[Greg Curda]

That software looks good. I have recorded to mac in a pinch using Soundtrack Pro with a nice mic and a MixPre, sending line (-10) out from the tape out to the mac. I haven’t figured out how to do more than one channel however in Soundtrack… It works and fidelity is good. The front end is important, I think. There’s no code, but I just make a clap or some sync point and do it manually…ARGH!

If you guys have tips on a more useful stock app in mac (Garage Band, etc.) that yields decent results, I’d love to know about it.

G

[Greg Curda]

Hi Robin,

What a journey of audio level and connector compatibility you have been on!!! Sound is so simple in its complexity… I think if you stick with the three layer level concept, +4, -10, -50 and apply your math skills you will 99.9% always be OK.

TC recorded on an audio channel likes to sit at -10 to -12 dB VU…at least that’s the conventional wisdom…things may have changed, but likely not. It is also an annoying sound. So if you’re shipping a
-10 TC level and you’re padding 50dB that’s -60…not unheard of, but maybe a little low. As long as your synchronizer is happy, that’s what counts.

Good input from Ty and Rodney…

G

[Greg Curda]

Thanks for the support guys. This is my first time overseeing this workflow, including the picture side.

Peter, are you saying that OMF by nature will not pass source code? Or is it just a quirk of FCP? Or import quirk of PT?

Ty, I will continue research. My guys are still unable to come up with anything surprising.

If I don’t have a breakthrough next week, I will just go to a workflow that we all know works…sync manually…haha. Discovery always comes when you least expect it…

G

[Greg Curda]

Hi Bouke,

Ah, if only I could divert the attention to something like handles…haha. Handles are readily available and in a variety of lengths…one for every budget..haha.

I think that there is a native translation problem between FCP and PT when it comes to embedded TC in audio tracks. We’ll just do it the old fashioned way…sync by hand. It’s sometimes faster than trying to figure out why the conversion didn’t work…haha.

G

[Greg Curda]

Hi Dan,

Agreed. Sometimes I have run a separate mic a little off the “set” (“birdie mic”) and have been able to get some surrounding presence and activity without principals, but this is usually a 50/50 proposition at best. Best to use your method and try to get room tone, ambiance, or effects separately.

G

[Greg Curda]

Hi Ty,

Thanks for the welcome. One can never have too many brains working on a problem, especially in our modern, and complicated world. I am impressed with the pro-activeness (is that a word?) of you all, and will do my best to share any knowledge.

We use Digitranslator to import OMFs into ProTools and perform some conversions. I am by no means versed in this, but my staff has been using it for some time. I will research it some more…Do you think I am missing something with the capabilities of Digitranslator?? Any specific pointers to narrow my immediate research?

Thanks, and glad to be aboard,

G

[Greg Curda]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the update. I am stuck with FCP as a picture solution for now. I think we’re gonna try to embed the audio into a ProRes QT and see if that carries the TC across. It’s not like we can’t sync the rest of the tracks manually…that always works. We’re working with RED picture and I’m just trying to find some niftier solution, with minimal plugins, or 3rd party apps. As you might know RED audio doesnt carry TC either, at least that’s what I’ve found. It would be a lot better if I were a little more grounded in modern tech, but I’m certainly trying to catch up as fast as possible!!!

Greg

[Greg Curda]

This is a tricky area… General practice is to pick one or the other (boom or lav) and go. Blending is a difficult thing. Not that it can’t be done…it’s just hard and unpredictable in the field. Zaxcom has a nifty delay feature for time aligning boom and lav…

In my opinion, the ways to go are:
1. Lav the subject and organize the boom to reject the most (hopefully all) of the subject’s voice (creating, in effect, a dialogue and background track). These should blend in post. Or…
2. If the subject dialogue is low enough in the boom track, it might work, just be careful of phasing (if boom too close to lav), or echo (if boom too far from lav).

Tricky either way. Let your ear be your guide.

Greg

[Greg Curda]

You might want to look at the Lectro Venue series. Haven’t used it yet but hear many good things. Sounds like you have open space and line of sight. Most systems should work well in those conditions. To me, the key is getting your receiver antennas up in the air. This has never failed me.

Be careful about high power transmitters, 250mW is too much for your application, in my opinion. 100mW should be just fine. If you’re not taking hits or dropouts now, you’re in good shape. 250mW might actually cause more interference. This has been my experience with high power, close range work in the field.

Just thoughts…

Greg

[Greg Curda]

Thanks for the response, Shane. I’m trying to find out what will work natively, or does each solution require a helper app. Don’t know about Avid…Looked at Final Duck, and will investigate further. EDL is also a known option, but I don’t think ProTools can do anything with that, natively. Need PostConform, or some other such helper. A native solution would be best.

T’ve got 8 channels of audio coming in from production and trying to keep the picture editor’s track count down to 1 mix track, but not make a ton of work for the dialog guys reconnecting the other 7 tracks. So you can see that source TC would be helpful. Or just ask the editor to bite the bullet and cut with 8 channels, then produce an OMF (don’t need source TC anymore)??