[David Watson]

Hi Arlene, I haven’t used H4n in a few years now, but there should be some sort of a split stereo mode which will take 2 mono inputs (your 2 lavs) and save them as separate mono wav files. Stereo mode is always 2 channels in one, stereo wav file. So in your case, with the 2 lavs, one would have been recorded to channel L and the other to channel R. Alternately, you could split the wav file into two mono files using APP or any other audio editing program (if you’re not sure how to do it in APP, just use Audacity since it’s free and fairly easy, especially for something like this).

HTH

David

[David Watson]

Hi Steve, I think going the double lav route is a great idea. As for makes/models, I’m not too sure. Perhaps someone else can throw in their two cents.

Regarding sample rate/bit size, 24-bits is generally the best option. As for sample rate, from what I’ve seen/heard/read, most film/video audio is recorded at 48KHz. I’m not sure why, because I know in a music studio the mantra is the higher the quality in recording, the better. You could try 96/24, but you may want to see how much recording time you’ve got on your 16GB versus 48/24. Don’t forget, you may have plenty of cards, but it’ll take time to switch a card out.

I haven’t read about a balanced 3.5 mm cable with XLR splitters, but it sounds like a good idea. Some things to keep in mind though are: Will the NTG-1 need phantom power? If so, how much (usual is +48V)? I say this because the Zoom provides +3V through the 3.5mm input jack in the back that overrides the built-in mics. The assumption is that this input jack is for wired lavs that don’t have a power source (battery compartment, pack, receiver, etc.). These small lavs take +3V power while the big shotguns take +24/48V. Also keep in mind that the Zoom will allow you to set one record level for both built-in mics. Which means that if you are splitting the 3.5mm jack to 2 XLR inputs, both inputs will be recorded at the same level. In this case since you are using only one shotgun, it shouldn’t be a problem.

The main thing to keep in mind if you decide to use the NTG-1 in addition to 2 lavs is: what is the purpose of your documentary? Do you need to get background noise? Or is the focus on the dialogue audio? The lavs will pick up the dialogue audio perfectly fine. They will also pick up some background noise, but not much. But the only reason (from what I can see) to use a shotgun in addition to a lav is to get background/ambient noise to use in editing. But if you go this route, make sure the shotgun doesn’t dip into frame. You want it above frame.

Lastly, regarding Plural Eyes, it works when the video clips have built-in audio to sync up with. So you will have to either record a scratch track or, if you use the NTG-1, run that into the camera. But I think I heard in a Youtube video that FCP has syncing capabilities too. Perhaps it’s the newest version of FCP?

I’m glad my lengthy explanation helped you :).

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

I agree with everyone else that the client wants a WAV file. I know in Audacity you can export to AIFF (Apple) PCM, but from what I can see there’s no such thing as a RAW PCM. There are however options for signed, unsigned, U-Law, A-Law, Microsoft ADPCM, etc. encoding. Also, I took a 22050Hz/16-bit mp3 and resampled it to both 10025Hz and 11025Hz. Audacity reported the track after resampling as being at the sample rate I set (ie, 10025 or 11025). However any difference in sound quality was negligible and I’m not entirely sure if I perceived a difference due to “expecting” a difference. If you send the client a sample of WAV at 11025Hz, you may want to tell them that 10025Hz is an unusual sample rate and to double check if they want 10025Hz or the more common 11025Hz.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Hi Steve, as already mentioned if you’re trying to do everything, hire an assistant. However, if you’re not, and you are just focusing on video and audio, here are some tips for the audio side:

Zoom H4n – It’s a good beginner recorder. I’ve been using it for a couple months now, and have no problems with it as long as you recognize it’s limitations. I’d recommend you use Stereo mode, and set the input settings to 48KHz, 24-bit. That’ll give you about 1:49:00 (h:m:s) on a 2GB sd card. If you’re operating camera as well, your best bet is to set the record levels ahead of time and forget it. Read through the manual so you are comfortable with Stereo mode. If you are going to use two inputs into the H4n, unlink the two inputs and make sure mono mix is set off (see the manual for more info). With mono mix on your two inputs will be mixed into one stereo file (both channels will contain a mix of input 1 & 2). With it off, input 1 will go to L channel and input 2 to R channel. This makes it easier in editing to strip out each channel to a mono file. Unlinking just means that you can set the record levels for inputs 1 & 2 separately.

Rode videomic – I would recommend against it. Do some tests and see how the sound is; especially if you are outside in a noisy or windy environment. Shotguns are primarily directional, meaning they pick primarily from the front of the mic. But they also pick up from the sides and the back a bit. That is partially why on most film sets, the boom operator holds the shotgun boom mic above the dialogue/audio. This minimizes extraneous noise from the sides and back. In the case of the videomic, since you will be behind the camera, your body will be shielding noise from the back of the mic. But do some tests for the sides of the videomic. You might want to do some searches on YouTube for others who have done Rode videomic tests to see what they have noticed in various outdoor and indoor situations.

On the other hand, if the videomic is not going to be your primary source of audio, you may want to use it (even if, in your tests, you find the audio quality isn’t that great) to help with editing. Since you aren’t using a clapper, syncing will be hard if the video clips don’t have any marker to sync with audio. Check out a previous thread about PluralEyes; if you use the videomic to record audio with your video clips, and use the H4n to record good quality audio, you can probably use something like PluralEyes/DualEyes to sync up everything in editing.

