Audio problem

C

clansullivan

New member
I am a new Panasonic DVX 100 user.

My proglem is with the audio. If the little dials on the side of the camera are set to 12 o clock, the audio is almost non existent and flatlined upon capture.

So I turn the dials to 3 o clock, now the audio is "okay" but kind of sounds canned. At least its not flatlined though.

What am I doing wrong? (I am using the built in mic)

thanks
Scott
 
You're using the onboard mic.............The DVX is a great video camera,but the onboard mic is alittle weak......Even so you should have decent audio levels with the dials @ the 12 o'clock position. What do you have the channel switches set to? There is also a line/mic switch in front of the XLR ports, if using the onboard mic, make certain they are switched to "mic".
 
pronghornproductions said:
You're using the onboard mic.............The DVX is a great video camera,but the onboard mic is alittle weak......Even so you should have decent audio levels with the dials @ the 12 o'clock position. What do you have the channel switches set to?
Click to expand...

On the side of the camera, on the panel revealed by the LCD monitor, there are two audio routing controls that assign sources to the recording channels. The first selects between the built-in mic, input 1, and input 2. The second selects between the built-in and input 2. (Note: input 1 and input 2 refer to the XLR connections). Scott: since you are getting some sort of signal here, I'm going to assume that you have them both set to the built-in mic.

There are also phantom power switches for input 1 and input 2. These only affect the XLR connections, and only then if the front switch is set to MIC.

Now, in the menus, you'll find a selection for "MIC GAIN." Sounds like you're probably set to -60dB. Move both channels to -50dB and see what happens.

pronghornproductions said:
There is also a line/mic switch in front of the XLR ports, if using the onboard mic, make certain they are switched to "mic".
Click to expand...

Those switches have no effect on the built-in mic. They only affect sources plugged into the XLR inputs.
 
be sure to use headphones to monitor your audio, and are you hearing bad audio from the cameras speaker, or do you also hear that in editing?
 
clansullivan said:
What am I doing wrong? (I am using the built in mic)
Click to expand...

That would explain everything, actually. That mic isn't all that sensitive, isn't directional at all, and the worst part is that it's far away from what you're trying to record.

You always want to get the microphone as close to what you're recording as you can, so that will mean using an external mic. The on-board mic (of any camcorder) is pretty much useless for anything other than recording ambient sound.

It's not a problem you can solve simply by turning up the dials -- when you do, you may make your voices louder, but you noticed you make everything else louder, too, so you have lots of noise. If your mic is right by your talent, their voices will be the loudest thing recorded, and any other noise will be slight in comparison.
 
i have a rode ntg-3 for my camera and it works VERY nicely, but its quite pricey so you should invest in a shotgun mic of somesort for your camera. audio technica and rode are great brands
 
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David Jimerson said:
That would explain everything, actually. That mic isn't all that sensitive, isn't directional at all, and the worst part is that it's far away from what you're trying to record.

You always want to get the microphone as close to what you're recording as you can, so that will mean using an external mic. The on-board mic (of any camcorder) is pretty much useless for anything other than recording ambient sound.
Click to expand...

It's called 'room tone', sort of.
On-board mics are perfectly good for establishing the tenor of the space, and providing a real-time 'click track' (for looping and ADR).
I always use at least one channel of the on-board mic source in my work.

I also incorporate external recording devices for audio including, but not limited to:
DAT, HDMD and standard MD.
In post all that source material gets blended together to make the final audio tracks.

Reliance on a single source of recording audio is okay, in a pinch.
If it's spoken, performed, or otherwise occurring before or near the camera, then it's important enough to be heard.

Audio REALLY "sells" the video.
We should pay as much (or more) attention to it as we do at making 'pretty' images.
 
so true, because the audio is MORE important than the video. the audience will forgive a shaky camera move or bad coloring, but they will not like a buzz, or loud ambient (unwanted) sound in the background
 
NoNoob said:
It's called 'room tone', sort of.
Click to expand...

Well, room tone is something different from what I had in mind with "ambient sound." :)

One of the primary reasons you want "room tone" is to fill in gaps when you cut your dialogue that you recorded on set, otherwise the soundtrack noticeably drops to silence. Of course, the goal of recording good dialogue is to have as little background sound as possible, but it's nearly impossible not to have SOME tone behind your dialogue. As you want the room tone to match the background sound of your recorded dialogue, you generally want to record it with the same mic in the same place -- as well as having all the bodies/furniture in the same place, too.

