pennyroyal
New member
What other equipment would I need to be able to get good sound for my shoots? Obviously a microphone, boom pole, XLR cable... anything I'm missing? What settings do I record on?
So, I own an H4n.
- Thread starter pennyroyal
- Start date
Doc Bernard
Indie Arms Member
A mixer.
Standard video settings: 48/16 but if you want more resolution you can record 96/24, but your card times drop significantly. I use stereo settings.
Standard video settings: 48/16 but if you want more resolution you can record 96/24, but your card times drop significantly. I use stereo settings.
Mitch.Kear
Well-known member
A pro sound guy is what will be required to get "good" sound for your shoots. If that's not an option it honestly depends on your budget and how many years you are willing to wait to get it sounding good.
I am new here but I can tell you for sure that there will definately be stickies and other posts to answer this question.
Good luck!
I am new here but I can tell you for sure that there will definately be stickies and other posts to answer this question.
Good luck!
manglerBMX
Veteran
good sound? a good noise free location with soft surfaces and proper mic placement.
Doc Bernard
Indie Arms Member
Keep in mind, this site is for everyone at every budget. He is asking about his set up, not who he should hire, Mitch.
Another aspect, what is his final product destination? "Good audio" is so subjective. Youtube good or 3D screening on 7.1+ in a full theater good?As to the stickies, yes, they are good to review and have some killer info.
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pennyroyal
New member
I'm a director (or going to be shortly), but rest assured I have a huge amount of respect for sound in film -- which is part of the reason I want to learn some of the work and thought that goes into it. But I would definitely hire a professional to handle the lion's share of that element, as I would hire a DP. I love everything that makes a movie what it is, and know quite a bit about all of it, but I'm not foolish enough to believe my understanding or talent could actually match that of someone who lives and breathes that specific field.
I actually primarily use my H4n for music I write (something more akin to a hobby), but I figured if I own one of the more expensive pieces of a bare-bones sound rig, why not accumulate all of it and learn even more? Thank you everyone for your replies. And yes, I've only just scratched the surface of all the information on the forums here but I'll definitely be going through the sticky archives and learning more there.
This is a big question, but certainly one component that is important is the DAW. How familiar you are with your DAW, and how you can tweak the plugins, and do basic EQ, compression and so on is going to make a big difference. For example, I use a convoluter, or room simulator, on just about everything. If used properly, it sounds amazing. And that is just one of many options.
pennyroyal
New member
Sorry, what's a DAW? I'm unfamiliar with the acronym.
Rick R
Veteran
You're joking.. right? Unless "posted today" was before the mid 90s.
"Digital Audio Workstation" ( Typically a computer with a sound card and multi-track recording editing audio software)
Sometimes a 'NLE' can be used
Sorry for my sarcasm.
marvinhello
Well-known member
speaking of DAW and soundcard, which card do you recommend?
I'm looking into Asus Xonar D2X PCI-e (no PCI on my mobo)
Is this one a bit "gaming-ish"?
I'm using Audition now and planning to migrate to Pro Tools when 10.0 comes out.
Rick R
Veteran
The general consensus is to get a "pro audio" sound card. There are many affordable USB cards available with and without mic pre-amps. Another consideration is how many input and output channels you need. Stay away from gaming and other media-center cards despite their claims of audiophile quality.
marvinhello
Well-known member
thanks but I heard people say USB soundcard has interference and latency issue?
can you name a few models that I can take a look?
Mitch.Kear
Well-known member
A sound card is a part of your DAW, as the computer, software, any other digital audio equipment used in your workstation.
The digi design mbox 2 pro isn't too bad. especially for the price and the software you get with it. Many people that claim to have latency issues don't realize it can be fixed by messing with your playback settings.
pennyroyal
New member
I'm the one who posted asking a fairly elementary question regarding using an H4n as an on-set audio recorder. I made no attempt to sound like I know what I'm talking about. As the one who busts in with this smarmy condescending crap, I'd hope you're the one who was joking, and you're not actually that pretentious and douchey. But it seems unlikely.
