Rob Neidig
8
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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I’m not sure where the standard came from, but there does seem to be somewhat of a standard, even if it’s not written down anywhere! When I worked for Sony in a DVD encoding and authoring department, Digibeta masters would come in for the various programs to encode. Dialog levels were always set to average around -14 and peak around -10. Explosions and such could go higher, but most of a movie is dialog, so that’s where they always put it. I expect that came from the standard 1k tone level for Digibeta at -20. That allows for 6-10dB of headroom in the dialog. Personally in my own work, I tend to go a little bit hotter with dialog averaging around -10 with the peaks going up to maybe -6.
Have fun!
Rob
Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon -
Sam,
You will note that most people seem to not be answering your questions of how to do the fix. I’m not sure we all know enough about your project to be able to provide suggestions. I know that trying to record something new and match the lips as good as possible is going to look pretty bad, no matter how great your equipment is. Again, I don’t know exactly what your project currently looks like, but the best way to avoid the lip sync issue is to go to some sort of b-roll, or cutaway, shot at the points where you need to fudge the audio. Do you have product shots, other shots of your host actually in a sales environment – anything other than showing the host? That will make any fixes much easier for you, and less noticeable for the audience.
That said, you’ve received great advice on the equipment. I, too, have done voice-overs for over 20 years and agree that the talent makes the biggest difference. That said, there is a base level of equipment that’s needed so you don’t get poor audio quality. I think everybody else has already covered that.
Good Luck!
Rob
Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon -
Well the problem may very well be that you are being sent line level, but on an XLR cable. If you plug that into the XLR input of the Marantz 660, it will not matter how low you set the input record level, it will distort because line level is so much higher than the mic level the 660 would be expecting on the XLR inputs. It sounds like it also could be that you are being sent a signal from the DJ that is already distorted, as either you or Ty mentioned earlier. Anyway, hope you find it!
Rob
Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon -
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Well, if you are being sent a mic level signal, then you should use the XLR inputs. If you are sent a line level signal then you should use the line level input (which on the Marantz 660 is a 1/8″ mini plug by the way, not RCA). With a line level being sent to you, for instance, it might be on an XLR cable, so you would need to have an XLR to 1/8″ adapter so you could plug in to the line input. So you absolutely need to need what kind of signal the DJ is sending you. The Marantz 660 has a level input control, but it is a bit sensitive in my opinion. There are a series of little LEDs that light up to show you where the level is. Make sure you are not going into the red.
Have fun!
Rob
Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon -
If you are referring to the Sennheiser G2 wireless systems, the difference is in the range of frequencies. The A range is 518 -550MHz, while the B is 630 – 662MHz. You want a range that will not have interference from your local UHF TV stations. You should check out the frequency selection chart on Sennheiser’s web site to get an idea which might be better for your area. Link below:
https://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/mat_dev/frequencyfinder/Freqfinder-ew.asp
Otherwise the A and B systems are exactly the same. Have fun!
Rob
Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon -
If you are using wired lavs, then each one just terminates with an XLR connector and you can use it directly to your camera or mixer. For wireless systems, then every wireless system uses different connectors. You can order a Tram mic, for instance, with a connector for a Lectrosonics system, or a Sennheiser system, or a Shure system, or whatever. But they are not interchangable. The AT803s I have are wired with XLR connectors and go straight to a mixer (actually I use a 4-channel XLR snake, so they connect to the snake, which goes to the mixer). They cannot be used on any of my wireless systems without some sort of adapter.
Have fun!
Rob
Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon -
Raymond,
A little late to this thread, but thought I’d throw in my $.02 on the inexpensive lavs.
When I very first started in the business, I used the $40 Radio Shack and also the Audio Technica mics that cost about the same for legal deposition work. While they do a pretty decent job for $40, when you replace them with a true professional model (AT803 or 813, Sony ECM44, Sennheiser MKE-2, Tram, Countryman, etc.), you will instantly hear a huge difference. The cheaper mics tend to have a lot of self noise – a constant background level of noise that you will hear much less of with the pro models. You will also typically get a much fuller sound with the more expensive models. I found my AT803s pretty cheap on a well-known on-line auction site. They are actually pretty sturdy. I’ve had attorneys stand up and rip them off their ties or lapels, but they keep on goin’. And you can use them in your other productions as well. I wouldn’t say that about the cheapo mics.
Just a note on using wireless in a deposition. First of all, with wireless, there is always a chance of audio dropouts or RF interference. I would recommend always using wired mics in a controlled setting like a deposition. In one of my first depos, I used a wireless and had the courthouse security people across the street call to report they were receiving the witness loud and clear on their system!!
Have fun!
Rob
Lav mics I own:
AT803a (x4), Countryman B3, Tram TR-50 (2 wired, 2 on Lectrosonics wireless systems, 1 on Sennheiser wireless system), Sennheiser ME2 (original mic on Sennheiser wireless system) and yes, I still have 3 cheapo Radio Shack lavaliers somewhere in the bottom of a bag or box. Haven’t touched them in years.Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon -
There’s nothing wrong with what you have done. The DVD specification does not allow for seamless looping, so this would happen with any DVD authoring software. The menu is having to restart at your loop point, resulting in the small gap. This gap will vary in different players, deepnding on how quickly they restart the menu.
Hope this helps.
Rob
Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon -
Ty,
Timely post. I worked a job last weekend with the Panasonic HPX500. Can’t tell from looking at the display what any of the dots mean. Would it kill the manufacturers to add little numbers on there? I looked up the manual on-line when I got home, but that didn’t do me any good on the job. I basically took an educated guess and of course was monitoring the return.
THANKS!
Rob
Rob Neidig
R&R Media Producttions
Eugene, Oregon -
I find all this very interesting. I come from the school of lav on CH1, boom on CH2. That’s just the way I was trained, I guess, but it does make sense that you give the editor the choice. It also makes sense to just get the best possible audio you can. I am speaking about sit down interviews mainly. In the ENG world, shooting for the news magazines, etc. that’s the way it seems to be done – at least around here. For satellite uplinks (live), I usually have both set up, but only use whichever sounds best with the other there in case of a problem. Dramatic pieces are a whole different ballgame.
An example of how using both the lav and boom can bite you, though, is a shoot I did on the west coast for a production company that was on the east coast. I don’t know whether the shooter labeled the tapes to show CH1: lav, CH2: boom. I do know that the editor was not paying attention, though, because when I later heard part of the finished product, they had used BOTH! It sounded o.k., but a little strange that it was kind of stereo, not really phasing going on, but definitely different.
Have fun!
Rob
Rob Neidig
R&R Media Producttions
Eugene, Oregon