Sound for Video Session: AES3 Digital, Ursa Mini Pro, EV RE50L, RODE Reporter and iXLR
In this week's Sound for Video Session we take a quick look at sending digital audio to camera using AES3 and also a couple of reporter's microphones.
Links:
Wikipedia article on AES3 Digital Audio
Sanken CSS-50 Short Shotgun Stereo Microphone - the episode was recorded with this microphone. This one is really nice but in reverberant spaces like this little room, it has a tough go with phase issues and comb filtering. Can't wait to test it outdoors.
RODE Reporter Microphone - Getting ready for interviews on the show floor at National Association of Broadcasters again this year. Will be giving this a try. Last year we used the Sennheiser MD46 which worked pretty well but still suffered from some handling noise. Hoping this might solve that problem.
Electrovoice RE50L Dynamic Reporter's Microphone - And this is the other reporter's mic we'll by trying at NAB. Both this and the RODE are dynamic microphones with omni-directional pickup patterns. While I get why they are dynamic (helps reduce pickup of ambient noise in the background), I was surprised to learn that they have omni-directional pickup patterns. I would have expected cardioid to help focus the mic and avoid noise. Instead, the design seems to rely on the dynamic capsule to manage noise and keeps the pickup pattern open so that the reporter doesn't have to move the mic as much. Looking forward to seeing how well they work on a noisy show floor.
RODE iXLR Microphone Interface for iOS Recording - This is what I plan to use to record the sound for the interviews at NAB this year. Not sure the cable is long enough to use the phone as the camera, but we're going to give it a shot and see what happens.
Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro (Recorded the talking head portion with this camera) - My new main camera. One of my favorite features is that it takes AES3 digital audio from a mixer or microphone which can send digital audio. That means that the camera doesn't do the typically mediocre job of recording sound, now it can take top-notch sound from a pro-grade mixer or mic and just record the digital bits along with the video clips. Now we get the best of both worlds - amazing visuals from the camera and top-notch audio quality from my Sound Devices 633 all in a single file ready for edit.
Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer & Recorder - just tested the AES3 output for the first time this week and WOW! This solves another big problem. Now I get audio perfectly synced to video with my Ursa Mini Pro. Yay for more efficient workflows!
Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd
Limiters for Recording Sound: Analogue vs Digital
When recording sound for video, is there a difference between analogue and digital limiters? If so, should you upgrade your recorder? Here’s an example and my thoughts.
The samples were recorded with the following:
Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer/Recorder (My pro-level recorder/mixer)
Zoom F8 Audio Recorder (My favorite in the $1000 USD range)
Tascam DR-60DmkII Audio Recorder (My favorite in the sub $200 range)
What is striking to me is that if you're careful and willing/able to do retakes more often, you can get recordings that sound almost as good on a $200 USD recorder as on a $3200 USD recorder. But if you're working for a paying customer, retakes may make you look less than professional and possibly even cost you your next job. That's where a limiter can save you.
But if you're not paid for your recordings, don't sweat it! Besides, not having an analogue limiter forces you to be very careful and learn to be a ninja quality sound guy.
