[Ty Ford]

Sorry, sure the omni would be a hand mic and would be visible on camera. In really noisey envronments (which you must ascertain while listening on headphones) you may find the only thing you can do to get good sound is shove an omni in their faces.

We did testimonials in an operating dry cleaning establishment once. Talk about noise. We used the AT 895 as a hand-held. It was still quite obvious that we were in a noisy space, but the voices did prevail.

Othewise the Schoeps cmc641 in a pistol grip (or boom, which s more awkward for the street, but necessary in a media circus).

Regards,

Ty

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com

[Ty Ford]

Thanks Tom,

Were I to go out today to do street work and want to hear the voice of the interviewer, I’d probably try a Countryman E6. I’d try both cardioid and omni to see how each changed the sound. The cardioid might work better on a really noisy street.

I’d split track the sound; interviewer/interviewee and mix in post, IF i had time in post to do it. If I didn’t have time, I’d use a long handled omni for the back and forth. In either case, I would also have someone (interviewer or soundperson) listen during recording to make sure I was getting what thought I was getting.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com

[Ty Ford]

Contact Manfred Klemm at K-tek. Tell him I sent you. Tell him what you want to do.

The Zepp is new for K-tek. I don’t know if he has it out and about yet.

Regards,

Ty

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com

[Ty Ford]

Not bad. Does the pistol grip come with a windbreaker?

K-tek showed a new windbreaker Zeppelin at NAB this year. much less expensive than the Rycote. I don’t know if Manfred has it in all sizes, but you should check.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Ty Ford]

I want a completely restored Triumph TR3 for $1200, but it ain’t going to happen.

Most shotguns in that price range are about the same, but you won’t make it with $500 if you include a mic, a boom, and wind protection for the mic. All of which you’ll need.

Actually, know what? A pistol grip with a suspension mount would be easier to handle than a boom.

Want to read mic reviews? They’re free in the OnLine Archive on my site.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com

[Ty Ford]

So it’s low profile, but you’re expecting everyone to wear some sort of recording device? How much will those cost? What do you expect to do about microphones?

Sometimes people just shoot their projects in the foot because they are in denial about getting good audio. Don’t know what that’s about, but I see it from time to time.

If you put absolutely no value on the time you’ll spend in postproduction, then syncing audio from eight MD recorders (after you buy them and mics for them) is one way to go.

Hiring a competent sound person to take care of that and having them deliver you a mixed soundtrack on your camera sounds like the way to go here.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com

[Ty Ford]

I hear this a lot from folks who mix on small speakers. You can’t hear the low end so you don’t know if you have too much or too little. You can’t make color decisions on a B&W monitor. You can’t make audio decisions if you can’t hear what’s on the tracks.

There are affordable monitors that do have low end response.

These are good: https://www.mackie.com/products/hr824/. You may not need a subwoofer.

These are better: https://www.klein-hummel.com/html/studio/studio_index_e.htm, but you really do need the extra subwoofer. They are smaller than the Mackies and may fit better in your space.

BTW, Where you put the speakers makes a noticeable difference. You want them at ear height as you sit at your workspace. They need to be placed so they form a triangle. The distance between the monitors should be slightly less than the distance between the speaker and you.

Putting them in corners over emphasizes the bass. Putting them flat against a wall, or on the floor (except the subwoofer) also changes the way they sound.

If you disregard this and decide to put them whereever it seems convenient, you are asking for trouble.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com

[Ty Ford]

Couple of thoughts.

Are you bringing the audio from the camera into your laptop as analog audio? If so, there might be an adjustment you can make. Obviously the audio is clipping somewhere.

“”Some audio workflows must be calibrated at a specific tone level. The default level of the 1-kHz tone is 012 dB referenced to 0 dBfs. You can customize the tone level to match your audio workflow by choosing Clip > Audio Options > Audio Gain with a clip selected.””

I’m guessing you mean -12dB not 012dB. 012dB doesn’t make sense. Have you done as it said and selected a clip and “audio gain?” That may calibrate the system. Do you have access to a system that will import the audio and video without going through the analog inputs? If so, try that.

Or, hope not, the person mixing was looking at RMS (average) leveles and not Peak levels on her mixer when she was recording. An experienced sound person would know the difference, but ya never know.

-20 dB, BTW, IS a good place to set the 0 VU tone from your mixer, especially if you expect outbursts. Make sure you meter is set to PEAK, not RMS. If it’s set to RMS, it will look low and you’ll want to jack it up. If you DO, without checking for PEAK level, you can very easily clip the audio.

I use a mixer with a very good limiter. The mixer reads RMS and PEAK simultaneously, so I alwsys know what’s going on. If I’m feeding an analog camera, I set my limiter to a +4 or +6 threshold and send to to 0 VU. The audio to the camera nevert goes over +6 dB, which most analog camera can handle.

If I’m feeding a digital camera, sometimes I’ll leave the limiter set at +6 dB and send my 0 VU tone to the camera. Then I’ll set the tone at the camera to -12. Because my limiter will catch anything above +6 dB, except hand claps and very quick sounds, I’m fine. In t that situation, I have 12 dB above 0 on the camera for peaks and my limiter will catch anything or +6dB, leaving me 6 dB between 6 and 12. If I hit the limiter a little, that’s OK.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com

[Ty Ford]

but this also means that the supercardiod pattern will be shorter than a longer shotgun.

** Yes. At higher frequencies. Mids and lows are usually much more omni in a shotgun. Who knew!?

Im trying to find out if this mic will be effective for a feature Im about to begin. Is this an effective mic for wider shots where it has to be further from the actors?

**Probably not a big difference from what you already have. Shotguns, and hypers are best used right on the edge of frame. DON’T assume you can get good results from anything more than a few feet. Past that, the distance makes the difference among shotguns a moot point. You might get better results IF…..IF you were on a sound stage that was designed to be acoustically controlled and everyone and everything got really quiet when QUIET ON THE SET was called.

Is this a good mic for outdoor scenes?

**Shotguns generally are better outside than in, unless the outside area is reflective. Then you want a hypercardioid.

Are there any other mics in this price range that would suit my needs better?

Your needs would appear to suggest you need more than one mic; a shotgun and a hypercardioid and some wirelss lavs.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com

[Ty Ford]

::blush::

Shucks, t’weren’t nothin’.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://www.tyford.com