Doc Bernard
Indie Arms Member
Play nice, everyone.
Chadfish
Veteran
Hey there.
One piece of gear that I consider to be very important, though many new/poor directors overlook is the 'preamp'. I think one of the best investments you could make would be a Sound Devices MixPre-D. It's got lots of clean gain, awesome limiters that will save your butt, connectivity to both pro cameras and DSLRs, or H4N type recorders. You can calibrate it so you car basically unclippable. Slapping this in front of an H4N will actually reduce the noise level caused by the H4N's pres. It's expensive, about 750.00, but it is the kind of thing that can be the front end to anything you record to. Check it out and see what it can do. Anyone doing narrative work or docs would really be smart to use this, as it's cheaper to buy this than it is to have to re-do a scene on another day.
JuicedLink has some cheap ones, but they don't have limiters, and I'm telling you the optical limiters on this baby are so sweet - unlike the digital limiter on the H4N.
One piece of gear that I consider to be very important, though many new/poor directors overlook is the 'preamp'. I think one of the best investments you could make would be a Sound Devices MixPre-D. It's got lots of clean gain, awesome limiters that will save your butt, connectivity to both pro cameras and DSLRs, or H4N type recorders. You can calibrate it so you car basically unclippable. Slapping this in front of an H4N will actually reduce the noise level caused by the H4N's pres. It's expensive, about 750.00, but it is the kind of thing that can be the front end to anything you record to. Check it out and see what it can do. Anyone doing narrative work or docs would really be smart to use this, as it's cheaper to buy this than it is to have to re-do a scene on another day.
JuicedLink has some cheap ones, but they don't have limiters, and I'm telling you the optical limiters on this baby are so sweet - unlike the digital limiter on the H4N.
Steve House
Veteran
The general consensus is to stay away from internal sound cards as they tend not to be optimal perfomers to begin with plus the electrically noisy environment inside the PC case makes it worse. I use an 8-channel Firewire audio interface, the Echo Audiofire 8. Sound Devices makes a USB interface that looks particulalry interesting.
marvinhello
Well-known member
Thanks for the advice, I found something here:
http://imageshack.us/f/402/soundcards.png/
Looks like Asus is far more superior in build quality?
Good question.
Unfortunately, the answer not particularly simple. "microphone" alone opens a whole universe of possibilities, driven by both environment and budget. It will also determine the type of accessories - mount, windscreen(s), power, etc. you're going to need. Having the recorder frees you from having to depend on recording only to the camera, all the other decisions and requirements for good sound are pretty much unchanged.
Under the "Audio 101" yellow "sticky" at the top of the forum there's a "New to Audio? Read this first, Please" thread. Near the beginning there's a post by Jeremy Ordan listing several beginner packages. By no means exhaustive, but a place to start.
Other than digging through the threads, my first suggestion would be picking up a copy of the "Sound for Film & Television" DVD.
It's cheap, full of great info, and gives a good overview of what you're up against. There's a sticky for it too.
Good Luck and Best wishes.
Unfortunately, the answer not particularly simple. "microphone" alone opens a whole universe of possibilities, driven by both environment and budget. It will also determine the type of accessories - mount, windscreen(s), power, etc. you're going to need. Having the recorder frees you from having to depend on recording only to the camera, all the other decisions and requirements for good sound are pretty much unchanged.
Under the "Audio 101" yellow "sticky" at the top of the forum there's a "New to Audio? Read this first, Please" thread. Near the beginning there's a post by Jeremy Ordan listing several beginner packages. By no means exhaustive, but a place to start.
Other than digging through the threads, my first suggestion would be picking up a copy of the "Sound for Film & Television" DVD.
It's cheap, full of great info, and gives a good overview of what you're up against. There's a sticky for it too.
Good Luck and Best wishes.
