[Jordan Wolf]

I routinely use a DVX100A/B and a Shure FP24. I really wouldn’t look at the levels in dBFS until you capture it.

The camera’s manual says that it’s Line Level input has a sensitivity of 0dBu. On the FP24, 0=0dBu. So if you output the 1kHz tone at 0dBu to the input set at Line Level and leave the control(s) at the center position, the levels should then be calibrated.

I, personally, go by the +4dBu professional standard, so I set my gains a little higher on the FP24 and the camera. I keep an eye on them and, as long as the mixer and the camera are calibrated, clipping on one will equal clipping on the other.

ONE CAVEAT (anecdotal story): I accidentally ruined the on-location dialogue for a movie scene last year because I mistakenly forgot to set the input to Line Level.
I calibrated my levels – both sets of meters showed everything as clean and not clipping. BUT I couldn’t hear that I was overloading the inputs on the camera because I was using the headphone output on the FP24. Always double-check your settings – it can never hurt. (ADR worked out and you can barely tell the audio was dubbed; check it out here, if you want to)

Now then, back to my class project!

Wolf
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[Jordan Wolf]

Thanks for the advice.
I haven’t yet had the chance to listen to the camera by itself in a quiet room, but I’ll make sure I do sometime soon.

I recommended the Sound Devices 788T to our advisor, so hopefully that will be coming through soon. With all of the video upgrades going on, I don’t want audio to be left behind.

I have been using the noise reduction tool in Soundtrack Pro and it has helped very much, but the whine is still slightly audible above the voices (maybe I’m being too picky, eh?). I have noticed most of the whine is from 5kHz to 12kHz. I also used a parametric EQ (+15dB @ 5kHz-12kHz, narrow bandwidth) to try and flesh out the frequencies but nothing popped out. Sony MDR 7506’s were used for monitoring, so the full spectrum was audible.

I thought that it might be the computer’s soundcard (sorry, no external interface here) but after soloing an imported music track, discovered that wasn’t the case.

I am thinking of posting pre- and post- versions of the trailer to Vimeo so others can hopefully hear what I have noticed and offer soe more advice. I’ll post the URL once the trailer is released.

Keep it coming!

Wolf
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