If you record room tone from your on-camera mic, there's a very good chance the tone won't match the dialogue recording's underlying tone, and then it won't cut well. (It could be sort of like using totally different lighting between takes.)

Ambient sounds can be used as a sweetener, an underlay under the whole soundtrack. They don't even have to be recorded on the same set at the same time; if you have a park scene, for example, you can go to a lovely arboretum and get the ambient sound there, with birds, light breezes, all that sort of thing which may not exist at your location, or which you want to get rid of for clean dialogue recording. You can record a crowd at a baseball game, or a walla in a bar, the activity in an office, etc..

There's some overlap, to be sure -- you certainly need the ambient sounds which would be in the room if you're going to totally ADR the scene -- but they're different concepts.
 
What kind of mic is recommended for the DVX? I usually only have one person filming, so would the camera mounted mic work better than the built in mic?
 
Depends on what you're doing and where you're doing it. It's not really a matter of what's recommended for the DVX; it's what's appropriate for your shooting situation.

Camera-mounted wouldn't be recommended at all, unless you're doing news or doc work where the audio isn't 100% crucial -- but even then, you should always try to get the mic as close to the voice as possible.
 
Well, again, that depends on what you're going to use it for. What's your primary use going to be?

The thing about mics is that there are many different kinds, and they're all suitable for particular uses. There are some mics you can use for a lot of things, but there is no one holy grail kind of mic that'll get you through anything.

For example, a good mic for recording indoor dialogue around that price is the Oktava MK012, which a lot of members here swear by. But it isn't as good for outdoor shooting or news gathering. Shotguns or handheld omnidirectionals would be better for those uses.
 
I think I'd need it primarily for interior dialogue. I'm shooting martial arts instructional videos.

Do you think then that the one you mention is the best for this for a $200 budget?
 
The Octava is great, but it's not intended for camera-mounting. You need to put it on a boom pole, you'll need a shock mount, and probably wind screen protection as well. Very basically you need at least $400 to get started, and then you need another body to operate the boom... but man oh man will you have much better audio, by a mile.

Click the link in David Jimerson's sig and buy that Sound for Film and Television DVD. It's fantastic.
 
I also have a DVX100B and have a similar problem. As the original poster, I intend on shooting instructional videos indoors, where my goal is to capture the subject's voice as clearly as possible. The subject usually stands about 12ft away from the camera, speaking in a regular tone of voice. I have no interest in capturing ambient/background noise.

While I understand that a boom microphone is probably ideal, my film crew is limited to one volunteer (who operates the camera) and completely amateur in nature. I am often the subject of the aforementioned videos, and thus can't operate the camera, let alone a mixer, at the same time. Lav mics are not a possibility, since the subjects in the video are always performing athletic movements and I would get a lot of "clothing" noises with those. After much research I came to the conclusion that I'm probably better off with a camera-mounted microphone. While not idea, I'm assuming it has to perform significantly better than the on-board mic.

I found the Azden SGM-PDII, which runs for about $200. Any suggestions/comments would be more than welcomed. This is a great forum, and I thank you in advance for all the help!
 
It will get you better results than the on-camera mic, but you're still going to be running into most of the same issues simply because the mic is far away from the person talking.

Whatever mic you're getting -- be it that Azden, or the Oktava -- get a long XLR cable to go with it and find some way to mount the mic near your talent, and do what you have to do to get pointed down at the talent, and not up or straight at. The ideal, of course, would be to use a professional stand and boom and shock mount, but if you can't afford that, find some other way.
 
uTurnProductions said:
I apologize my ignorance will chime in here but why is it important to have the mic pointing down instead of under the person pointing up?
Click to expand...

If you're pointing at the floor, you're less likely to pick up stray sounds you don't want (especially if the floor is carpeted). You're also less likely to have the talent popping breath right into the mic.
 
David Jimerson said:
If you're pointing at the floor, you're less likely to pick up stray sounds you don't want (especially if the floor is carpeted). You're also less likely to have the talent popping breath right into the mic.
Click to expand...

intrusion, number one answer.

mic would have to be awfully close to pick up popping.

i'm having fun following this thread.
very entertaining.
 
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