Sound for Video Session: ZOOM vs Sound Devices, Timecode Generators, Essential Gear & More
In this week’s sound for video session, we answer your questions!
00:40 Zoom F8 or Sound Devices MixPre-10T if I also record music?
03:29 Zoom F8n vs Sound Devices MixPre & getting location sound jobs
08:54 Choosing Timecode Generators: NanoLockit, Tentacle Sync E, Timecode Systems
13:12 Wired Lavalier recommendation (Audio Technica AT899)
14:01 Batteries for powering recorders with hirose power inputs
16:15 Recording audience at live performance
18:10 Essential gear for location sound
Previous episodes referenced - Sound Bag Tour:
Recording live performance sound with Mike Stranks:
Ambient Sound NanoLockit:
Tentacle Sync E:
Timecode Systems Overview:
Sound Blanekts:
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
Audio Technica AT899 Wired Lavalier microphone
JuiceBox V-Mount Battery & Charger
Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone - used to record this session
Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro Camera - Used for the talking head clips
AJA U-Tap SDI - Turns any camera with an SDI output into a webcam. Used to record the talking head clip
Sound Devices 633 Audio Recorder/Mixer - Used this as the preamp for the microphone and then fed the audio to the camera in this episode
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Outro music licensed from Artlist: Sunday by Young Rich Pixies - Amazing Journey. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.
Sound for Video Session: Fairlight Audio First Impressions
In this week’s Sound for Video Session, we take a first look at DaVinci Resolve 15 Beta’s Fairlight audio panel. This is a full-fledged digital audio workstation (DAW) within a comprehensive video editing, compositing, grading, and finishing application. We aren’t going to dig into all the details, but try to answer the question about whether one can now switch to DaVinci Resolve for audio mixing? The answer is different for everyone, but I hope you find this helpful in making the decision for yourself.
**Update: Several astute viewers have pointed out that you can set the loudness target (LUFS) in the settings. That's great news! It still is not an offline process - still need to play through the entire piece - but it is a step in the right direction.
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
DaVinci Resolve with Fairlight Audio (beta or production and free or Studio versions)
Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone
Allen & Heath SQ5 Digital Mixer/Audio Interface - This is my first time using this to record a Sound for Video Session. Seems like it worked nicely.
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Outro music licensed from Artlist: Keep an Eye by Back to Dream. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.
Zoom F8n Audio Recorder: Initial Impressions
At the National Association of Broadcasters meeting earlier this year, Zoom announced their update to the F8 audio field recorder - the F8n. The focus of this update was to address many of the things that users complained about on the original - hybrid limiters that were ok, but not perfect, line inputs only on 1/4”, mediocre headphone amp, and consumer line level output among others. I had a chance to work with the F8n for a few hours. Let’s see how they did addressing these items. From my point of view, it looks like the F8n is a very nice step up from the original F8.
Links to gear discussed and used to shoot this episode:
Zoom F8n Audio Field Recorder
Zoom F4 Audio Field Recorder (similar but with 4 microphone inputs, monochrome screen, no app control)
Zoom F-Control surface with linear faders - my favorite way to mix when working from a table or cart.
Juicebox V-Mount Cine Battery - good way to power the F8n, F4, F8 all day long
D-tap to 4 pin Hirose Cable - to feed power from cine battery to F8n, F8, F4
Remote Audio BDS V4 Battery Distribution System
Remote Audio Hi-Q Battery (98 watt-hours) - this is a battery that is better suited for use in a sound bag, smaller than most cine batteries but still lots of capacity
Sennheiser MKH8050 Boom Microphone - this is the microphone I used
Schoeps CMC641 - this is the microphone my daughter used
Aputure COB 120t - This is the light I used as a key in the talking head clips
Aputure Light Dome Soft Box - Used to soften the key light
Lupo DayLED Fresnel Light with Barn Doors - Used for the “rim/hair” light
Blackmagic design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - used for the talking head clips and some of the product shots
Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 OS Lens (Canon EF Mount)
Panasonic GH5 - Used for some of the product shots, the crispier shots
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5 most of the time
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission
Sound Bag Tour
Let’s take a look at my sound bag setup. If you’ve never used a sound bag for your audio recorder/mixer, my hope is that this will give you some ideas on how to set yours up so that you’re comfortable and able to record some great sound for your film project.