Rode NTG-1 – Do you have a windsock or a furry cover for the NTG-1? You’ll probably want it if you are doing a lot of outdoor shots. You’ll want to preferably get both. The windsock is the foam that usually goes over the shotgun; it helps reduce light wind sound. The furry cover goes over the foam or sometimes directly over the shotgun; it helps reduce heavy wind sound. The only problem you’ll have with using the NTG-1 is holding it. If you are operating camera as well, you won’t be able to hold the boom pole. Speaking of which, do you have a boom pole to attach the mic to? As I mentioned above, most of the time, a shotgun boom mic is positioned directly above the dialogue to minimize extraneous noise. It also keeps the mic out of frame. So if you are using the NTG-1, you will definitely need a second person to help you.

I would recommend you use the AT lav as much as possible. Is it wireless or wired? However, if you have two people, the NTG-1 is the better way to go. Unless you can get a second lav. Lastly, with both the NTG-1 and the AT lav, check the H4n manual on how to set up phantom power. Both mics will need it, unless they have their own battery compartment.

I would recommend against a mixer, unless you can get a battery-operated mixer, and more importantly you have a second person to hold it or a place at each location to set it down. Otherwise, how are you going to carry a mixer along with the camera and the H4n and the shotgun? You can get quite good useable sound with the equipment you have. I haven’t used the NTG-1 myself, but the biggest key if you are using it is to get a furry cover to minimize wind. And if you go second system, which I recommend, bring a notebook and pencil/pen to keep track of the H4n audio file # and the video clip #. You can set the H4n to use the date as a file prefix, and then the suffix just becomes a sequential number starting from 0.

I know that’s a lot of info, but I hope it helps. If you cannot get a second person to help you – specifically an audio guy – do as many tests as you need to beforehand and make sure you are comfortable running both audio and video.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Thanks all for your replies. I’m going to check out the trial version with a funeral service I have been putting off editing. The footage is from 3 different cameras (2 camcorders and 1 dslr) – 2 of which have audio – and a full audio wav file recorded from the church’s sound system.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

After I replied I realized that you may also want suggestions on how to remove the audio artifacts. My suggestion would be to apply a noise removal filter: find a point where you hear the artifact alone (when the speaker isn’t speaking), use that point of audio as your noise profile. You may have to play with eq afterward, but the frequency of the artifact is pretty distinct and sound fairly low-end. It shouldn’t affect the speaker’s voice. I’m not sure what software you use to edit, but I’ve found Audacity’s noise removal filter to work quite well. If you want to use Audacity, just use your favorite video editor to strip out the audio to a wav file and work with it in Audacity.

I noticed there was a section where the audio cuts out completely and comes back. I’m not sure what caused that, but there’s nothing you can do for that. If it’s a problem – having the audio cut out – then try to stylize it by doing a fade out into the cut-out portion, and a fade in afterward. You’ll still have your audio missing but listeners will think it’s intentional.

HTH

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Did you get this only in the recording? Or did it come through during the event? Could it be the receiver? I’ve experienced a similar intermittent audio artifact when doing live sound in a church service. The wireless lav/lapel the preacher was using started giving a intermittent hiss sound, similar to what you’re getting but more like a hiss. It turned out it was the receiver. You could even see it on the vu meter on the receiver. But this problem was evident during the service; it wasn’t something that occurred just in recording.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Thank you all for your replies. I was talking to the director and he told me he has used the same camera to capture audio plenty of times before and it’s fine. He’s used wired lavs, wireless lavs, and shotguns and the audio is ok. At any rate I’m still bringing the Zoom and I’ll be monitoring the audio from the RED during filming. If need be we can redo the take using the Zoom.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Thanks Eric for the reply. I know the director has a XLR-miniXLR adapter. How will the fan issues affect the dialog? Have you listened to audio recorded directly on the RED? Do the fan issues and other noise from the camera translate into the recording?

We did a tech rehearsal this past Sunday and the ECM clipped to the lead actress’s blouse seems to pick up her audio well with minimal wind sounds. The problem is that we did the tech rehearsal using the Zoom and when the director tried to copy the audio tests over to his MacBook Pro, he was having issues. (I’m not sure why since you can just unplug the SD card and plug it into the computer assuming it has a SD card reader.)

At any rate, I’ll try and assuage him about the ease of transferring from the Zoom to the MacBook. But he’s also concerned about syncing in post.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

[Neil Redman] “About correlated crossover frequency: So basically that means that not all subwoofers are designed to give an optimal result with all monitors and there are designs that are specifically for a certain monitor?”

A 2.1 speaker system (regardless whether it’s small-time computer speakers or studio reference monitors) will be programmed for optimal frequency placement, meaning the mains and tweeters (if there are any) will only be sent the frequencies they can handle, and the low frequencies will be sent to the woofer. If you get a 2-speaker system and add a woofer separately, you could end up getting double playback, meaning the low cut-off on mains on the stereo speakers and the high cut-off on the woofer might overlap.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment