Terrible audio experience in car

S

scottfs

Well-known member
I tried to record dialog in a moving limo yesterday, and ran into tons of problems.

I have a Marantz pmd661 and a Sennheiser me66 mic. I don't know if it was the jostling or what, but I was getting terrible sound. I switched to an AT 897, and that helped, but was still cutting in and out. I switched cables, turned the recorder on an off, and so on. We did enough takes that I'm hoping the editor can get enough decent sound to be usable. I was pretty depressed at the whole thing.

This morning, I tested out everything and it sounded fine.

What happened? I've not heard of others having this problem.
 
Well first off you really should not be recording in a moving vehicle un less it's on a "process trailer". Dialog from a vehicle driving on it's own power and on it's own wheels is close to impossible to use. Well that is a bit of an over statment it is VERY difficult to use. All of those driving sounds will not cut so every edit is going to jump.

Your specific problem is probably low end getting in and crapping out the mic or the preamps. There is a HUGE amount of subsonic sound in a moving car and you won't hear it but the electronics do. Rolling off at the input will help unless it's the mic overloading.

The bottom line is that there is almost never a good reason to record in a moving car, and if you simply have to they should assume ADR, and hope for the best.
 
I told that to the director, but he said he was shooting so tight ADR wouldn't work. We did get some clean sound, albeit with lots of noise, so hopefully they can get what they need.

BTW the DP is an experienced guy with many years in television, so I felt he knew what he was doing.

We did do dome work with a green screen out the driver's side window. That was clean. This is a two-actor shot with the female in the back of the limo, and the driver up front.

I'll be interested in what they come up with.

Thanks for the reply. It explains a lot.
 
scottfs said:
I tried to record dialog in a moving limo yesterday, and ran into tons of problems.

I have a Marantz pmd661 and a Sennheiser me66 mic. I don't know if it was the jostling or what, but I was getting terrible sound. I switched to an AT 897, and that helped, but was still cutting in and out.
Click to expand...

Shotguns in cars? I would think that the reflections would reduce a shotgun to tears. A hyper would possibly give more even frequency response. But many people will just hide omni lav mics around (clipped to visors, taped to steering columns, etc.) and record the full ambience of the vehicle while still being close enough to get good direct sound from the talent.

As Scott says, it was probably your mic getting overloaded by the sub-sonics. And this is indeed why process trailers were invented. Well, this and lighting.
 
Actually most card are very dead spaces so you don't get a lot of reflections.

When they (films with budgets) shoot moving car scenes the car is sitting on a trailer and isolated from the road. Really for a lot of car scenes the car could be on a set for the dialog and edit in a couple of establishing shots and a few shots where you don't see the lips. IF your shooting so close that lips are obvious that you are not going to get anything in focus (and maybe even in frame) but the actor and car interior so driving is just silly.
 
The only problem I've ever encountered was in an older 1970's Porsche 911 Targa over a very bumpy road. (No process trailer) The roof squeaked and leaked air. (typical of that model Porsche.. I was a Porsche-Audi mechanic in another life) The mics (TR50s) were on the sun-visors... a common mounting position for front seat shots. I recorded a wild take afterward but production used the original driving takes anyway.. it still sounded decent.. (The movie: 'Love Sick Love')
 
Noiz2 said:
Actually most card are very dead spaces so you don't get a lot of reflections.
Click to expand...

Really? With all that glass? I guess I should just drag a 416 out and go for a drive, but I would imagine (getting in trouble here...) that the first reflections would be quick and odd because of the angles all that glass is at relative to the car centerline. That you don't find that to be the case is... interesting. Probably just to me. But it does make me scratch my head a bit.
 
The odd angles help kill the harmonics. A car interior generally makes quite a good vocal both.
 
Bruce try it some time, you might be surprised. Now a van might be a bigger problem but you basically have to parallel surfaces so even then... But passenger cars bot only have the uneven surfaces they have a high percentage of soft surfaces. All that upholstery, carpeting and padded ceiling.

All I can say to the folks who have never had problems recording in moving cars is... From a post perspective? Both of you talked about a production standpoint. In post when you cut fro actor A talking on a smooth section to actor B in take 6 when the road was rouger. Or that turn signal the pops on and off with every cut, or the pot hole that is on actor A and suddenly disappears on the reverse. Or the seams in the slabs that have a nice consistent thwack, except the hiccup after every cut. Or the keys that are jangling, then not, then are but in a different rhythm. Or just the simple take 1 in second take 3 in third problem. With the engine never at the same RPM take to take the car sound jumps.

Those little things are a HUGE PITA and take a LOT of time to try and mask, hide, etc. You can't in most cases remove them because they are on top of everything. You can't easily add the car sound you want unless you can get rid of what is in production so that is usually a mess also.

An in car scene with the car moving easily takes three to ten times as long to get to the same quality level as a scene shot in the car with it not moving.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top