Sound question

zacharyb

zacharyb

Active member
I just made the switch from a sony Vx1000 to a Dvx100a and i never really set my audio levels as i allways messed them up so just left them at auto. I haven't checked the manual as to if there are auto settings for the sound on dvx's but i'm gonna go with a no right off the bat.

Anyways i have an ag-mc100 external mic and the on camera mic using two channels and what not. First tape i went through i kept the levels way below before it started hitting red.. I checked it with the headphones and when it was a little bit below hitting red it seemed like it was still blown out so i kept the channel dials really low and what not.. and now when i look at/listen to my footage there is barely any audio and i feel like a complete newb(which i am). But what are some suggestions with setting the channels and what not.. i feel like i did everything right.. but i guess i'm just messing up big time.
 
it sounds like the headphone volume may have been cranked all the way up and were distorting in the ear pieces when the actual signals were fine in the camera. definitely better to trust the meter than your headphones.

what kind of headphones were you using?
 
I have a sound question, too...on a recent shoot the editor came back complaining that the audio was barely there, and asked my to 'really crank up the levels' while recording...although the in-camera VU meters were peaking just a little into the red, just like they ought to have...

Poor import from tape, maybe...?
 
the dvx's audio meter at the first red bar is -12db digital I believe. Which means that just peeking into the red is actually low in reality.

I was thrown off by them at first too.
 
BennisHahn said:
the dvx's audio meter at the first red bar is -12db digital I believe. Which means that just peeking into the red is actually low in reality.
Click to expand...

Exactly. You want them to go into the red. You just don't want them to hit that final red bar.
 
bigbossbmb said:
it sounds like the headphone volume may have been cranked all the way up and were distorting in the ear pieces when the actual signals were fine in the camera. definitely better to trust the meter than your headphones.

what kind of headphones were you using?
Click to expand...
I was using sony studio moniter ones.. the cheap earmuff ones.

But thank you Horse films and the guy above you. I now know the sound levels. I just received my barry greens book and dvd.. so maybe i would have read it in there.. but thank you
 
the dvx's audio meter at the first red bar is -12db digital I believe.
Click to expand...
. Yeah, it's -12dB FS (full scale = "digital"). That doesn't mean it's low because -12 dB FS equals -3dB analog. You usually don't want to go above -9dB FS (= 0dB analog) because that's the standard headroom. You might be ok if you go above, but then some peaks might exceed 0dB FS even your scale doesn't show them (that's why the -9dB headroom is kept to be safe)
 
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