-
Should I be using multiple mics to record dialogue and sound effects?
-
Oh yes, I have Audition as well. But I could just ask the music composer to just give me two separate tracks rather than a stereo track that is together, if that is better.
-
Sorry I missed this thread!
The overall issue is this.
If you want your portrait painted – hiring a house painter to do it is a really bad strategy.
So is asking a band recordist to tell you how to do a video shoot.
It’s pretty much that simple.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
Oh okay. I didn’t actually ask them they just kind of asked me what I was doing and chimed in to correct me, once I told them I was not recording surround sound during production.
-
I almost hate to chime in because your getting pretty good advice overall, but I have to mention that mixing a movie in 5.1 is so much better in Audition or Pro Tools HD because you can pan any type of file (mono, stereo or surround) into any speaker in your 5.1 mix. I don’t know if Premiere allows that easily or not. Which means a stereo music file can be panned into the rear and sub channels as well which you definitely want to do.
Also, whenever possible, capture a minute or more of the room tone in stereo where your scenes are being shot. That means you will record it when there is quiet – no acting or any other activity happening (like an empty room). Recording room ambience in stereo gives your mix depth and you should also pan the room tone into the center dialog channel to blend with the dialog. Then you fly in the room tone underneath dialog in post to smooth out the dialog edit. Don’t add dialog to any other speaker except the center.
Here’s a general rule of thumb channel routing for your elements:
1. Dialog Mono center only
2. Foley and Ambience (room tone) Stereo left and right and center at 50-75% of that
3. SFX Stereo left and right, also add to sub channel to taste (like, explosions need some sub but not every sfx does)
4. Music Stereo left and right and rear left and rear right at 25-50% of that, also add to sub channel to tasteGood luck!
I hear everything 😉
-
Okay thank you very much! In Premiere, if you can pan to different speakers, but there are some work arounds you have to do if the tracks are mono and not already in 5.1, as it seems so far.
I could try using Audition instead, thanks! Also, I’ve been recording room tone for all my shoots so far, but I always record the room tone in mono. Is there a reason to record it in stereo? I don’t really have a field recorder set up that allows for stereo, and it just records mono tracks. But is there a reason why stereo room tone, is better than mono room tone?
-
You can record room in mono and it will work just fine.
I use a little handheld Zoom H4n for recording room tone and foley sfx with it’s built in stereo microphones. It sounds just a little more real, in my opinion.I hear everything 😉
-
Hello Daniel, et al,
Room tone is actually a minor misnomer. Room tone also includes the sound of the mic electronics.
Room tone often sounds different in different parts of a room. As such, if I need it, I record in every setup, either before we roll or after.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum LeaderWant better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog -
Hello Ryan,
Because Room Tone is used to fill digital silences, it’d typical to record Room Tone with whatever mic you’re using for dialog, if it’s a dialog scene.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum LeaderWant better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog -
Yeah this is what I have learned as well, to record room tone for every shot set up, if that’s right.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up