Talking head audio

P

Polaroid22

Well-known member
Hello,

I have a mkh 416 rigged above me, going into a zoom H6 then into a panasonic S5. I already used blankets on the floor, side wall, and used some sound absorbing foam around the room. But the audio sounds off, but I have no clue what to do about it.
I am using Davinci resolve.

This is the audio out of the camera. ==>
https://youtu.be/kCLt6SII5Tg


This is how I tried to fix it in resolve (vocal rider, Diagogue processor male vo preset, wns noise suppressor and a compressor) ==>
https://youtu.be/4hiKieOhpm4

Can someone help my thick head?

Thanks!
 
The 416 is a poor choice for that setup. But even so, it sounds surprisingly bad. I would have expected better. How far out of frame is the mic? Get it as close to the frame as possible and be sure you don't have the mic off-axis. It has to be aimed right in front of you mouth.

You have too much headroom. Try a tighter shot with less headroom to get the mic closer. That grey wall isn't enhancing the shot so nothing lost moving in a bit and tilting down. The camera looks a bit high. I'd lower it an inch or two.

Try a hyper-cardioid instead.
 
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Paul F said:
The 416 is a poor choice for that setup. But even so, it sounds surprisingly bad. I would have expected better. How far out of frame is the mic? Get it as close to the frame as possible and be sure you don't have the mic off-axis. It has to be aimed right in front of you mouth.

You have too much headroom. Try a tighter shot with less headroom to get the mic closer.

Try a hyper-cardioid instead.
Click to expand...
Its pretty close around 45cm , its aimed directly at my mouth.
Any recommendations? I do have a sennheiser G4 that I can try, but really wished I could use the mkh 416 cause I could just leave it hanging and the sennheiser g4 lav I need to clamp each time.
 
Wow, that is terrible. I can't believe it sounds that bad using a lavaliere. Where is the lav? I noticed that you hit your chest and I did not hear the hit. I would have expected the mic to be right where you hit your chest.
 
Paul F said:
Wow, that is terrible. I can't believe it sounds that bad using a lavaliere. Where is the lav? I noticed that you hit your chest and I did not hear the hit. I would have expected the mic to be right where you hit your chest.
Click to expand...
The lav is right where my shirt starts to open up, you can still see it. Could the panasonic S5 could be the problem (set at -12db)? I can try to record on the zoom h6 as well, and see if there is a huge difference.
 
Check that the S5 was recording the external mic input. I think you are recording the camera's microphone. Since I hear no hit when you touch your chest and it looks like you almost hit or actually hit the microphone and I don't hear anything (just using laptop speakers), I don't think you are recording the lav mic.
 
Ok I redid the sennheiser G4 test completely but this time wireless. As when I plug in the lav directly it the camera only picks it up half the time (at first I thought it was because I was tethering, but it seems it has to do with the S5 mini jack port where the lav has a locking screw, and I cannot lock it)
https://youtu.be/PBFYFnEkC-o

Also I have a terrible voice and have a problem with articulating, so that might be throwing you off as well. Not sure.
 
The S5 has two 3.5mm power settings...power or no power.

If the G4 is using its own power (IDR) or anything else, you don't want to use the power setting. What are you using?
 
There is something quite wrong about the 416/S5 recording. Lot's of noise. Did you have to turn the gain high?
The 416/zoom is hard to listen to (ear buds) because it is only on one channel. It's hard to judge what it sounds like. But it is starting to sound like what I would expect.
G4 wireless is also starting to sound like what I would expect in a reflective room.

The next step is to reduce echo off hard surfaces further.
 
NorBro said:
The S5 has two 3.5mm power settings...power or no power.

If the G4 is using its own power (IDR) or anything else, you don't want to use the power setting. What are you using?
Click to expand...
I tried power and without power. I guess I should leave it for everything on without power. I did not test Line though, not sure if thats a good Idea.
 
Paul F said:
There is something quite wrong about the 416/S5 recording. Lot's of noise. Did you have to turn the gain high?
The 416/zoom is hard to listen to (ear buds) because it is only on one channel. It's hard to judge what it sounds like. But it is starting to sound like what I would expect.
G4 wireless is also starting to sound like what I would expect in a reflective room.

The next step is to reduce echo off hard surfaces further.
Click to expand...
The noise happens from time to time as I power the Zoom h6 with a usb powerline. When running on batteries there is never a problem, but when using a powerline, sometimes I have to replug or reboot the zoom H6 before this is fixed. But with all these tries, I didnt bother to monitor them all.

I uploaded the mkh416 in stereo this time. ==> https://youtu.be/o6C0_9tTdlc
Not sure if I should go for the senheiser G4 or the mkh416. Or maybe sell the mkh 416, and go for something more studio based. Not sure what exactly though.
 
If your equipment outputs a line level, try it.

If you don't get anywhere, next step would be to upload a file with the audio recorded in it for anyone interested in taking a look to rule out any user error in software.
 
It is a matter of your personal preference which mic to use. The G4 wireless recording has a higher noise level than the 416 recording. The noise shouldn't be that loud. I'd say there is something not right with the gain staging. https://www.rfvenue.com/blog/2015/03/17/dont-forget-to-gain-stage-your-transmitter

The rule of thumb is don't use a shotgun indoors, but plenty of people use shotguns indoors for voice overs in a properly treated room. The biggest issue now is the reflections. The echo makes the recording sound cheap.
 
Paul F said:
It is a matter of your personal preference which mic to use. The G4 wireless recording has a higher noise level than the 416 recording. The noise shouldn't be that loud. I'd say there is something not right with the gain staging. https://www.rfvenue.com/blog/2015/03/17/dont-forget-to-gain-stage-your-transmitter

The rule of thumb is don't use a shotgun indoors, but plenty of people use shotguns indoors for voice overs in a properly treated room. The biggest issue now is the reflections. The echo makes the recording sound cheap.
Click to expand...

Ok Now I am aiming the mkh416 down to the floor. Maybe I can try aiming it at horizontal level. So the echo gets another meter to return?(allthough I threw on some blankets on the floor already).
Any settings I should check on the Zoom H6 perhaps still?
 
I listened to the files and I don't think there are any major technical issues.

There is some minor static (when boosted very high) in the 416 into the camera recording and the wireless is very low for whatever reason, but I think it all sounds pretty normal.

Reflections, echos, and what not are one thing, but what exactly do you think is wrong with it?
 
NorBro said:
I listened to the files and I don't think there are any major technical issues.

There is some minor static (when boosted very high) in the 416 into the camera recording and the wireless is very low for whatever reason, but I think it all sounds pretty normal.

Reflections, echos, and what not are one thing, but what exactly do you think is wrong with it?
Click to expand...

Ok great, cant pinpoint anything really. It just doesnt sound like a million bucks. (listening to your own voice is a pain the ass also).
But I just want to make sure the audio is as good as I can get it. I dont want people to disconnect from the video because the audio is bad.

But if there are no major flaws I guess I can move forward, unless anybody has got some post tips I still can apply?

Thanks!!
 
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