Audio Recording Equip...From Boom Mic

natdizzle

natdizzle

Active member
Hey, Just Purchased a Shotgun Microphone, and 40 feet of XLR cable, to run into my DVX...
But wondering if anyone knows of a recorded that can be on the Sound guy, recorded from the shotgun mic, and then later synced with the video...???

just so the sound guy can monitor and move freely while captureing the Diolouge on the movie.??
i know there is equpiment dont know where to look, I thought people used MD recorders but they dont have inuts for XLR??

Any help would be cool!
 
It sounds like you are looking for one of three things:
1. Hard Disk Recorder
2. Audio Monitor System for sound person
3. Mixer

Now, almost any of these will provide sound to your operator, but only the hard disk recorder will provide that external sync option. The mixer is nice because your sound person can monitor levels and ride the levels. The monitor is nice because they can monitor and you can monitor as well, but thats more cables.

So of these, which one are you leaning towards and then we can make a suggestion.
 
The Hard Disk Recorder is what im looking for i think yea, a Place for the sound man to plug into and recorder to , Seperate From the Cam, then in Post Sync the two up...
know any products ???
 
If I understand your question correctly, you're looking to record dual-system sound. A minidisc recorder may do the job you want it to, but there are only a handful of portable minidisc recorders that accept XLR jacks. The only one that I'm familiar with is the HHB portadisc, although the last time I checked the price was comparable to a non-timecode portable DAT recorder.

Unfortunately, the minidisc format uses lossy data compression as well as a lower sample rate (44.1 kHz as opposed to the 48 kHz of standard miniDV recording). They're also rarely built to stand up to the stresses of location audio recording.

If you have the budget, I would reccomend looking at a solid-state digital flash recorder such as the Fostex FR-2 or the Marantz PMD671. I've had an FR-2 for a couple of years now and couldn't be happier with it. It may not be a Nagra V, but it hasn't let me down yet.

Whatever equipment route you follow, remember to always slate your shots so that you have a point of reference for synching audio and video in post.
 
natdizzle said:
Hey, Just Purchased a Shotgun Microphone, and 40 feet of XLR cable, to run into my DVX...
But wondering if anyone knows of a recorded that can be on the Sound guy, recorded from the shotgun mic, and then later synced with the video...???

just so the sound guy can monitor and move freely while captureing the Diolouge on the movie.??
i know there is equpiment dont know where to look, I thought people used MD recorders but they dont have inuts for XLR??

Any help would be cool!
Click to expand...

Although not as expensive as the ZAXCOM DEVA, The SOund Devices 744 T will take SMPTE from your camera, sync to it and record time stamped files (up to four channels) to its hard drive which you can offload via Firewire.

A VERY cool box.

www.sounddevices.com

Regards,

Ty Ford
 
One thing to consider if you're doing dual/double system sound recording...you need a slate so you can create a synch point for your audio and video. When starting the scene, have someone hold the slate open in front of the camera, roll camera wait a sec or two, then have the person holding the slate clap it (keeping their hands and fingers clear of the clapper). It is also customary for the person operating the slate to call the scene (if your mixer isn't already slating it). It is important to start with the clapper open, and it works best if you have the slate in front of the camera before it rolls. This will help your editor immensely. With Vegas, when you capture it creates a clip for every timecode stop, so what you get in your project bin is a series of slates, so you can easily find the take you want when editing.

(I don't mean to sound like I'm talking down to you, but if you don't know what a slate is, it's the clapper thingy you see in making of documentaries...it has a hinged stick at the top that you clap to the bottom part, and usually a white board where you put the scene and take information. The more expensive slates you see in Hollywood movies also display a timecode on them, but you don't need that feature just yet. You can pick up a good slate on ebay or other sites for about $50. Or, you can just have someone clap their hands in front of the camera after it rolls, but this not only doesn't look very professional, it is harder to match.)

HTH,

Phil
 
If you go with a TC recorder: 744t...or DEVA, HHD, etc :) You can feed TC from the recorder to the camera's audio channel. Avid and FCP can read TC off the audio channel and autosync all your clips. I don't know if you can do this in Vegas, Premiere, or other NLE but I would think they do.

If you go with a non-TC recorder then hand slating is only decent way to sync up in post.

Good luck
 
Yeah the 744 things seems Like the IDEAL product...but straight up im not spend 4200 on that...atleast not for a few years....
Im not worried about TC for syncing, when we shot our film, slates will be in use and Syncing is no problem....
so when the 744 comes done in proce haha ill grab it...for no i need a Walkman with XLR inputs haha
 
no, you need a mixer. then you can amp the signal up cleanly, and THEN pass it on to the mixer, using whatever cables you like (slash need).
 
well what i would suggest is what i'm currently using...

i have the sound devices 302 mixer which up until today i was just feeding into the camera but i just picked up the tascam hd-p2 recorder.

it was really hard to pick that over the sound devices recorder but the tascam was just so much less i decided to give it a try.

first impressions - i'm a tiny bit worried about durabiilty. the case on the tascam is plastic. not just plastic but a delicate feeling type of plastic. ie. not plastic like a pelican or storm case. more brittle.

i know the sound devices hard disc/flash recorders are almost 2.5x the price of the tascam but feature wise the tascam seemed like a simpler solution.

it seems like if you go with the sound devices either 2 or 4 channel you almost don't need the 302 mixer. i wish they sold a more stripped down version that didn't make you feel like you were duplicating so many things having both the 302 and the 722.

matthew
 
I like the FR 2 also. I use a FP 33 mixer to my FR 2 and it comes through real nice.
 
