Zoom U-44 Record 4 XLR Mics to Your Computer or iPad

At NAB 2016, we talked with Samuel Greene at the Zoom booth about an interesting new portable audio interface which allows you to record high quality audio from XLR based microphones directly to your computer or iPad - the Zoom U-44. The preamplifers in the U-44 are based on the same design as those in the H6 so they’re quite good based on our previous review. You can also connect any of the Zoom microphones originally designed for the H6 and H5, including the module to add two additional XLR/TRS inputs. And keeping with Zoom’s tradition, the U-44 is aggressively priced at $199 USD and will begin shipping in May 2016.

At the same time, Zoom will also release a two input version (does not have the accessory jack) for only $149 USD - the Zoom U-24.

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

Sound for Video Session: Skills vs Gear and Q&A

In this session we covered a couple of your questions and had another shot on the topic of equipment vs skill. On my recent trip to NAB, I had a great conversation with Senator Mike Michaels, an incredibly experienced sound mixer for film and TV and had some great insights based on things he said. His interview will be posted sometime in the next week or two.

Happy recording in the meantime!

Sony Wireless Audio 2 Mics 1 Receiver URX-P03D

At NAB 2016, we talked with Andy at the Sony booth about an interesting new wireless audio receiver: URX-P03D which is part of their larger UWP-D wireless audio ecosystem. The thing that is most exciting about this receiver is that it can receive audio from two separate transmitters. For those shooting with Sony’s alpha series of mirrorless cameras, you can now capture audio from two separate people/transmitters just by mounting this in the hot-shoe of your camera without any bothersome wires. Additionally, you can always send a 3.5mm line output to a proper mixer or non-Sony camera. And as an added bonus, there are a few additional ports on the receiver that make it even more useful: A 3.5mm headphone jack to monitor audio, and an additional 3.5mm stereo microphone input so you can actually record two transmitter body packs plus an additional mic attached to the receiver. Looks like an interesting addition to the Sony wireless audio system which solves a serious practical issue: How do I record two people with wireless lavalier mics?

Pricing looks to be $999 USD and should start shipping in August. It is a little on the pricey side but this is a pro-level receiver with line level outputs unlike kits like the RODELink which only outputs mic level signal (and thus requires an amplifier).

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

Sound for Video Session: Setting up Your Recorder or Mixer

This week, more requests for "How do I set up my recorder?" My goal is to help you understand the concepts so that you can set up ANY recorder/mixer.

We gave examples using the Tascam DR-60DmkII and Zoom F8 but the settings are similar on all recorders.

The main settings you need to set: 

1) Record format: WAV or BWF (on the Zoom F8, this is the default so you don't have to set this up)

2) What to record - tell it how many channels (on the Tascam) or on the Zoom F8, tell it whether you want just the ISO channels or ISO + a stereo mix (L & R channels). Remember that if you have a recorder like the F8 which is also a mixer, the faders affect the levels of the sound in the stereo mix track, not in the ISO tracks.

3) Sample Rate: 48kHz for broadcast, 44.1kHz if for YouTube or other online distribution

4) Bit Rate - 24 bit. I do this because then I have more room in post to process the audio. if you choose 16 bit, your audio files will be smaller, but you'll potentially have a harder time doing things like noise reduction.

5) Gain (sometimes called input or level) - set this until the peak meters show the loudest parts hitting -12dB. Of course your talent needs to talk while you get this set. Typically I'm looking for them to talk for 30 seconds so that I feel comfortable

Sound for Video Session: Dynamic Microphones for Voice Over and Narration

This week talked about the advantages of using dynamic microphones for voice over - Things like the Electrovoice RE20, Shure SM7B or even the humble Shure SM58.

Because many of us record voice over or narration outside of formal recording studios, a dynamic microphone can actually be an advantage over the more sensitive condenser microphones we typically use. This is because homes, offices, and other locations are generally not acoustically treated or designed. The result with a condenser mic is that you often end up with the microphone capturing every little nuance, especially when that room is particularly reverberant.

