Dumb Question?

W

weezhum

Active member
So i was wondering how capturing audio through a good shotgun mic into protools on a laptop would work out. I am shooting a short comedy and i want the best sound possible. Im thinking of getting the oktava mk 012 but i wonder if it would sound better going into the DVX100a or into portools on a laptop. Thanks in advance for any feedback!!!!!!!!
CJ
 
If you go with Pro Tools I'm assuming that you're talking about LE or M-Powered. With that you would have no timecode to sync you up with the video so you'd probably want to have sync clappers at the beginning of each take to make syncing dailies easier in post. Maybe someone else with more production experience can chime in on this one.
 
It will sound MUCH BETTER than the DVX if everything else in your signal chain is pretty good. I can't address the M-Audio hardware, but any of the Digi ProTools LE hardware will give a significant quality improvement over the DVX preamps/converters.

If you feed the ProTools output to the camera, the waveforms will be very similar, which aids in syncing later.
 
Thanks!!!!!

Thanks!!!!!

Thanks for the answers.
I was curious to see if other people do this, and if not why?
CJ
 
nice

nice

ullanta said:
It will sound MUCH BETTER than the DVX if everything else in your signal chain is pretty good. I can't address the M-Audio hardware, but any of the Digi ProTools LE hardware will give a significant quality improvement over the DVX preamps/converters.

If you feed the ProTools output to the camera, the waveforms will be very similar, which aids in syncing later.
Click to expand...
<--Such a good idea!
 
Actually, most people that are capturing production audio on a computer are either using Metacorder or BoomRecorder. I am personally using BoomRecorder and have had great success with it. It is actually a pretty amazing piece of software.

But, what will effect the quality of your audio most is what sits between the microphones and the computer. You can't just hook the mics into the computer.

Phil
 
weezhum said:
I was curious to see if other people do this, and if not why?
CJ
Click to expand...


In a production environment, being tethered to a computer can be annoying and fragile... a computer and interface is is much less convenient than a body-worn mixer/recorder; typical computer connections (firewire/usb) don't stand up well to lots of moving around, etc. Dedicated production audio equipment has a lot of features specifically designed for such use that make them more convenient. So, some people certainly do this... but usually because they don't have access to the other stuff (yet!) for one reason or another (often financial).
 
It seems like that would be a cheaper way to do it if you had that easily accessable. What recording studio mics would be similar in quality to shotguns? I have a willing friend with a lot of great music recording equipment so im wondering if utilizing his help and equipment would save me from buying a thousand dollar microphone while getting the same results.
 
Ullanta,

I think it's important when posting an answer like that to qualify the differences in the types of productions. There are many high-end, large budget sound mixers that are using either Boom Recorder or Metacorder as their primary recording system now. A couple of recent large budget features were recorded with Boom Recorder. And, there are very few mixers that are using Deva recorders in bags. So, if you're talking about ENG or run-and-gun, or projects where 4 or less mics of varying types are required, then a bag-based recording system may work (such as a SD744 or up to a high end Cantar).

Personally, bag-based systems will not work on a majority of the projects I work on. On my last project, I was running up to 10 mics between wireless and boom, and while it is theoretically possible to do this in a bag, I personally don't want to schlep a bag with 8-10 wireless Rx's and Tx's around a set. I'd much prefer to park my cart somewhere out of the way and mix with a much more expansive environment.

As far as trying to use a computer in a bag environment, you're absolutely right - it will not work (well, I suppose it can be jury-rigged, but I wouldn't want to chance it).

In a cart based environment, computers work extremely well. Keep in mind that a Deva recorder is just basically a computer that has dedicated sound buttons on it.

Oh, and as far as being tethered to a computer, again, on many large budget projects, sound is always tethered to a computer in video village with the video capture folks.

Anyway, just my $.02.

Phil
 
A good clarification! I actually started writing something about cart-based vs. body-worn but got called away and just sent it!