Links to gear discussed and used to shoot this episode:
Orca OR-30 Audio Mixer Bag
Sound Devices 633 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Audio Limited A10 Dual Channel Receiver - with pro wireless systems, you buy each piece separately
Audio Limited A10 Transmitter (version for bag use)
DPA 4160 Lavalier Microphone - Great lavalier microphone but a little too sensitive to my sibilance. Will need to bury it under more clothes next time. You will also need the microdot adapter for your particular wireless system.
Remote Audio BDS V4 Battery Distribution System - you'll also need cables for the battery and each device that you're going to power.
Remote Audio Hi-Q Battery (98 watt-hours)
Sony MDR7506 Headphones - a little on the bass heavy side, but very comfortable and they fold when transporting so these are usually what I use on production days (but not for mixing in post)
Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro (80 ohm) Headphones - also very good, even more comfortable and better outside sound isolation, not as bass heavy, but they don't fold. Sometimes I just want the greater comfort these have to offer.
Aputure COB 120t LED Light - still my go-to key light
Aputure Light Dome Soft Box - Used to soften the key light
Lupo DayLED Fresnel Light with Barn Doors - Used to light the battery charger, for a focused, moody look
Blackmagic design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - used for some of the product shots
Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 OS Lens (Canon EF Mount)
Panasonic GH5 - Used for some of the product shots
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5 most of the time
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission
Consumer vs Pro Wireless Microphone Systems
Why do professional level wireless microphone systems cost so much? Do they just have audio quality that is that much better? Or are there other features that pros need that enthusiast filmmakers don’t need? What am I missing if I go for one of the consumer/prosumer wireless systems?
In this episode we explore these questions by talking about 3 wireless microphone systems I use: RODELink, Sennheiser G3 (and now G4), and the Audio Limited A10 system. We clarify the important differences so you can understand when a consumer grade wireless system is everything you need for your projects and when it might make sense to rent or buy a pro-level wireless system.
Links to gear discussed and used to shoot this episode:
RODELink Filmmaker Kit - Good digital wireless consumer/prosumer system - Been a useful part of my kit for 3 years.
Sennheiser G4 112P - Good analogue prosumer wireless system (If you buy this, be sure to choose the block that is legal to use in your locality. Buy through a dealer that can help you if you’re not sure. Also, it does not appear that the older G3 is retailing for less at this point. I’d go for the G4. The technical differences are negligible):
Audio Limited A10 Dual Channel Receiver - Pro level all-digital wireless system for lavalier and boom microphones. This receiver supports two channels (i.e., two separate transmitters can transmit to this receiver which then sends two separate audio channels to your audio mixer/recorder).
Audio Limited A10 Transmitter - body pack transmitter for the all-digital A10 wireless microphone system. This supports lavalier microphones plus boom microphones, even those needing phantom power (via 3-pin lemo to XLR adapter cable)
Sennheiser MKH 8050 Microphone - used to record this entire episode
Aputure COB 120t - This is the light I used as a key in the talking head clips
Aputure Light Dome Soft Box - Used to soften the key light
Lupo DayLED Fresnel Light with Barn Doors - Used for the “rim/hair” light
650, 1000, & 2000 in daylight, tungsten, or bi-color
Blackmagic design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - used for the talking head shots in this episode
Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 OS Lens (Canon EF Mount)
Panasonic GH5 - Used for some of the product shots
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5 most of the time
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission
Timecode Systems Demo: Pulse, UltraSync One, SyncBac Pro
In this week’s Sound for Video Session, we demonstrate how timecode works with the Timecode Systems series of timecode generators and wireless sync devices: Pulse, UltraSync One, and SyncBac Pro. In addition to wireless syncing which keeps all of the timecode generators for each cinema, DSLR, or mirrorless camera and audio recorder perfectly in sync, the SyncBac Pro also allows you to use GoPros to perfectly sync the footage and audio from all of your cameras. With reality shoots being so common these days, having a good option for automated synchronization is something I wanted to show you.
