Audio for standup comics evening

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ibezdechi

Member
I previously posted this question in the HVX200A forum. It was suggested that I repost the question here which may cause more discussion and perhaps a solution which might help others in a similar production situation:

I usually use my HVX200 for TV news application (TV news packages), but was called on to shoot an evening of standup comics. I used a shotgun mike hardwired and placed near the front of the stage to record the acts (mostly off a really old and bad PA system). I really wanted to be able to plug into house sound, but that was not a possibility.

I was riding gain all night, as some of the comics were kind of soft, while others were very loud at which time I would slowly ride gain.

For this type of application, do you guys think using the Automatic Gain Control would have been a better option? I'm not crazy on how it comes out on the highest peaks, but would this be a good alternative to riding gain?

Someone suggested that I should turn on the Automatic Gain Control and put the two channels on the camera to real use: one higher to record the softer speaking comics, and the other lower for the comics who tended to overpower the house PA system.

Thanks, in advance for your ideas and opinions!
 
Riding gain can be fine, if you're a dedicated sound person. But trying to do that and run camera is a real PITA. If you set your record levels safely (not peaking) for the louder comics, you can always work with levels in post.

Another option, though not always the best: mic a speaker from the in-house PA system. No, it isn't ideal, but it can get you more consistent recording.

Do these comics move around, or stay in pretty much the same place during each performance, or is it a mix of the two?

Use a second mic, and the second channel, to mic the room for crowd reactions, then mix the two sources in post. That will give the performance a little more "life".
 
When I do comedy shows I usually do a recorder, Used the zoom h2 for awhile, on a table near the front. This gives surprisingly great audio.

The house takes care of the levels, it's always loud enough to give me leeway in post to balance it out and having it on a table in the crowd gets pretty good crowd noise.
 
homestar_kevin said:
When I do comedy shows I usually do a recorder, Used the zoom h2 for awhile, on a table near the front. This gives surprisingly great audio.

The house takes care of the levels, it's always loud enough to give me leeway in post to balance it out and having it on a table in the crowd gets pretty good crowd noise.
Click to expand...

I really like the H2 idea... Are you in the 2 channel or 4 channel mode on the recorder?
 
I have done it a few ways, usually I do the 4 channel surround sound I want to say?

I'll have to double check the recorder when I go home..
 
When I can't tap in to a room's sound system, I use the mighty $22 ART Split Com Pro, which will split the signal from a mic into two outputs, one goes to the room sound system, and the other goes into my field mixer, which is then fed to a digital recorder or the camera's audio input, or sometimes both. I've only used this with dynamic mics that don't need phantom power, so I'm not sure how this will work with a phantom powered mic.

ART SPLITCom Pro Microphone Splitter/Combiner : $22 at B&H Photo

UPDATE: Using a mic splitter with a proper isolation transformer would probably be a better idea.

Something like this might do the trick: Whirlwind SP1X3 - 1x3 Mic Splitter : $89 from B&H Photo
 
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if you ask the PA for a "aux" or "second main out without EQ etc", and you check the levels and leave some headroom...you should be fine...

Recording reactions is also good yes.... Most people think that they hear the reactions of people in the mic of the performer, but that's not true...
 
FWIW, the ALC feature on a HVX isn't an auto gain circuit. It is a limiter, so yes you would have to ride levels which isn't much fun on a video cam.

Grant
 
If the competency of the house mixer is in question, a mic-splitter is you're best bet. If phantom power is involved, it's always supplied by only one board, that has the direct leg. Otherwise, a pre-fader aux send is often a better option then a main or post-fader aux send. Both would have the good and bad fader moves. AND both the main or aux sends would be subject to pre-amp gain staging, which is set by the house mixer, it could be distorted or lack a adequate signal level. Keep in mind that a Main or Aux send will likely be +4dB line level.
PS, I never leave home w/o some IL-19 ISO transformers, if I will be patched to an external system.
 
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