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A producer friend of mine, for whom I have worked on many projects, is shooting a project in Arizona. When I asked him about whether he needed a Sound Mixer he said, “Nah, we found a local.”

The show has begun bringing in crew and EVERY post from this producer is, “Look who we got from Atlanta to work on our show! They’re the best! Had to go all the way across the country to get people! Lookit, here’s my Atlanta makeup crew! And here’s my Atlanta Special Effects crew! And here’s my Atlanta Hair team!

It just proves nobody gives a damn about Sound unless there’s a serious problem. If you’re good (and I am good) it still won’t get you hired as fast as being cheap and convenient.

Currently looking to invest in a wireless mic setup for filming. I've got a documentary coming up, along with starting a Youtube channel where I'll be posting short films, creator-type content, and long form talking head style videos. I'm looking for something that can be used for all three things. Here's my constraints.

- Budget is low, $2-300 (so sadly no Lectros or high end tx/rx)
- Looking for something with 32 bit float as I'll be solo operating a lot of these shoots
- Want something with good range, build quality, and can travel well

My research has pointed me towards the RODE Pro system (since it's cheap, good quality, has 32 bit float, etc.) and I've used it before and it sounds good.

However, wanted to see if there are any other better options, or if it actually makes sense or would be cheaper to rent something better for the documentary and narrative work, and then use the RODE for my personal Youtube content filming.

Looking to purchase a couple nice lav mics (Cos 11s or DPAs) to go along with the system. Connectivity is another challenge, since those mics aren't always wired for 3.5 mm if I'm going with something like the RODE system. Happy to use cheaper 3.5 mics for personal use but for location sound I'd prefer something that actually sounds great and is reliable.

Thanks!

P.S. - been doing post audio and some field audio for 15 years, so feel free to talk technical to me ;)

I'm a videographer and have experience of working with sound using a boom mic and a bag recorder for example.

I've also worked as a tutor on community filmmaking projects where the participants are taught how to use an ENG camcorder and a boom mic to make their films. They use the equipment under supervision.

In these projects we've connected the boom microphone directly to the camcorder and then used a splitter to power two sets of headphones one for the boom op and the other for the camera op.

Is there a better way of managing monitoring for the boom op - I'm reluctant to use a bag recorder. Some kind of headphone amp that takes a split from the microphone perhaps. We're shooting a drama.

I’m a DP/camera op. More and more I’m being asked to do sound for interviews. I had a boom that my clients were happy with for many years. It has been so long I don’t even remember the model. That gear was stolen recently so I need to get a new mic. For my needs the mic will almost alway be indoors and on a stand during an interview. I want a quality mic that works well and I won’t have any issues. I’m considering a Sennheiser MKH50. I would rather spend a little less.

I’ve got a Sennheiser 416 for exterior shots, and I want to get another exterior mic. I occasionally use two booms on exteriors but in this case I don’t want to match the mics.

I know this is personal preference, so what would YOU go for? Budget is around $1500USD. I like the CS3e or the 8060.

Hey all, shooting an indie feature this summer.
Looking to rent a good shotgun mic for our boom, anyone got experience with the Sennheiser MKH-8060?
Renting our lens from lensrentals.com so easiest for us to get a mic from them, this was on their site and it looks good to me. Am I missing anything about this?

What’s the best settings for the RØDE Wireless Micro in noisy environments?
I just tested recording at an outdoor café, but there’s way too much background noise, clinking glasses, music and people talking.
What settings do you recommend to get the best possible results in environments like that?

I can change:
1 Overall gain mode. - Low, medium, high.
2 Noise reduction. - Off, low, high.

I'm making a list of pencil mics (which has gotten pretty long) and I'm wondering first; is looking at the stated specs for self noise on a mic reliable in terms of how much noise it's gonna have or are there other factors in play?

