Bouncing Account needs new email address
Forum Replies Created
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From your description, the mic is outputting (oddly enough) a mic-level (low) signal.
(Some wireless mics have a switch to determine whether it outputs Mic-level or Line-level. Are you sure yours does not?)The computer input is obviously Line-level (which is much “hotter” [louder] than Mic-level.)
(Some computers have a software adjustment to determine whether it inputs Mic-level or Line-level. Are you sure yours does not?)If you have no way to switch either device, you need to buy a small “Mic-level” input device for the computer.
https://www.camcor.com/cgi-bin/cat/id=1050334494
This is a reliable inexpensive unit.
You can Google for others. -
[Redflag] “a bit high tech for me to be honest,but I think I get the picture.”
Sorry if it was a bit “involved”, but I’ve found that if I just give a “the buzz is from the cables” kind of answer, many times a forum “troll” will respond with a “you don’t know enough to answer this” kind of response.
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[Redflag] “Why can being powered from the mains cause hum like this? sorry off the point but I,ve never heard of this.”
Well, under “normal” conditions, it should not cause this.
Most indoor and many outdoor shoots have the camcorder connected to the AC supply and there is no reason that this should be the direct CAUSE of a hum.But…
There is a condition called a “ground-loop” (“earth-loop”) that manifests when one component of a an electrical combo is grounded (earthed) to one potential of electricity-supply and another component in the same combo is grounded to another “level” of power potential.
In short, this will cause a “rogue” current that runs through the ground-earth-shield of the cables connecting the components together.
This current can be from AC lines or RF (radio frequency) induced by proximity to a generating source. That’s why there can be hum present under battery-operated conditions as well.Once flowing, the current’s frequency (commonly a tone that we call a “hum”) can be amplified by the audio circuits and recorded to tape.
Rearranging how the mic cables are laid-out, adding in-line “hum-buckers” (transformers that isolate the shield of one end of a cable from the other), or “Ground (earth)-lifts” (they simply disconnect one end of the cable’s shield) the “loop” (current flow) can be eliminated and stop the hum.
Another source of hum can come from using “unbalanced” mic cables (one inner conductor surrounded by a shield). With unbalanced, the shield is fully connected to the audio section and is involved in carrying the actual audio signal.
If there’s any extraneous hum-generated through (or NEAR) the cable, the shield is not very effective in isolating it.By using “balanced” mic cables (2 inner conductors surrounded by a shield). The audio signal is only carried by the 2 conductors and the shield has much more ability to reduce outside interference.
In “phantom-powered” microphones, the shield also is used as the “neutral” of the current to power the mic’s built-in amplifier. The “hot” power for the phantom is carefully sent EQUALLY down BOTH of the inner 2 conductors. If you are not using a phantom-powered mic, its best to turn OFF the phantom supply sent from the mixer or camcorder.Still more hum can come from using an AC power supply that is improperly built (or has been damaged) so that it has inadequate AC-rectification. That means that the natural hum of the AC power is not “smoothed” enough inside the supply and the remaining fluctuation makes its way into the camcorder and its’ audio section.
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Prosumer Video cameras simply do not have a smooth time-lapse feature.
They can be set to record short SECTIONS of video every few minutes as a “pseudo” time-lapse.But the SMOOTH time-lapse associated with watching clouds speed by, or sports crowds rushing into a stadium, or a flower bud opening… cannot be captured directly to tape by a DV camcorder.
This type of true time-lapse has traditionally been done with FILM as it is a simple matter to expose only ONE FRAME at a time.
In prosumer video, the camera does NOT record a single frame per exposure, but in fact SEVERAL frames (a second or half-second) of standard 30 fps (25 PAL) moving video per “timed” exposure.
And the time BETWEEN these exposures cannot be precisely set (there are but a FEW pre-set times.)All this creates very uneven “pulse-like” time-lapse than, as Shane said, must be carefully EDITED to create a smoother look.
There is a better, more direct way to achieve smooth Time-lapse with a video camera by using computer-capture software like “BTV Pro”
then importing those files into FCP.
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Read this thread.
It may be of help.
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In the Browser Window, find the column headed “Tracks” (these are the tracks that will be captured.)
Select (highlight) all of the marked clips (that you want to change) in the “Tracks” column and hold down the CONTROL key and the mouse button on one of the clips.
You should see a number of choices. Choose “1V, 2A”.
All of the highlighted clips should now be ready to capture Video and both channels of audio.
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There is a function in FCP that is often overlooked… and it can help with many audio and video “skipping”, “sticking” and “missing” problems.
You should “Mixdown” the Audio for playback before you dub out of FCP, or during the edit, if you have audio/video stuttering, drop-outs or freezes.
NOTE: Mixdown has even been demonstrated to help with slipping, skipping problems (or “missing” audio clips) for files being EXPORTED as QT (or similar) files out of FCP.
First, SELECT ALL of your audio tracks (highlight them) on the timeline, then:
Sequence Menu > Render Only > Mixdown.
You should see a dialog box telling you its rendering.
It might seem to make little sense that “Mixing down” even simple audio tracks will “fix” complex video “freezes” or random audio dropouts to tape or export, but it CAN.
NOTE: It does not matter of you only have one audio track, if there are random freezes during output, you should try the Mixdown.
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Move the keyframes farther apart.
You may need to make the clip LONGER (on its own Video track) and move the left (start) keyframe farther left and the right (end) keyframe farther right.
This means the effect will last longer (and go slower).
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Here’s the link to the thread that Robin spoke of:
Its still a problem with non-Sony camcorders, and the “fix” is not always effective even WITH Sony camcorders.
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[Adam Howden] “it seems where ever there is a cut (ie the camera has stopped recording and started up again)”
Congratulations!
You have discovered a special built-in “feature” of HDV.
The “make new clips after camera pause” is part of the HDV format and can’t be turned off.