Richard Crowley
1
COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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As Mr. Kownacki said, “OEM” is not a file or codec type. It is a loose, generic description that really doesn’t mean anything definable in this context. If in doubt ask for WAV or AIFF as they are the “baseline”, uncompressed audio formats.
It would have been particularly helpful if you had mentioned the platform (PC? Mac?) and editing software you are using. But surely you can review the audio import function and see a list of the different file types it accepts.
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Considering that you can re-use them with a variety of different double-stick tapes, and looks like a great idea, IMHO it is a winner. At $40 for 10 of them ($4 each) seems like a bargain.
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Even a high soprano voice fundamental only goes slightly over 1 KHz. 3 KHz is the upper limit of the primary harmonics of human voice. Depending on the nature of the voice, you could experiment with filtering out a band of frequencies as Ty suggests. But you may find better results a bit lower than 3K.
If the dialog is mixed to center and the music bed is stereo, you may be able to use one of the “center extraction” techniques for eliminating the lead/solo in songs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soprano
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_pitch_notation
https://musichack.wordpress.com/gw-tutorials/center-channel-extractionisolation/ -
If you have a “sound recordist”, it is not clear what they would be doing unless it is wielding the boom mic. (With headphones to monitor, of course.)
If you can’t manage someone on the boom who can handle it, then plan on using a couple of clip-on mics. Beware of the “3-to-1” rule.
https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/31-rule-of-microphone-placement/
https://www.crownaudio.com/mictip6.htm
https://www.recordingeq.com/articles/321eq.htmlIt is always a good idea to have different options because you never know what you will encounter. Good for you to plan ahead.
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Please remember that reducing or eliminating extraneous noise AT THE SOURCE while recording is FAR FAR PREFERABLE to artificial methods after the fact (in post-production editing). Most noise-reduction schemes cause audible trauma of varying amounts to the remaining track. I use “noise-reduction” only as a last resort when all else fails. IMHO it should never be relied on as a normal part of production.
It is quite likely that spending a couple of hours with some of YOUR example tracks and experimenting with the settings will yield a better working familiarity with the controls available to you vs. theoretical definitions that may be difficult to apply to the Real World.
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As you have discovered, virtually all video production is done at 48K. While it would have been preferable to record your audio at 48K, recording it at 44.1K is not a show-stopping problem. Yes, you will need to convert the 44.1K audio to 48K when you edit the video. Many NLE applications do this for you automatically. Modern software does a pretty good job of converting without any significant artifacts, especially if you are talking about only speech (and not music).
Even if you had recorded the audio at 48K, it is doubtful that it would change the sync problem. It is not reasonable to expect that mass-market audio and video/photo gear will hold sync for more than a few minutes. This is NORMAL.
NEVER attempt to adjust (stretch or shrink) the AUDIO track to match the video. ALWAYS “adjust” the video to match the audio. It should not be terribly difficult to tweak the video track forward or back to match the audio.
It sounds like you have “cut-away” or “B-roll” video that will be cut into the video of the interview subject. At each point where you do a video edit point, you have the perfect spot to “pull-up” the video track to re-synchronize it with the audio, which should be used as the “master reference track”. Even if you don’t have B-roll to cut to, stretching (or “shrinking”) the video track will cause the NLE to cut or repeat a few frames of video to conform the length of the video to the audio. These occasional frames are much less noticeable to the average viewer (IMHO) than the possibility of damaging the audio track by trying to stretch/shrink it.
Don’t sweat it, many of us have been there, done that, and have the T-shirt. You can do it.
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Yes, I concur with Mr. Toline. You are most likely just fine and, as you say, free of the extra battery pack.
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Calling a cable “instrument” or “speaker” is not very helpful in identifying exactly what it is. Really, neither traditional “instrument” cable nor “speaker” cable are ideal for your application.
“Instrument” cable often means special, fine-gauge, low-capacitance cable specially designed for high-impedance connections from passive electric guitars/basses to their amps. While it MIGHT work, it would not be on my list of preferred cables.
And “speaker” cable is often unshielded (because speaker connections don’t need shield). So it would not be suitable for your application, either.
What you need is ordinary shielded mic-level/line-level cable with the appropriate connectors on each end. A cable called “instrument” or “speaker” immediately casts doubt whether they are suitable, at least IMHO.
What kind of cables do you have available? Why do you call them “instrument” or “speaker”? Or are you intending to go out and buy something for this application?
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Not clear what is the objective of recording the Foley at 96K? Typically we record in higher rez when we anticipate doing some port-production processing. If processing is being done, then I would do the processing before down-sampling. If there is no processing of the Foley tracks, then it is not clear what is the purpose of recording at 96K? As you say, it must be down-sampled to 48K SOMEWHERE along the line to allow mixing with the rest of the project. Fortunately, downsampling from 96K to 48K is simpler than non-harmonic conversions (like 44.1K to 48K, etc.)
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I am inspired to make a video of unboxing and demonstrating a cheese-grater.
OTOH, people have to start somewhere. “What is that thing with all the knobs?”