If the dBA self noise on the spec sheet is accurate to what the real world noise is gonna be like on a given mic, how much noise is likely too much for indoor dialogue? ~ technically subjective I know but looking for general advice

I have a shoot tomorrow and it’s expected to rain there, not a lot but constant. My setup is Mix Pre 10 II along with 416,418 and MKH 50 along with G4 Lav’s which will be going straight into the camera via TA3. It’s a documentary shoot so more gorilla in nature. Any tips for shooting in rain and how to coordinate with the cameraman who is probably the one who could be reluctant to attach a cable from my recorder to his camera. I can always attach a 416 to the camera, it had 2 inputs, but I don’t want it and want 418 for ambience and B Rolls.

Bonjour,

Je viens d'acquérir un mkh60 d'occasion. J'effectue des tests afin de voir si tout est correct.
Je remarque que lorsque je fais certains mouvements de perche (rotation simple ou mouvement bas/haut de profil), il y a comme des craquements.

J'ai effectué mes tests avec :
- Une MixPre-6 II, puis avec une Focusrite dans mon home studio
- 4 câbles XLR différents
- Avec Rycote (basique et grand vent), puis avec suspension basique Sennheiser (j'ai remarqué que ça le faisait moins)
- J'ai testé directement à la main et je n'ai plus ces bruits

Je penchais vers un problème de connexion avec l'XLR...
Avez-vous des idées ou des diagnostics ?

Merci et bonne fin de journée.

Anyone else have deity theos's and when you try to swap to a spare channel it says "open deity link first"? I can't seem to get past it

Hey guys, I've done a few playback gigs for music videos in my day. I'm also looking to upgrade my timecode setup. I've got a few JB-1s that are getting old. (They're great; I just want to try something new)

In the past, when I have done playback for music videos, I would feed a playback timecode track wirelessly into the camera to feed it timecode based on the duration of the song. I would generally use a channel of wireless to do this- feeding one rx to the slate and then another to the camera.

Are there timecode systems that will do this? Feed a real-time SMPTE timecode track to a camera based on a timecode track or MIDI timecode?

It's not that what I was doing before didn't work. I was just wondering if there is a timecode system that will support this.

Unfortunately one of the screws on the shock mount get loose and I can’t find it anywhere, while it still functions but I still wish to find the replacement. does anyone know where to get it ?

Currently I am using a kit with 2xDPA4060s in a Cinelapiano (Sound Devices 833 recorder)

But I feel the limitations both in ruggedness, but also lack of open-ness and high self-noise.

I’m considering 2x Sennheiser 8020 on a 80cm stereo bar, recording A|B. I want an open and detailed sound with little to no self noise!

Not quite sure about wind protection (a lot of my recordings are in strong winds). I have considered:
- Cinela LEO
- Cinela Cosi
- Rycote Nanoshield

(Nanoshield is very expensive… ~700$, and I need two…)

Any thoughts about microphones and wind-protection? Anything else I should consider?

Thanks

Will the Sanken COS-11D sound good paired with a zoom f2? Or should I pick a deity pr-2?

I don't know much about the quality of the pre amps on both of them – they also have different plugin power zoom f2 has 2.5v and the deity pr-2 has 5v. The COS-11D apparently needs 3-10 v. Can someone share practical experiences with either of those pocket recorders? Or recommend an alternative in a similar price range?

As some of you may know, I am working on a Open-Source project for LTC timecode devices. Intended for low cost, budget film-makers. I am currently deep into testing my Digi-Slate and I'm unsure on what the precise timing of TC should be - wrt to how the video editor sees it.

My equipment does NOT gen-lock the camera (wish I had 'fancy' cameras), so there is always some uncertainty on what the timing between LTC and shutter will be. This can result in 'LED blur' and my solution is to change the first digit (tens-of-hours) to '-' and freeze the rest of the display for 4 frames.

I described this in a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFcKoYORVqo

This allows an editor to see precisely the first frame that the camera saw/detected the 'clap'. In the attached image this is '00:00:05:20' (non-TC'ed frame).