Last edited:
Well I'll put in a vote for the PMD671. THe preamps are OK and it is a good recorder. A better setup would be to have one of the Sound Devices mixers in front but then your getting close to the price of a 722. You could also go with a Micro Track and some adapters but... Personally I don't like the FR-2. This may have a lot to do with personal taste but? I won't go into details because I don't want to trash it, a lot of folks like it so it must be OK, but it didn't tempt me at all. So if your going the recorder route I would get a demo or a return option so if it doesn't work well for you, you can try something different. That's actually good advice on most big purchases.

I have gone straight into a DVX100 from a mixer and run a in line backup and I am definitely sold on the backup plan. It's too hard to know what your levels are on the camera. If you go through a recorder then you can use the camera feed most of the time (if you have set it up right) but you have protection and the sound man can monitor what's being recorded. Even if you don't connect the camera and recorder you should record the onboard camera mic, it will give you a guide track that could be very helpful in finding the sound file. Also unless it's been fixed the DVX100 has a 1-2 frame offset of sound from picture going out the firewire port. Picture editors don't usually notice this but if you go to audio post make sure you check because the in camera audio will probably be out by 1 1/2 frames (that's what it has been on the DVX100 projects I've worked on so far). It's easy ti fix but you'll save a bunch of time if you know that it came out of the camera that way and it's not a problem with the studio.

SK
 
Anyone know a good recorder for under 500$? obviously it won't be the FR-2 or PMD, but I don't have the money quite yet for those, I've made way too many purchases recently..... I was looking a
 
(sorry hit the return or something) at the M-audio micro track 24/96. Anyone know if this is good? What are the disadvantages of it? I am not sure, but I think it doesn't have XLR's....which I need for my audio technica mic, I guess I'm dum, but what is the measurement for XLR's? is it 1/4"? That's what it says for the inputs, plus coaxial SPDIF, and 1/8 "stereo mini eletret mic in (whatever that is.)

Also I was looking at the edirol/roland R-1 portable flash recorder. Are these good buys? Ben
 
well it turned out that the tascam hd-p2 only does line level on the rca jacks and NOT on the xlr's even though in one place in the manual (page 8 or 9) it says you can change it with a switch on the top of the unit.

so gotham sound confirmed this with tascam and they are sending me the 722 and i'm returning the tascam.

the 722 will be nice to use with my sd 302 but i'll feel like i'm repeating some of the same circuitry but at least its a nice metal case. i gotta repeat, the case on the tascam felt like my first sony not like anything i'd take on shoots.

matthew
 
So Matthew, why did you not like the Tascam overall? I got that you think the exterior was rugged, which is pretty important in field gear. How did it sound? How good was the dynamic range? Battery life decent? Bascially, what were the plus's and minus's of the unit? What swayed you into returning it?

Cheers
 
Matthew, I'm curious too about your problems with the Tascam. I have one and love it. The 722 wasn't an option for me, both due to price and the lack of TC. Since I don't do a ton of bag work (I'm mostly a sit and mix kind of guy, or I run into the camera when I am slinging a bag) I have no concerns about the quality of the Tascam. It actually is a bit heavier than the PMD670, but again, not enough to matter to me. Wabbit, as far as battery life goes, I did a continuous record on mine (reformatting the chip each time it filled up) and I got about 6 hours on the batteries (using true CF, not microdrives which will burn batteries faster.) You can hear the sound quality (granted not a perfect example) in my lav comparison tests.

Phil

P.S. I will probably be putting my PMD 670 up for sale shortly, if anyone is interested contact me off list.
 
I use a Sound Devices 302 with a Tascam. I am more than pleased with the sound. 850.00 brand new is cheap for the features you get. Yes, it does not do line level in thru the XLR. They need to fix the manual. How about going TA3F out of the 302 mix bus to 2 male RCA plug into Tascam. (thanks Exile)

I have not used it for bag work either but it seems just as rugged at the FR2. The 722 has really clean preamps, a 302 with it seems redundant like you said.

I am waiting for my Denecke TS-3EL to arrive to finally take full advantage.
 
Marquee,

One thing I found was there was some drift between the Tascam and the denecke after about 1.5 hours (I don't know if the drift was from the slate or the Tascam...no real way for me to figure it out). But, simple fix...just re-jam the recorder and all is happy.

Also, don't forget that your jam cable for the Tascam needs to be male XLR to 1/4"...apparently this is not "standard" and the cable I got with my slate was XLRF to 1/4.

Phil
 
ptalsky said:
Marquee,

One thing I found was there was some drift between the Tascam and the denecke after about 1.5 hours (I don't know if the drift was from the slate or the Tascam...no real way for me to figure it out). But, simple fix...just re-jam the recorder and all is happy.

Also, don't forget that your jam cable for the Tascam needs to be male XLR to 1/4"...apparently this is not "standard" and the cable I got with my slate was XLRF to 1/4.

Phil
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up, what would your recommendation time interval wise to re-jam the tascam? Say no more than 30 mins?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top