Dynamic microphones with their less sensitive, un-powered capsules pick up less of that reberb and other noise. The only downside is that dynamic microphones need a lot of amplification in your pre-amp to produce a strong enough signal. So you either need a good solid pre-amp/recorder/audio interface with plenty of gain, or you might want to add an additional amplifier to your signal chain. The Cloudlifer and Fethead in-line amplifiers make this easy - you just need to plug them in between your mic and recorder and you'll have plenty of gain to work with in most cases.

And here are some of the microphones and amplifiers we discussed:

Shure SM58
Shure SM57
Audio Technica AT2005
Audio Technica ATR2100
Shure SM7B
Electrovoice RE20
Cloudlifter CL-1 (adds 25dB gain to amplify your dynamic microphone if your recorder or audio interface doesn't have enough gain)
Fethead (similar to the Cloudlifter, slightly less expensive)
 

Better Sound: How to Boom Your Camera Shotgun Mic

When you bought your camera-top shotgun microphone, like a RODE VideoMic Pro, you were expecting to get much better sound. But if you’re shooting a talking head or interview type of video, you may have been disappointed at the results when the mic was mounted on top of the camera.

The secret to getting much better dialogue sound from mics like this is to get the microphone much closer to the talent and boom it from above, pointing down at a 45 degree angle. You’ll generally want to get the mic within 40 - 60cm of the mouth of the person speaking, if you can.

In this episode, we cover how to boom your mic like this so that you’ll get much better dialogue sound. We also quickly discuss the gear you’ll need to make this work.

So here's the list of gear you'll need to make this work:

• On-stage Microphone Boom Stand - ~$25 USD, I've had mine for over five years and it has seen a lot of use, and is holding up nicely. Mostly metal and not to bad to transport for location shoots
• Adapter for your particular microphone to attach it to the mic stand. If you have a RODE VideoMic Pro, you'll want this 3/8" to 5/8" adapter. Most other mics have 1/4" threaded taps so you'll need this 1/4" to 5/8" adapter.
• RODE VC1 Extension Cable. Now that you've boomed the mic much closer to the person speaking, you'll need a way to connect the mic's 3.5mm plug to your camera or audio recorder. This is the one I use and it is about three meters long.

Optional items (but I recommend the sandbags or some other creative way to stabilize your mic stand)

• Saddle Style Sand Bags to stabilize the mic stand. You provide the sand and I highly recommend that you put the sand in heavy ziploc style bags first, then put the ziploc into these saddle bags. You'll have far fewer spills. And spouses and property owners aren't usually too thrilled when you spill sand all over their wood floor. :)
• If your microphone doesn't have a threaded tap on the bottom, only a coldshoe mount, you will also need an adapter like this.

Happy recording with much better sounding dialogue audio!

SoundWorks Collection: Dialog Editing & ADR Featuring Gwen Yates Whittle

If you haven't heard of the SoundWorks Collection and you are an audio for film enthusiast, you might like to have a look at the great content they create for film sound students like us. One of the things I've found very interesting and informative is their Conversations with Sound Artist Podcasts which is sponsored by the Dolby Institute. In this episode, for example, Glenn Kiser interviews dialogue editor Gwen Yates Whittle who has worked on a number of large films that you have probably seen.

Saramonic Vmic Shotgun Microphone Overview

If you’re ready to upgrade the quality of your sound for video, one of the easiest and most affordable ways to do that is with a small shotgun microphone which attaches to the shoe mount of your camera. Saramonic just released a new mic in this category which they call the Vmic. It is affordably priced yet manages to produce very impressive, clean sound. For even better dialogue recordings, I also demonstrate how it sounds when boomed about 40cm above your talent. Pretty amazing for the price point which is $119 USD at the time of the review.

Sound for Video Session: Setting Gain or Gain Staging

When first learning the art of dialogue sound recording, one of the more mysterious matters is setting up your gain. What is gain? What is trim? What is a pot(entiometer)? What is a fader?

In this session, we introduce the concepts and put you on the path to getting things set up for the best possible dialogue recording.

Sound for Video Session: Preventing Noise When Recording

Last session we talked about the sources of noise and how to measure it. This week covered a few strategies for reducing noise while recording: Sound blankets and high pass filters.