comments about a video with 3 sounds from mic in it

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deleuze3

Well-known member
Here is a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnQs8OJt2Yg

0min to 45 sec SOUND 1

46sec to 1min20 SOUND 2

1min20 to end : SOUND 3

Sorry it peaks a tiny bit, and the volume on righ-left channel are not at same levels. SOUND 1 and 2, we can hear rain in the background.
SOUND 1 and 3 are from the same mic. SOUND 2 is a different mic.

Which of the 3 sounds sound the best ? DOes it peak too much ? (sorry about the level difference between right and left channel)

thanks in advance,
 
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That link only goes to a single video of 45 seconds, so I can't make a comparison. You also say: "SOUND 1 and 3 are from the same mic. SOUND 3 is a different mic". So are they the same or different?


 
Of the first two, sound 2 is a better version, at least for the speaking. But it may have been more the location of the speaker to the mic than the mic itself. On sound 3 there is a lot of background noise and not enough of the speaker. Might be able to save it with some noise reduction. I only jumped around so I have no idea about peak levels, use a meter for that.
 
FOr the sounds, i recorded the meters level on my camcorder all the way to the red. Maybe thats why there are distortion in sound 1 and 2.
Should i record the audio when the meters is half level from the red extreme and add volume in post?

Thanks in advance
 
A rule of thumb is to record "normal" conversation levels at anything between -12 to -20 dBFS to allow headroom for shouts, exclamations, etc. Some devices (Tascam DR-60D and DR40, and the Zoom H6) allow for a second track to be recorded at a lower level as a sort of sonic "safety net", which can help. Depending upon your intention, you can either compress/normalise to make the loudness more even, or not (it would, for example, be strange if whispers and shouts all sounded as loud as each other).

In your rainy takes, which are the two comparable ones, mic 2 picks up more of the voice and less of the background. Whether this is better depends, and why this is so will also depend on any number of features.
 
What are we listening for here?
Are you seeking opinions on camera-operator narration (presumably that is what the first two samples are?)
Are you seeking opinions on rejection of background noise?
Are you seeking opinions on recording levels?
Are you seeking opinions on microphone selection?
Are you seeking opinions on microphone placement?

The first two samples sounded like camera-operator narration.
This is not really a professional practice, but OK if you are making home movies or covering breaking news, etc.
Unless you are doing something really low low budget we try to record the dialog and the sound effects separately so they can be mixed together in a controlled fashion.
The second clip certainly had better low-frequency response than the first example which sounds "thin" to me.

The third sample was pretty bad IMHO.
1) It sounds like you had auto-level engaged which "pumps" up the noise between words. This is never a professional practice . It sounds very amateur.
2) It sounds like you were recording in an environment that was too noisy for proper dialog, especially from amateurs.

It would be helpful to know exactly what you are asking for here. We are just shooting in the dark.
 
SOund 1 : lavalier mic plugged into a sony NX30
sound 2 : The shotgun that comes with the sony NX30
Sound 3 the lavalier mic plugged into a sony NX30

Sound 1 : i record the audio and the meters went just at the beginning of the red levels. Thats why there is distortion ? Maybe i should have record half from the red.
Sound 2: sounds quite ok.
Sound 3, for my ears, the voice appears clear. Its the background/ambiant noise that is too loud. There is not much i can do.

Any tips ?

Thanks for the previous comments!
 
First, you need to do some tests to see how accurate your meters are. If you don't have access to a tone generator, at least try some steady-state sounds. For example, the Tascam DR-60D is notorious for meters that seem pretty conservative - you really have to hit the peaks to get a decent level with the thing. All the Panasonic pro camera I've used have very accurate metering... if it hits the red, you might be OK but go much at all into the red and it's distorted. Meters are new to many DSLRs and they're all over the place. So you need to know your gear. If you're shooting with a noisy DSLR, you'd want an external recorder, or at least a preamp that get a stronger signal into the camera... and on and on.

For levels, there's no absolute rule. Generally you want to get as robust (loud) a track as possible without distortion. If you're doing an interview with a quiet speaker (and don't expect the subject to suddenly scream) bring the levels up. If you're at an event where people may break into cheers or applause, you need your levels lower. If you camera/recorder can feed the same signal (mic input jack) to channels one AND two, get what you feel is a good level on one channel, and also record the second channel a few DB lower. That way if there's a spike, you can mix in the 2nd channel. And watch your meters throughout a shoot and adjust as necessary.

Getting more volume into a track means less internal system noise - hiss and hum from preamps and components. Better gear will have less noise in the chain... some DSLRs are hiss city. So your first battle is getting the mic as close to the source as possible. But keep in mind, mics can distort too, though usually this is a music recording issue, like micing a marshall stack or a floor tom - most of what's recorded for video won't distort a mic, unless you're talking race cars up close or similar situations. Stuff that would harm your ears as well.

There are hundreds of posts here about gain staging (the level setting for all of the stuff in an audio chain), testing, mic placement, etc. Do some searches.
 
thank you very much for your answer. very interesting to learn about all this.
I appreciate,
Have a good day
 
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