[David Watson]

[Sareesh Sudhakaran] “Eventually, the tracks are taken to a Pro tools facility (not because it’s the best, but because everyone’s using it) and mixed for the kind of delivery required.”

Just because everyone’s doing it doesn’t mean it’s the only option right? For example if I am building a recording and mixing studio for music production, can’t I use the full version of Cubase as my DAW? Or is there any substantial difference in Pro tools as a DAW over Cubase et al.?

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Hi Chris, thanks for the advice. The videographer was operating two cameras actually – the Canon and the Nikon. But the father of the deceased had his own camera set up as well. The biggest problem is that for some reason none of the cameras have the full service + interment covered. And the deceased’s father’s camera was set on a tripod so it’s only one angle (although it does cover 99% of the service).

Could you explain to me what you mean by the 1440×1080 being a thin raster 1080? The weird part is that the third camera (the one on the tripod) captured all its clips in 1920×1080, and the Nikon captured all its clips in 1280×710. So it’s the Canon that captured some clips in 1920×1080 and a few in 1440×1080. I’m not sure why.

Also why are my 1080 clips all interlaced, and what does the 60i mean? And why are my 720 clips all progressive? Are these standards?

I want to understand how video works and frame rate and aspect ratios, etc. So thanks in advance for the explanation. 🙂

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Or use Soundhound; it’s like Shazam and works just as well or better. You can also sing/hum songs and it will try and match it. If you want an online site you can use on your pc (since you recorded the song on your iphone), try https://www.midomi.com

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Hi Brian, thank you for your help. I figured out the problem – I had set Mono Mix to on, forgotten about it, and then had done my test. I set it to off, and re-tested and everything worked fine.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Hi Brian, you mentioned that the H4n is good for 2 tracks at 48KHz/24-bit. But I can’t figure out how to set it up. I read the manual plus did several tests myself. I know with MTR mode, I can have 2 inputs recorded to two different tracks (each track being saved as a mono wav file), but this is only at 44.1KHz/16-bit. And I know with Stereo mode, I can have 2 inputs recorded at 48KHz/24-bit but to one track (an interleaved stereo wav file). I guess what I want is a split-stereo wav file or 2 mono wav files at 48KHz/24-bit. How do I set this up on the H4n?

Also what is typically done with film audio – a mixdown of all dialogue or separate tracks for each mic?

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

So typically both the sound recordist and the boom operator both monitor levels? I guess that makes sense. If there’s only one pair of headphones, what about self-booming? Is this feasible?

As for the H4n being a 2-track recorder, that should be fine for the shoots coming up. What I’m trying to figure out is whether it’s possible to have 2 inputs recorded at 48KHz/24-bit on separate channels or wav files?

Or perhaps I should pose a new question: in music production, every single input is recorded on a separate track, regardless of what samplerate you use. I assumed the same should be for audio production on a film set. But someone mentioned above about using a field mixer if I have multiple inputs. But wouldn’t this mean I am mixing on set and saving a mix of the inputs to one track? Is this the way audio for film is usually done? I know that generally the boom captures all audio, but what about when you have 1 or 2 principal actors specifically mic’d?

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

You probably don’t want an omni, nor a shotgun. These capture sounds from the sides and back and if you’re attaching the mic to the camera, you’ll want to mainly (or solely) get audio from the front of the mic. I’m not too sure myself about cardioid vs hypercardioid, but I believe you’ll want a cardioid. One good Youtube vid that will explain the polar patterns of the different types is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooy4puTYLpk. My suggestion is to get a dynamic mic over a condenser (shotguns are usually condensers). Dynamics are the type used in live sound and condensers in studio. Condensers are a lot more sensitive and will pick up the smallest sounds.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Hi Brian, I’m not familiar with it at all, and have done no work on it. A volunteer film group I’m part of purchased it to try and get better audio than using the built-in mics on DSLRs. In the past the group used to also rent equipment when using pro cameras (like the RED camera). But they recently purchased the H4n and a boom + pole + headphones (Sennheiser HD 280).

I don’t foresee actively riding the audio levels, but I also don’t plan to just set and forget. I plan to have a separate boom operator so I can monitor the recording levels. I know most of the time on a film set a boom mic will suffice alone to capture the audio. But I’m wondering if it’s possible, and if so how, to record more than one mic input (ie, boom + 1 lav) and record each separately – either as separate mono wav files, or one stereo wav file with each mic input on each LR channel.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Let me clarify: I meant when using adapters from one size to another, and you have to deal with stereo to mono it can be a problem.

For example, when working with all mono and going from 1/4″ to 1/8″ using an adapter, all you are doing is sending the same mono (1-ch) signal through a smaller cable diameter size, so the adapter just needs to act as a gateway from the larger diameter to the smaller one.

But when working with stereo to mono as well as diameter size, the adapter needs to mix the stereo (2-ch) signal to a mono (1-ch) signal. This is where it depends on the adapter. I’ve used adapters that only take one channel of the stereo signal and use it as the mono (usually the L channel), which can cause problems when you also need to worry about the R channel signal.

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment

[David Watson]

Hard to say; best bet is to try it out. Hook up the H4n to your just one of your other mics and test it. If that works, then hook up the G3 by itself to the H4n. Or even better, if you can hook up the G3 by itself to another receiver (ie, some other audio unit, mixer board, etc.).

David H. Watson
dEhiN Entertainment