Recording live event audio

D

DVX100Shooter

Veteran
I got some good ideas on my earlier thread about using my wireless to record live audio to my cameras. Some have suggested that I hire a soundguy which will not be possible since my shoot is in 3 days and I am starting to stress out over how I am going to work out the audio.

My question now is what kind of device can I try to purchase that I can set next to the audio board and be able to record mixed audio to and then sync up to the video in post.

I have heard mentioned that I could use a DAT recorder; Sound Device 788T; I was also given a couple of software programs to check out if I wanted to use my laptop and external hard drive.

I have a Sony GVD-1000 MiniDV deck that I use to ingest my footage into Final Cut Pro. It has Firewire capability and RCA in/out and S-video in/out. There are NO level meters on this device. It's not a REAL deck but its what I use to ingest video instead of putting extra wear on my camera. My question is could I get away with using this device to record clean audio being as though I have 3 days to make something happen?

I would probably need a XLR to RCA type cable or 1/4" to RCA.

I am still going to try to run a wireless signal to at least one of the two cameras I am using and use the shotgun mic on the other camera for ambient sound and crowd reaction.

Any help or suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated. Next time I will plan in advance to hire my own sound person to deal with these issues and I can just concentrate on the camera work.

Also I should be able to go somewhere like Radio Shack and get a bunch of XLR, and 1/4inch audio adapters right?
 
The line level off the board is likely going to be +4dBu (professional) where the input on an RCA jack is almost certainly set to accept a -10dBV (consumer) signal so you're going to have some trouble with the signal clipping unless you have a 12dB pad (weird math why it's 12dB difference instead of 14) and without meters that's really not a good situation.

Software with a laptop is going to need an interface which I'm not sure if you have or not.

Getting something like a Zoom H4 and plugging 1/4" cable into it with line level would work much better.

And yes, Radioshack has basically every kind of adapter you'd really need.
 
live recording

live recording

contrary to common sense, recording the feed off the mixing board doesn't give you the best sound if you're recording live music. The board mix is always very vocal heavy to compensate for the amps on stage.
One way to get good a good recording, also contrary to what you would think, is to use a couple of pzm's on the stage.. I know crazy, but it works.
I usually end up putting two mics in the middle of the room and crossing them, pointing them 45 from the stage in opposite directions. That way you record the 'real' mix.

Disregard this if it isn't a music show...
 
bozobigsky said:
contrary to common sense, recording the feed off the mixing board doesn't give you the best sound if you're recording live music. The board mix is always very vocal heavy to compensate for the amps on stage.
Click to expand...
I can totally agree with you there. That is why I like the multi tracks, as I can feed each instrument or singer into their own channel, and mix it properly. Again, disregard if this isn't for a music show :)
 
bozobigsky said:
contrary to common sense, recording the feed off the mixing board doesn't give you the best sound if you're recording live music. The board mix is always very vocal heavy to compensate for the amps on stage.
Click to expand...

On gigs where the system engineer does his job so the board is only mixing the music and not compensating for the system, then the board mix is great.

But fair point to bring up since that's not always the case and multi-track recordings are naturally better to deal with.

Also really fun when the engineer adds a bunch of low end into the system EQ, then it's taken off on the board so the board recording has 0 bass.
 
DVX100Shooter said:
Some have suggested that I hire a soundguy which will not be possible since my shoot is in 3 days and I am starting to stress out over how I am going to work out the audio.
Click to expand...
Even more reason to hire a soundguy.
You do realize most freelancers if not already booked will work at a moments notice right?


Just being curious, since your original post a few weeks ago about being
concerned about audio..
why did you do nothing about it till 3 days to go?

Im not being a smartass..just trying to figure out why when you knew
it was going to be a challenge did you wait till the last moment?
 
Rippie I have been so bogged down with other shoots and doing logistic checks at another venue for another shoot that I have not had time to search for a audio person like I had hoped. This is a BIG LESSON LEARNED!!! So I am going to hire someone for the next big shoot.

I went to a local music store today and picked up a Tascam Pocketstudio DP-004 which is a 4 track recorder.

http://www.tascam.com/products/dp-004;9,16,3707,18.html

It came with a 1gb SD card with 1/4" jack plug ins on the side. The guy at the store said I could take an out from the Sound guy's board and bring it into the Tascam recorder. It has USB on it so I can import the audio into my computer later and then hopefully will be able to sync it up with the video. The downside is that I am going to have to read the manual all night to figure out how to work the thing before my shoot Saturday night!
 
You could have posted on the Jobs board... I could have helped you out most likely. PM for future jobs... in MA and travel throughout the NE Corridor
 
Ok sounds good. I will do that next time around. I ended up just giving the soundguy my 2 Lectrosonic wireless transmitters and I ran them to both of my cameras. Audio on one of my cameras was flawless and sounded great but the one I had further away in the back of the arena kept having dropouts. We changed the battery on the receiver and it cleared up a little. I didn't have a chance to change the battery on the transmitter. So I am not sure if that was the cause of the dropouts or if the distance between receiver and transmitter was an issue.

I have another shoot in that same arena on Friday so I have a few days to troubleshoot. Trust me for future shoots like this I am gonna hire someone to do my audio work!!!
 
Sound board vs mics - DVX 100B

Sound board vs mics - DVX 100B

I've recorded several events with my DVX100B at a small performance hall that had a built-in sound system. Initially, I used my Rode NTG-1 (shotgun) mounted on the camera (with an isolation mount) and a Rode NT3 (cardioid condenser microphone) mounted on a light stand up close to the stage (both connected to the DVX with XLR cables). I was left-of-house for my shooting position (tripod.) I fed one mic into channel 1, and the other into channel 2 and kept a close eye on the level meter in the camera.

The second time - I did some research on the sound board (Allen-Heath GL2400) and determined that it had a 4x7 matrix sub-mixer that I could take TRS balanced feeds from (again - one into the camera's channel 1 and the other into channel 2) - and the feed at the mixer could be separated into left and right, and also the group feeds (vocals, instruments) could be adjusted separate from the main mixer (not sure if that was what they were mixing on the board, but it sounded pretty good.) No one else was using the sub-mixer, so I could do what I wanted.

Only problem - I got a low-level hum, which I figure was probably ground-loop interference from the Allen-Heath board. Didn't have the right isolator to get rid of it (like a Behringer MicroHD HD400 - 2 Channel Hum Eliminator - $30 at B&H) but I found a link that shows how to get rid of it in post using Audacity (free) with Sony Vegas, which is my NLE see = http://www.bmyers.com/public/1290.cfm

Here's a tip - most sound boards put out via 1/4" TRS - so TRS to XLR balanced cables are a good investment. Buy them off of eBay - I got six, 6-foot ones for $30, new. Another standard is the Whirlwind Director DI box, both single $65 and dual channel - $122 - with more pads, filters, switches and options, but more expensive. I have a single-channel one, but for direct feeds from instruments or the house PA, if need be.

Here's another tip - if at all possible - do location scouting and sound checks with your equipment before the shoot, especially if you have to connect to a sound board or someone's mixer. Try to download the manual for the board/mixer and know where to take the feed, and how it works. A lot of times the house staff is pretty clueless outside of running the board just for the house/band/stage.
 
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