Which audio channel to put Lav Mic on.
- Thread starter ozfish
- Start date
Is this a hard-wired lav, or is it terminated with a connector for a wireless transmitter?
Assuming hard-wired with XLR connector, you can put it into any channel, provided:
- the input has an XLR connector
- the input has phantom power (unless the lav has a battery power module)
Since you have only two XLR connectors on the camera, your options are limited. As for ease of editing later, as long as you know which channel the audio is on, you'll be fine. But are you using any other mics? On-cam? Boom?
If you have a second mic, it's a no-brainer. Lav into whichever channel isn't occupied by the other mic.
If you're using the lav by itself, you should be able to set both record channels to feed from one input. I haven't had my hands on the HPX, but if its controls are set up at all like the DVX, input 2 can be sent to both record channels 1 and 2 simultaneously. You'll set input 2 to mic, turn input 2's phantom on if needed, and then set the record levels so that the second channel is a few dB lower as a safety just in case Ch. 1 over-modulates.
Assuming hard-wired with XLR connector, you can put it into any channel, provided:
- the input has an XLR connector
- the input has phantom power (unless the lav has a battery power module)
Since you have only two XLR connectors on the camera, your options are limited. As for ease of editing later, as long as you know which channel the audio is on, you'll be fine. But are you using any other mics? On-cam? Boom?
If you have a second mic, it's a no-brainer. Lav into whichever channel isn't occupied by the other mic.
If you're using the lav by itself, you should be able to set both record channels to feed from one input. I haven't had my hands on the HPX, but if its controls are set up at all like the DVX, input 2 can be sent to both record channels 1 and 2 simultaneously. You'll set input 2 to mic, turn input 2's phantom on if needed, and then set the record levels so that the second channel is a few dB lower as a safety just in case Ch. 1 over-modulates.
ozfish
Active member
Hi C2V,
It is wireless transmitter with an XLR connection, does not require phantom power plus I have a Rode NTG1 which does use phantom power.
99% of my filming is done from boats ie fishing related.
As the HPX172 always records the onboard mic ,as long as I can swap sound from one channel to another in post, hopefully I can pick the best sound and use it.
Note: I am a one band, and I do not have a sound man with me on my trips.
Thanks for your response
Oz Fish
It is wireless transmitter with an XLR connection, does not require phantom power plus I have a Rode NTG1 which does use phantom power.
99% of my filming is done from boats ie fishing related.
As the HPX172 always records the onboard mic ,as long as I can swap sound from one channel to another in post, hopefully I can pick the best sound and use it.
Note: I am a one band, and I do not have a sound man with me on my trips.
Thanks for your response
Oz Fish
For some reason, people use "lav" interchangeably with "wireless." They are not the same. But I digress...
So your situation is pretty simple: wireless receiver into one input with phantom power off, NTG-1 into the other input with phantom on. Just standardize the way you do this so that you always lknow which channel, in editing, is the wireless system and which is the shotgun (though, you should be able to tell just by listening).
As for wanting to switch back and forth between audio channels in editing, to use the one that's best... that's great in theory, and is done often, but it assumes that all mics that were recording were placed for clean and up-front dialog. A camera-mounted shotgun is going to have a drastically different sound to it due to less-than-ideal placement. You might find it hard to get useful audio from it at all.
So your situation is pretty simple: wireless receiver into one input with phantom power off, NTG-1 into the other input with phantom on. Just standardize the way you do this so that you always lknow which channel, in editing, is the wireless system and which is the shotgun (though, you should be able to tell just by listening).
As for wanting to switch back and forth between audio channels in editing, to use the one that's best... that's great in theory, and is done often, but it assumes that all mics that were recording were placed for clean and up-front dialog. A camera-mounted shotgun is going to have a drastically different sound to it due to less-than-ideal placement. You might find it hard to get useful audio from it at all.
ozfish
Active member
I have found audio to be the hardest thing to get right in my fishing DVD's.
In most cases, I have such little room to work in, ie sometimes a 12ft dinghy, that it makes it really hard to set up well. Plenty of wind/motor noise.
I can not put a full windjammer on the onboard mic, as this blocks the auto white sensor, I know most people set white balance in manual, but when you are the presenter as well as the camerman, I have to use my fishing buddies, crew of the boat etc to get a lot of my shots. Depending on where I fish they might not even speak english.
