blankets to reduce reverb

Audio Recorders

Microphones

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Zoom F4 Limiters and Timecode Accuracy

Last week we did an overview of the new Zoom F4 audio field recorder. This is an impressive prosumer audio recorder designed for independent and enthusiast filmmakers with 4 microphone inputs and 8 track recorder.

This week, we look a little more in depth at the F4’s limiters and timecode accuracy. Don’t worry if you don’t know what all that means, we’ll run through what they are and how they can help you make better sounding recordings with less effort.

Here's what I hope you'll take away from this: The Zoom F4 is a really impressive, reasonably priced recorder. While it's limiters are digital, it doesn't seem to need limiters in very many situations because it seems, subjectively, to have an incredible amount of dynamic range for a recorder in this price range. Also, the timecode clock seems really, really solid and accurate. Wow. Good show, Zoom!

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