Makeshift/homemade tips to cut WIND NOISE

[Pookiehead]

I'm a bit worried about all this wind in my area for a shoot this weekend and I don't have access to any video supply retailers nearby to go and buy something to cut the wind..

any ideas on how to get clean audio with low tech means?

using lav mics ( windscreens)
boom mic ( senn windscreen--but I don't think that will be enough..)

I've heard of using mole skin..does this work? suggestions..

tks

[oleg]

there are foam which use for pudra there are very thick ones (ask your girl friend )
cut rit in the midle and place the mike inside then tape it to the bodie under the clods

for boom mike you can use sintetic furry to make condom
or use small harry towel and place it over the foam with safety pins (be sure to cover all the mike eliminate wind bumps on the bodie)
small pices of furry can work for lavs as well

[subsunk]

hi there Pookiehead,
as a confirmed DIYer with a thirst for research I decided a while back to make myself a boom mic setup with windshield and furry.
After searching the net and reading a couple of phd type documents i started researching my local craft shops.
I discovered that the furry material available from my local fabric shop had a variety of different fur types.
So with samples in hand i made a series of covers to fit over my carbon fibre frame.
My tests indicate that the most effective is the material with the very long wispy fur that combines near the material layer into a thin layer of more dense fibres.
in comparison between my rig and a pro rycote with an oldish furry ( a bit dirty if you ask me. Can you wash them?) my was substantially more effective at reducing wind noise in the 5-8Kt range available for testing on the day.
On other days with only my rig I have been exceedingly pleased with the performance despite some very windy days.

if you guys are interested i can sort out some photographs of the frame.

It is designed to fit two Sennheiser mics at once ME88 & ME80 normally recorded on mini disk or now camera and gives a nice quiet track of the object aimed at as well as another track with more ambiance.

prices were:
$20 for the cover.
$30 for the frame.
and quite a few hours of labour.

The biggest problem is deciding on a colour, Gray is just so boring.
steve's top 5 favs:

Fleuro Orange is good as the cameraman always spots it if it creeps into frame.
Sky blue is good for outside in the sun.
Gray for overcast.
White for indoors.
Black for British weather.

and with the material so cheap there is really no excuse for having a whole range of colours available. :)

steve

[scottchapin]

Great Steve, I like the orange! I have got to try that. Elsewhere I have heard to line the furry cover with silk. That is supposed to cut rustling noise caused by mic contact.

[subsunk]

Hi there Pookiehead,
yes i looked into the use of silk.
It is used to provide a barrier to reduce air movement into and out of the blimp thus reducing noise of the air passing over the mic element.

I found that there was little improvement in noise reduction when using the kind of furry material available. The material base is a fair bit thicker than on the professional windjammers.
so i decided not to bother.

If the mic mounting is designed carefully the mic should never come into contact with the inside of the blimp as if it does a large bump will be heard regardless of the presence of silk underwear.

steve

[scottchapin]

I would expect so, but the silk lined version did not use a blimp windjammer. It is cut to fit the mike like a foam windbreaker.

[subsunk]

hi there scottchapin,
silk has wonderous properties that allow its use in many situations for example as protecion against arrows.
I havnt seen its sole use as wind protection and can only imagine that it is to reduce air movement over the mic elements.
It may even be more efficient than the foam which i find to be more of a problem than no protection.
I use a tight fitting home made furry over the top of a foam as a simple way to create a small airspace although i am currently working on a camer mounted fully working blimp and furry combination for use on a very small sony.

I am still working on the article and hope to get it up on the site next week.

steve
keeper of the facinating facts.

[Neil Rowe]

..well, to be wordy and historical :P, silk really offers little to no protection against arrows. . its main purpose as used during the "dark ages" was not to actually stop an arrow, although it did slow them down from deeper penetration that would have occured if there was no silk. the silk basically provided a layer of material that would not be cut by the arrow as it hit the body, the arrow would then penetrate the body with the layer of silk still around the tip. the silk garment would slow the arrow some, and keep it from going quite as deep as it normally would, sort of like a strange parachute that stretches into your body. and then the soldier could remove the arrow by pulling on the silk garment, and the arrow would slide back out easily being contained in the silk pocket. this would allow soldiers to remove their own arrows, or have someone remove it- and not cause alot more dmg as they did so. but becuase an arrow does not have to go very deep to kill or seriously injure somebody in the first place, they would have been lucky to be able to have the chance or capacity to pull the arrow out anyway.

..i know :o whoa! now we can all sleep tonight..

[subsunk]

well thats pretty good,
but you admit that the silk does offer protection and it should not be forgotten that the most likely cause of death to someone in those times when not killed outright by the arrow was that of infection, which was substantially reduced by the use of a silk undershirt.

Obviously the silk was not worn alone but in conjunction with the reinforced leather jerkins worn over the top the marauding mongol warriors probably thought it useful protection.

I think that this and the reduction in injury caused by removing an arrow, often more than caused by its entering, flies in the face of your statement "silk really offers little to no protection against arrows".

steve
too many BBC doccos as a kid

[Neil Rowe]

cool,
..well, i guess i would just personally put it under the "mitigation" catagory. just because imho: 4-6 inches vs 6-10 inches into me (when either can easily kill me), and the ability to pull out the projectile easily and avoid infection , just doesnt spark ideas in my head falling under "protection".
but im content with the whole flying in my face thing too.. that sounds cool.

[skippyfetus]

If your windscreen isn't good enough, hold your hand or a peice of cardboard beside it with a free hand

[Barry_Green]

But... wouldn't the marauding mongol hordes be more likely to kill you if they found out you were wearing silk undies? I know that if I was part of a marauding mongol horde, and I found out someone wore a silk undershirt into battle, I'd probably whack him... ;D

[Pookiehead]

Hi everyone- thanks for the tips and ideas, you rock!..a few questions:

OLEG:

[quote author=oleg link=board=audio;num=1087540487;start=0#1 date=06/18/04 at 03:01:50]there are foam which use for pudra *there are very thick ones (ask your girl friend )
cut rit in the midle and place the mike inside then tape it to the bodie under the clods

what is a pudra? I don't have a "girlfriend," but I am a girl and I don't know what that is..

Steve- or anyone..do you have a picture of this "furry" stuff? I just have a picture in my mind of the trim on an old halloween costume or Chew-ba-ca ( star wars)

Otherwise, I may have to plunk down some $$ and get this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=S earchBar&A=search&Q=*&shs=rycote+lav&image.x=7&ima ge.y=7

They're pretty cute, but how much help are they? just wondering, I suppose I'd put them over the existing windscreens?

thanks all-