Shotgun Microphone and Seperate Audio Input on XL2

[Don Greening]

[eyecamiam] “Are the meters the only way to judge the proper gain adjustments needed.”

As far as I know, meters are all that’s available. There are better ones out there, such as ones found on high end mixers. I generally rely on the same things you do: looking at the meters while monitoring with headphones. I find it pretty easy to hear audio clipping unless it’s really loud (such as a wedding reception) and then it’s tough to distinguish between the headphone audio and the general pounding of the room audio. Then I must rely exclusively on the camera’s VU meters.

You can buy headhpone amps to boost the signal, but some of the cheaper ones will introduce their own noise into the mix. Not that the amp noise will be recorded, rather it just make things more confusing. I guess also, listening to to audio using headphones is subjective in that different people will hear more of what’s going on at various listening levels, so headphone volume is more of a personal preference.

But you’re right in that it’s not easy to judge what’s being recorded. Mini DV camera headphone amps are notoriously inadequate and the VU meters on those same cameras are probably not sensitve enough for really professional results. You get used to it and just leave yourself enough audio headroom for the spikes that will invariably happen. This usually results in audio levels that are a bit too low, but I guess that’s why they invented programs like Soundtrack Pro for fixing stuff like that.

– Don

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[Craig Alan]

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[Ty Ford]

Using a good mixer with good preamps and good limiters is very helpful when trying to get the best audio.

You want to be as high above the noise floor as possible but below clipping. Record too low, you’re in the noise. Record too hot, you clip. That’s the balance.

A good limiter in a mixer allows you to run higher levels without the fear of clipping.

A good mixer also shows RMS (average) and peak audio readings simultaneously. You need to keep an eye out for the peaks. Each person speaking may have a slightly different RMS to peak ratio. It’s actually, quite amazing how different human voices can be.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com