My questions are:

1. What TC should this frame actually be?
2. I think I read somewhere that if the LTC value changes within a (camera) frame, that the highest value should be taken. Is that correct?
3. Maybe I am over-thinking it. What accuracy is actually acceptable, external recorder audio matched to camera (scratch) audio?

I've also attached some 'scopes' from the Digi-Slate's point-of-view, you can see the I2C writes where it writes "01:35:17:06" to LEDs and then (after clapper closes) it writes "-" and freezes the display.

Obviously the process should be automated, I have used the Tentacle app to read the 'audio TLC' and stamp video files with meta data. I just want to confirm that it's actually doing the correct thing, in a 'whole process' scope.

Cheers,
Simon.

Hi everyone!

I own a Zoom F8, and have been asked if I can live mix an event with 4 instruments going into the Zoom, then outputting into an amp with an XLR input. I was thinking I can do TA3 into XLR for the output, and call it a day. Does that sound like something that would work, / is there anything I should know before doing that?

Moderate newbie - not massively technical so please be kind.
I've been playing around with the Theos system and struggling to figure out what length to cut the antennae to on the TX / RX units. On the card they supply they dont seem to cover channel 38 for the UK range  606.500 - 613.500

The guide shows me 550-608, 608-663, 630-698.

I've acquired a set with antennae that are pre-cut and marked at 630-698 so they are not covering the licenced range - but there's about 4mm difference between the 630-698 and 608-663 markings. I have another set that I cut to 608-663 which I assumed was the best option for UK use.

I assume there would be some range loss or something - but should I just crack on and not worry about it?

Does this even make sense?

https://www.reddit.com/r/minidisc/comments/1uy938y/hhb_portadisc_mdp500_selltrade/

not sure where you can get minidisc stock these days as well

Hello, beginner here. I'm recording a no budget short film solo and due to the fact that I'm not going to be able to access some of the gear I would've hoped to, I'm left with limited options.

I'm recording one boom to a 633 and have two Sound Devices mini A20 transmitters. The thing is I've got no reciever. I've never used these transmitters before but I know they can record into themselves using the Astral App.

So, can I record the two lavs into their own A20's just using the app and then transfer the files individually via USBc? I also don't understand how I'm supposed to control the volume or gain of the sound while I have no reciver and am not running them into the 633.

Finally got my hands on the tca 1 timecode adapter, first time getting in to timecode and with a firmware update i learned that i can jam my dr10l pro's and it works like a charm!! Going to get the deity tc1 as well for my camera so i don't have to plug in the zoom recorder to my camera every time i want to record something with timecode. Good combo for weddings and on set for a medium production?

hi all, deciding to move slowly into the zaxcom VRX ecosystem. I'm currently all sennheiser g4 IEM, which I really like, but this year alone i've been on 4 jobs that specifically wanted comteks. Additionally, when a job needs a boatload of IFB, it's a real pain sourcing iem in my specific block.

i've been keeping an eye on the VTX board install on the nova and it seems like most of the bugs are worked out (?)

I figure if I can get the VTX (either the board installed or the box) to work well in a bag, then off a cart is no problem.

For those who have the install and the box, how do you like the fidelity and range? And what kind of antenna do you mostly use for bag work?

I have two rode wireless go 2 lav mics that I use on my short films and more often than not we pick up rustling from our shirts or clothing. We tried clipping directly to clothes, we’ve tried taping to our bodies. But yeah a lot of the times the audio comes back either scratchy or swishy or even muffled. Once or twice it’s sounded great but we can not figure it out. We’ve shot dozens of times now.

Is there some type of filter we can get to put over the lav to help w this? Or a video to show best placement of lavs? If we invested in better lavs would this prevent it?

Unfortunately we can’t use boom mics and need to stick to lavs because we are improvising and moving around the space a decent amount. I can upload a clip if that helps!

Thank you!