Distorted Audio on Canon XH A1

[Cynthia Stepien]

I have been filming recently in clubs trying to use only sound from the built in mic on my Canon XH A1. I'm having issues collaborating with the sound engineer to plug me in, so I have to make the most of my recorded audio.

When I film auto audio it's very blown out. I tried manual the next night but it sounded worse.

Any recommendations on settings on the camera itself ? I don't know if I changed anything but I dont remember the sound being as bad as it currently is.

Thank you

 

[BRH]

If you get a sound board feed it's usually line level, change your input to line, not mic.
Don't use auto level control.
If your gain knob on the cam needs to be all the way down or close to it... it's a good indication that the feed is too hot, or you have something set wrong.
On the line level setting you should have the gain knobs up at least 1/2 to 3/4.

 

[Alex H.]

When the audio is on "auto", that generally means AGC (Automatic Gain Control) which is intended to keep the level of the audio as high as possible while minimizing the dynamic range. In other words, it's like a brick-wall limiter with a really bad compressor. In normal dialog situations, you'll hear some crunchiness. In a loud environment like a club, it's no surprise that your audio is terrible.

As for manual mode, I don't know all the audio settings available on the XH-A1, but you need to start with the input level trimmed all the way down, then creep it back up until you have the level where it needs to be (generally peaking around -12dB). Wear headphones, good headphones, and trust them to tell you when the audio is getting distorted.

There's also a chance that the sound from the club's PA is pushing the mic's SPL handling limit (Sound Pressure Level), in which case there's not much you can do but to try another mic.

 

[Steve House]

...There's also a chance that the sound from the club's PA is pushing the mic's SPL handling limit (Sound Pressure Level), in which case there's not much you can do but to try another mic.

Or worse, it could be the sound is already distorted in the PA system itself. Depends on the nature of the music ... if the OP is shooting in a jazz club they're probably be paying pretty close attention to delivering quality sound but if it's a rock venue, a lot of them just turn the knobs to max and let 'em rip, equating "loud" with "good."