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
UltraSync One Wireless Timecode Generator for cinema, DSLR, and mirrorless hybrid cameras
SyncBac Pro Wireless Timecode Generator for GoPro Cameras
SyncBac Pro for Hero 4
SyncBac Pro for Hero 6
:pulse wireless basestation - Transmit timecode from your bag or cart to all of the Timecode Systems devices on set & control your Sound Devices 6xx series mixer/recorder (with ethernet ports to hardwire connect to your Mac, and soon, PC)
:wave wireless basestation - Transmit timecode from your bag or cart to all of the Timecode Systems devices on set & control your Sound Devices 6xx series mixer/recorder (without ethernet ports)
Sound Devices 633 Mixer/Recorder - My main production audio recorder/mixer
Sennheiser MKH 8050 - This is the microphone I used to record this session
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Outro music licensed from Artlist: Keep an Eye by Back to Dream. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects.
Sound for Video Session: Microphone Preamp Self-Noise
In this week’s Sound for Video Session, Julian Krause joins us to talk about pre-amplifier self-noise and other places in the audio signal chain where self-noise can be generated. My hope is that this will help inform where you may want to invest in your audio gear to solve any self-noise issues you’re experiencing.
Julian’s videos on self-noise:
How to measure preamp self noise
Preamplifier noise explained
Comparison of self noise on 4 preamps
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
Zoom H5 Audio Recorder
Sound Devices MixPre-6
Sound Devices MixPre-3
Zoom F8
Zoom F4
Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Microphone - used to record this session
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Outro music licensed from Artlist: Keep an Eye by Back to Dream. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.
Sound for Video Session: Q&A Stretch Time & Pitch, Poly Wav, Balanced vs Unbalanced, Zoom F4n
In this week’s Sound for Video Session, we cover the following topics:
0:11 Retime & Pitch Shift to fix an old recording
1:35 Resompling
3:00 Poly Wav Files
6:40 Unbalanced vs Balanced Cables/Interconnects
9:03 Zoom F4n?
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
Difference between balanced and unbalanced cables/interconnects
Wave Agent application from Sound Devices:
Zoom F8 Audio Recorder
Zoom F4 Audio Recorder
Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Microphone - used to record this session
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Outro music licensed from Artlist: Keep an Eye by Back to Dream. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.
Sound for Video Session: Headphone and Output Routing Demo - Zoom F8 Recorder
On your audio recorder, what is headphone routing? What about output routing? And why would you want to change it? In this session, we cover the purposes of routing and show a couple of examples of routing for specific production situations. We demonstrate this on the Zoom F8, but the same principles apply on the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders as well as the professional level recorders from Sound Devices, Zaxcom, and others.
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
Zoom F8 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Zoom F4 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Sound Devices MixPre-3 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Sound Devices MixPre-6 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Recorder/Mixer
Sanken COS-11D Lavalier Microphone- used to record my voice in this session
Sennheiser G3 Wireless Microphone System (you will need to buy the right frequency block for your region - call B&H if you need help)
Sound Devices 633 Mixer/Recorder
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission
Record Live Event Sound from a Mixing Board
How do you record sound from a mixing board at a live event? Here are the basics!
Recorders I’ve used and that can record line level from a mixing board (links to B&H, Amazon, or DVeStore):
Zoom H4n Pro (use 1/4” input only)
Zoom H5 (use 1/4” input only)
Zoom H6 (use 1/4” input only)
Tascam DR-60DmkII
Tascam DR-70D
Tascam DR-701D
Zoom F4 (use 1/4” input only)
Zoom F8 (use 1/4” input only)
Sound Devices MixPre-3
Sound Devices MixPre-6
Sound Devices MixPre-10T
Sound Devices 633
XLR Female to 1/4” TRS Cable (XLR connects to mixing board, 1/4” to your recorder. Good choice for Zoom recorders)
XLR to XLR Cable (do NOT use this cable for Zoom recorders)
Radial Engineering Ice Cube Line Isolator/Transformer (need 2 for stereo mixes, one for mono)
Blackmagic design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - used for the talking head shots in this episode
Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 OS Lens (Canon EF Mount for the Ursa Mini Pro)
Panasonic GH5 - Used for some of the product shots
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5 most of the time
There are more sophisticated live show recording techniques. We discussed some of these with Mike Stranks here:
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission
