[Joao Luis]

Already transcoding to work on a beefy mid-2015 Macbook Pro. I guess I’ll have to keep doing it if I go for the iMac.
Cheers.

[Joao Luis]

Thanks Shane. I’m definitely considering PC options, even with all the obstacles it will add to our Mac workflow.

[Joao Luis]

Hi Ty,

I absolutely agree that one can easily be spread too thin taking on a complex project alone. Unfortunately I’m not in charge (yet!) and this being an all-around the world endeavor, the company can’t afford another crew member on the road. Otherwise I’d definitely partner up with a sound technician, at least.

By the way – and sorry to steer off topic – I did a bit of research on the recorders we have at hand (Tascam DR-40 and Zoom H5) and came across your review. I have some doubts about the preamp quality on the Zoom so my idea is to send the lav mics’ signal at a reasonably hot level from the receivers so I don’t need to push the gain too much on the recorder to have it peaking around -12db.

Is this strategy correct?

[Joao Luis]

Hi Ty,

A boom mic would be ideal, but it’s a one-man gig.
The camera mic is usable if the distant remains constant, i.e. constant delay, although it can be an unreliable element in the mix. I’m probably going to settle with split tracking the lavs and a bit of panning.

Thanks for the help.

[Joao Luis]

[Peter Groom] “Are your personal mics radios?”

Yes Peter, a pair of Sanken COS-11Ds plugged into Sennheiser G3s.

At first I was convinced that this could be part of the problem. Either a radio delay(?) or the voices bleeding into each other personal mics – also being captured by the stereo mic mounted on the camera – with ill effects.

[Joao Luis]

[Bruce Watson] “That said you can try delaying the lav tracks a bit. Sound in standard conditions travels at around 0.12 m/micro-second, so if you’re a couple of meters apart, try a delay of 4-6 microseconds. This might help if you’re recording either outside, or in a large space. If you’re in a small space, the boxy sound is “small room sound””

I’m recording outdoors so no early reflections here. I did achieve some decent results delaying the lav mics track and fine-tuning the sync point. It seems like a viable option provided the distance between camera and speakers doesn’t change too much. No “walking-up to the camera” shots I guess, but it’s a chance at having the immersive (live) stereo mix I was aiming at, with cars driving past in the background, birds, feet walking on gravel, etc.

I’ll test this out a bit more. I can always just use the lav (omni)mic tracks, maybe pan those left and right a bit.

Thanks for the help.