If I use the shotgun with a windjammer and pull back too wide, which is where you have to be most of the time, on a small boat, the windjammer comes into view!
I often talk to the fisherman whilst I am filming, so as to reduce the amount of narratting done in post and was hoping the wireless lav (Attached to the angler), with wind jammer would give me more options.
Thanks again guys for all your help
In most cases, I have such little room to work in, ie sometimes a 12ft dinghy, that it makes it really hard to set up well. Plenty of wind/motor noise.
I can not put a full windjammer on the onboard mic, as this blocks the auto white sensor, I know most people set white balance in manual, but when you are the presenter as well as the camerman, I have to use my fishing buddies, crew of the boat etc to get a lot of my shots. Depending on where I fish they might not even speak english.
If I use the shotgun with a windjammer and pull back too wide, which is where you have to be most of the time, on a small boat, the windjammer comes into view!
I often talk to the fisherman whilst I am filming, so as to reduce the amount of narratting done in post and was hoping the wireless lav (Attached to the angler), with wind jammer would give me more options.
Thanks again guys for all your help
I use a shotgun on-cam with furry cover and never have this issue. Unless you are using an extraordinarily long shotgun, you should be able to place it without getting into the wide... unless you are using a wide-angle adapter.
JordanBlock
Well-known member
I've seen risers / mounts out there that let you raise the mic up an extra inch or so off camera and get it out of the shot. Unfortunately my google-fu is weak this morning and I can't give you a link.
The most important thing about selecting which channel is to keep it consistent so that the editor's not constantly guessing who is on which channel for a particular story.
I try to go with wireless lavs as much as possible to get the cleanest audio possible. The mics are always hidden, either under a t-shirt, or taped close to the edge of a jacket, out of sight and covered with a tiny piece of felt to blend in and provide some wind protection.
I've even hidden a mic under the bill of a baseball cap, but that tends to be difficult if the talent is always adjusting the hat.
In my own experience, the ATW-1800 diversity system has proven to be rock solid with no dropouts at normal operating distances. It's the next best thing to having a hardwired mic. I have gotten interference problems occasionally, but to avoid that from happening, I carefully check to make sure I'm on a channel that hasn't been assigned to anyone else. If there's time, a range check also helps.
If there are more than two people, I'll have the main person wear a lav and use an AT-4051a cardioid mic (not a shotgun) with a Lightwave wind fur on-camera. It works OK if the people are within six or seven feet and there's not too much ambient noise. The cardioid has a wider pickup so sources which are slightly off-axis gets picked up fairly well. It also has better rear-rejection than a shotgun which can sometimes have an unwanted bi-polar pickup pattern.
I noticed the hair on the Lightwave wind fur has gotten shorter, so I can't recommend that anymore as a workable solution for windy situations. K-Tek seems to have some nice compact wind furs but I haven't used one so I can't vouch for 'em.
I'm also doing one-man-band coverage. I'll ask open-ended questions and keep only the answers, thus avoiding the behind-the-camera "phantom host" problem.
Good luck!
I try to go with wireless lavs as much as possible to get the cleanest audio possible. The mics are always hidden, either under a t-shirt, or taped close to the edge of a jacket, out of sight and covered with a tiny piece of felt to blend in and provide some wind protection.
I've even hidden a mic under the bill of a baseball cap, but that tends to be difficult if the talent is always adjusting the hat.
In my own experience, the ATW-1800 diversity system has proven to be rock solid with no dropouts at normal operating distances. It's the next best thing to having a hardwired mic. I have gotten interference problems occasionally, but to avoid that from happening, I carefully check to make sure I'm on a channel that hasn't been assigned to anyone else. If there's time, a range check also helps.
If there are more than two people, I'll have the main person wear a lav and use an AT-4051a cardioid mic (not a shotgun) with a Lightwave wind fur on-camera. It works OK if the people are within six or seven feet and there's not too much ambient noise. The cardioid has a wider pickup so sources which are slightly off-axis gets picked up fairly well. It also has better rear-rejection than a shotgun which can sometimes have an unwanted bi-polar pickup pattern.
I noticed the hair on the Lightwave wind fur has gotten shorter, so I can't recommend that anymore as a workable solution for windy situations. K-Tek seems to have some nice compact wind furs but I haven't used one so I can't vouch for 'em.
I'm also doing one-man-band coverage. I'll ask open-ended questions and keep only the answers, thus avoiding the behind-the-camera "phantom host" problem.
Good luck!