However, to go a bit deeper - are there many situations where you're using a computer interface for all the preamping/mixing/monitoring? I was trying to argue for the benefits of all the production-style doodads (body-worn preamps/mixers/monitoring systems/etc.) as opposed to a typical computer audio interface alone. I have no problem with the computer as the recording device in a cart setup... but I'd still like the convenience of a few helper devices between the computer set-up and the mics!
 
Well i know he has an external interface

Well i know he has an external interface

Im Not sure which interface it is but it is made to be used with pro tools.
I could just make sure i have a long enough xlrs and set the laptop somewhere central. I figure I can get a great sound that way, depending on the right mic, whats the right mic is the next question.
A do it all yourself production is very overwhelming at times when working with a tight budget while trying to produce the best quality material.

And boomrecorder is for mac. I am on a pc. (no jokes please)
 
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What exactly do you mean by "do it yourself"? Will you have boom ops, etc, or ? Tell us a bit about the whole situation!

If the mics aren't moving... and you're operating sound AND video then the pure computer setup is less of a hindrance... mainly because you're not going to be able to make any of the adjustments you'd want to be making anyway.... the trick there is to do thorough sound checking beforehand, then set levels conservatively...

More information on your whole setup will help with mic suggestions, too!
 
Never used DV Rack... but I imagine Boom Recorder, Metacorder, PT, or almost any dedicated audio app will provide more useful features. How do you get audio into DV Rack... do you mean through the camera? I thought that was what you were trying to improve on!
 
Ok. Well. I will have a boom operator. Most of the shots will be tripod based and indoors.
What do you mean never use dvrack? you mean NEVER? Because i was planning on using that to capture the video from the dvx.
And do you know of any windows versions of boomrecorder?
Thanks!
 
I personally have never used DV Rack... szo I really can't say anything for or against it. It's well-spoken of for video; but I don't know about it's audio monitoring facilities.

Indoors, a good hypercardioid mic is generally preferable to a shotgun... so your friend may have something like that. You want something light (small diaphragm), with good sensitivity and low handling noise. The shockmount and wind protection are essential factors - yes, depending on the mic, even slowly moving the boompole can create enough "wind" to cause problems.
 
Oh i read that wrong....lol. Its late sorry!
Thanks a lot for your prompt responses.
Now i guess its just about finding the right audio app.
I think recording into a laptop will be better quality than into the dvx if i use the protools interface and a good mic. ( i think i typed that to convince myself)
 
weezhum said:
I think recording into a laptop will be better quality than into the dvx if i use the protools interface and a good mic. ( i think i typed that to convince myself)
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It will definitely be. That I can assure you; I do it all the time, and even when feeding the camera the line output from ProTools, the ProTools recordings are significantly cleaner than what the camera produces. Since I'm lining up audio bye eye AND ear, I'm listening to this direct comparison almost every day, for highly demanding classical music recordings.

The one caveat: unlike most good production equipment, the ProTools LE interface setup will not have a limiter in the chain, so you have to make sure to be very careful with your levels. If your friend has something to address this (some type of limiter/compressor) see if you can work that in... more unwieldy, but hey!

G'night and g'luck!
-Barry
 
Thanks a lot

Thanks a lot

What programs do you use for capturing audio?
Ive been looking for a pc version of boom recorder but i havent found one.
Thanks again.
 
I use ProTools most of the time, Digital Performer when I'm using my MOTU hardware, mainly because of the kind of work I usually do (music related) and my post-production workflow (music-centric) - so listen more to ptalsky's good suggestions for film production-specific software. I haven't used 'em myself, so I won't comment more... except to say again, tools designed for a specific situation, especially popular ones, tend to be more convenient in those situations!

For the record, when doing film-production-ish work, I currently use a Sound Devices MixPre in combination with more music-oriented equipment - even that minor addition makes a big difference in convenience. Even a MixPre/MicroTrack combination is a great quality improvement over the DVX or DVX/MixPre combination, not such a significant difference from the ProTools LE interface result. A MixPre/MOTU Traveler (standalone) / SPDIF to MicroTrack combination is a fairly small, great-sounding, battery-powered, up to 8 input setup...
 
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