Controlling Audio Noise With A Mic Plugged Into An H4n

[Robertofish]

I use the rode ntg-3 for outside with a blimp and a windmuff windscreens outside, and I connect it via xlr to the zoom h4n, however when I do this outside in good enough conditions not to windy I still get a decent amount of background noise, much more then I would like, does the h4n have a good way to control this, I tried a low cut filter but it doesn't help that much in fact it lowers the quality of voices in a lot of ways? Any ideas on this because it is a very good mic and its not getting the quality that I would like out of an expensive mic (audio quality is amazing just not that good at controlling background noise)
Thanks

 

[Rippie]

Are you talking about background noise like traffic and trees in the wind..etc?
A microphone isn't a magic wand that only picks up exactly whats in front of it. Just like your ear it's going to pick up
other things as well.

Assuming you're trying to record dialog, the best thing to minimize background noise is get the microphone closer to the source.
Also the louder the source that you want to record is, the lower the background noise will be, because if the person you're recording is quiet you have
to turn the volume up right? Which in turn also makes the background louder. Louder person, you have to turn the volume down turn making the background quieter.

 

[ggrantly]

+1 to what Rippie said. Some mics have low cut filters on them, the NTG-3 doesn't. What kind of low cut filter did you add that degraded the audio? A quality mixer will do this without degrading quality.

Grant

 

[Greg Smith]

You don't say how you're booming or otherwise mounting the mic, or where it's located relative to the talent. Like Rippie says, distance is the key with all microphones. Using a shotgun helps reduce unwanted sounds away from the direction of the source but doesn't really increase the acceptable working distance as much as you might wish for or infer from the "shotgun" moniker. You should still have the mic within a foot or 18 inches of the speaker if at all possible. Usually, this is accomplished with an overhead boom, but there are other potential ways to do it as well.

If this isn't what your problem is, post a sample somewhere and let us try and figure it out.

- Greg

 

[Robertofish]

My set up is my boompole which is a k-tek internally wired xlr 9 foot 2 inch, with the ntg-3, blimp, windmuff and the small windscreen that comes with the mic on it, I put that on a c-stand with a boompole holder, and put sandbags on the legs to stop it falling over, its a great set up and the stand adjusts height as well, the low cut filter I was talking about was in the h4n and cuts different hertz levels from 80-237 but when doing so its also cutting out those frequencies from the dialogue which makes it sound less full, which to me in some ways means less quality. Also I have soundtrack pro and final cut pro so it is possible to do noise reduction in post I don't know how reliable that will be which is why I prefer to fix it while filming, the other question I have is do I need the foam windscreen that comes with the mic on it as well as the blimp windscreen and the windmuff, because I feel like the windscreen might not help that much and may take away from the audio quality
Thanks again

 

[unclebob6958]

I put that on a c-stand with a boompole holder

Part of the problem is the static set-up with the mic. Someone should be swinging that boom to keep it properly aimed at the talent. Otherwise you're probably recording the traffic over the actors left shoulder, and then the actor makes it worse by turning their head away from the mic.

low cut filter I was talking about [is] cutting out those frequencies from the dialogue which makes it sound less full

You can cut at 80Hz; the voice won't be affected unless it's James Earl Jones.

do I need the foam windscreen

Take off the foam windscreen when the mic is in the blimp.

is possible to do noise reduction in post I don't know how reliable that will be which is why I prefer to fix it while filming,

It's always best to get it right on the set. At the low/micro-budget indie level doing noise reduction is a series of compromises that ultimately compromises sound quality. It takes the proper tools, experience and ears to get it right and even then it's not always salvageable.