Need the Wind but I don't want it

alwayslearning

alwayslearning

Well-known member
Looking for some advice here ...
I want to record the sound of the wind blowing through pine trees, but I don't want it blowing through my mic. Any thoughts on a good way to accomplish this? Since the two sounds are quite different, I was thinking of trying a filter in post to sample the wind noise and take it out, but I don't know how that will work. I haven't tried it yet as I have been sick recently but hope to get out and do it this coming week. I'll be doing it out in the cold but that probably doesn't matter. I'll be recording to my dvx and for post I have Audition 1.5.

Thanks,
Larry
 
Get your mic out of the wind. Use a big fuzzy dead cat or find a place where the wind isn't hitting the mic. Not sure why you would record sound to the DVX unless you have no other choice, but...

Removing in post is not going to happen. Steady unchanging noise like an AC hum are relatively easy to remove wide-band constantly changing noise like wind is near impossible.
 
I don't have a portable choice at this point as far as recording devices in the field. I thought about the dead cat thing but will that block out my sound that I want? I suspected the noise filter might not work so well with wind being what it is, but I was hoping the difference in sound might help. On the other hand though, I guess the biggest issue will be capturing all that unwanted noise to use as a filter. You're definitely right about steady unwanted noise vs. something like wind.

Granted the dvx isn't anything like a professional field recorder, but I don't think it is so bad. I like it's recording quality a lot better than the canon xl2. My friend has one of those and he wishes canon used panasonics audio electronics.

Larry
 
Larry,

The windsock (the correct name for the "dead cat") won't block out the sounds you are trying to record, just help to stop the wind noise on the mic. I've done this many times (actually a couple of times when we really didn't want the tree noise either, but were stuck with it.)

Phil
 
I take it you want the sound of the wind through the leaves and trees, thus putting a windjammer (a.k.a. dead cat or wookie or wind muff) over the mic will get rid of the wind going past the mic, but still record the sound of the wind through the leaves and trees. I've gotten good results with an all-in-one approach using something like a Rycote Softie, but a REAL windjammer over a zeppelin is the way to go and will yield better results when there's lots of wind.
 
Noiz2 said:
[...] Not sure why you would record sound to the DVX unless you have no other choice, but...
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the sound recording to a DVX is actually pretty good, The DVX has decent preamps on the Mic inputs compared to most other camcorders. Not that one would not want to use a good mixer and digital recorder when one can, but I've been very pleased with the sound quality of DVX (and for that matter HVX) recordings.
 
... something like a Rycote Softie, but a REAL windjammer over a zeppelin is the way to go ... Sounds like I'll be trying something like that then. I don't have either, so I'll have to figure out something alternative. Right now, money is an issue with me. (I did land a cool industrial video job though and that will help come January. :) ) Any thoughts on a cheap alternative?

... and will yield better results when there's lots of wind. In this case, I want up to twenty mph winds.

Larry
 
Yes, the DVX has decent audio. But it's recording to tape and is much less optimized for sound recording, that's why it wouldn't be my first choice. Windjammer is actually the name of what I have.
A cheap alternative is to make something of the right shape out of either hardware cloth (sort of like chicken wire with square holes) or some of that plastic mesh that is used to keep leaves out of gutters (looks very much like the real plastic in zeppelins) and cover it with a nice stretchy cloth like what's used in polypropylene thermal underwear. Also you can use thin (1/4" - 1/2") open cell foam inside. Leave plenty of air space for the mic. With the smooth cloth exterior you probably wont need a furry cover. Part of the reason for the Windjammer is that the rough plastic ext of Zeppelins makes a whistling sound in heavy wind. The down side to having the cloth on the out side is that it wears fast.

A super cheap solution is to just get in the "shade" of the wind. Like close to the trunk and down wind, or behind a big rock.
 
THe problem with noise reducing wind is that NR (almost all) works be taking a "noise print" of the sound you want to remove and subtracting those frequencies from the source sound. Wind being very broad spectrum will have a noise print that removes a LOT of what your trying to capture. Also a little wind buffeting is not terrible. People actually expect to hear some of that in heavy wind (even though you don't in real life) so you might even have to add some back in in post to make the wind sound "realistic".
 
the best inexpensive (though not necessarily cheap) blimp/windsock combo is the k-tek k-zepp. You can check with Trew or Coffey to get a good price on it.

Phil
 
ptalsky said:
the best inexpensive (though not necessarily cheap) blimp/windsock combo is the k-tek k-zepp [...]
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The K-Tek Zeppelin Blimp is certainly a good value for the money.

If you're looking for something more portable (and a slight compromise in performance) there are alternatives to a blimp, for example, one of the short-hair slip-on windscreens from K-Tek, Rycote, and Lightwave, and they all run in the neighborhood of $100.

The option in the "as cheap as you're going to find before having to make it yourself" category is the Mic Muff Low Cost Fur Mic Windscreen available from Markertek for about $40.00, the price makes it a good first investment in wind protection.

I personally own a Rycote Softie and Pistol Grip. I like the compact size (ideal for travel) and setup and tear-down is faster and easier than a real Zeppelin, however, the wind protection is not quite as good as using a full-fledged Zeppelin + Furry cover combo. I've done some shooting on windy days in which I wished I had a real Zeppelin and Windjammer, but C'est la vie..
 
Noiz2 said:
A super cheap solution is to just get in the "shade" of the wind. Like close to the trunk and down wind, or behind a big rock.
Click to expand...

I have the K-Zep and it's great, but... if you're just trying to get the sound of the leaves rustling or whatnot, I would just bring a 3' x 3' sheet of plywood (or other rigid material), put it a foot or two upwind of the mic and perpendicular to the direction of the wind, and voila. You can even mess with tilting the board vertically to add some "howl." The thinner (less rigid) the board, the more rumble you'll get.
 
in really heavy wind i'd recommennd the hi-wind sock ASWELL, its like a fleecy covering that goes under the fluffy. I need these all the time living in scotland, and sometimes even they aren't enough. struggle to hold the boom sometimes. :)

the more directional the mic is the more succeptible to wind hits it will be. I met an amazing nature recordist who uses only the fleecy cover, never the fluffy one, and he gets aways with it in wind because inside the blimps are two omni-mics.
 
Sometimes it's actually desirable to capture some wind blows, of course with the mic protected with softie (even home made soft stuff). It can add more authenticity to your recording. Record both hiding in some quiet den and in open space. You will get more options for your mix with peaceful sound of trees and then with agressive wind. With good softie wind actually does not sound so bad and may be very useful.
 
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