AHHH...can't get good sound...Help

[Anthony_Gilmore]

well...I had my first interview for a doc I'm working on. I'm however, a little dissapointed with the audio results. I was using a Beyer Dynamic boom, with an ME66 shotgun (i used the phantom power). We ran the XLR cable into the camera without a mixer. The levels were going 2-3 reds in the negative and set at 50db. I think everything was where it should have been. However...once I captured it...the sound was so hollow...and with a annoying "humm" in the background. I heard everything the interviewee way saying, but couldnt pay attemtion because of the bakground humm. All the footage was like this. What am I doing wrong? Is this humm normal? Do I fix it in post? I really want to capture good sound...am I missing an important piece of hardware? PLEASE HELP :(

Best Wishes,
Korea Boy

[MattinSTL]

You're positive you selected the me66 by switching out the internal mics right? Okay... sorry for the stupid question.

Did you check the sound with headphones while you were there?

The me66 is a pretty hot mic with a significant tail of rear pickup... depending on the position of the mic you may have been hearing the camera or some other source that wasn't obvious in person. You need to check audio with headphones when you're setting up.

Otherwise it seems like you did everything right. The me66 is a challenge with the DVX in an indoor setting... The room really needs to be dead to get the results you want. An me66 will hear a refridgerator in the next room... that would cause the hum. Also some fluorescent lighting will hum... then when you boom down that "tail" of the mic is picking it up.

[Guest]

thanks for the help....the sound is working and very clear....it amazing :)

[Dave_Fisk]

Sounds like room tone to me. Turn on the high pass filter on the mic. If you use a mixer in front of the camera, you can EQ some if this out. If it's still a problem, then you can try to fix it in post, but don't rely on that as a solution. I'm post guy, and people think we can remove anything and everything, when that's not the case.

-Dave

[MattinSTL]

Yeah... follow this up! I want to know what the problem was!

My best guess was that you were shooting in a room with fluorescent lights... no?

There are a lot of sounds that you will NEVER notice with your ears... but a mic gets it full force. People think that when they use a shotgun that it ONLY hears forward... but to get that trait you gotta' spend a LOT more then the price of an me66... 4073a at least and CS1 ideally.

Otherwise you can just pay very close attention to the invisible tail on the mic and USE headphones!

[Guest]

yes Matt in STL...it was fluorescent lights and the mic wasnt quite clase enough...but now we are getting great sound. Thanks for the help. Any tips on how to make a small hollow room with wood floors and food walls not sound so echoish and hollow?

Best Wishes

[MattinSTL]

Get all the blankets you can and cover the floor with 'em if they are out of the shot.

Moving blankets are pretty cheap and you can throw down 10 or more of 'em to deaden the room.

[Dave_Fisk]

You can also use foot foam. It's a really thin layer of foam that is sticky on one side that you can put on the bottom of talants' shoes that keeps the noise of ther shoes down.

-Dave