Some Personal Views on Sound Recording for Video & Slide Shows

[Guest redge]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

At the moment, there are three threads running in which sound recording is being discussed. People have discussed the gear that they are using, and why, and have posted photographs of their setups. Also, Mr. Overgaard has just published a new post on his web site that is very interesting, but also places a good deal of emphasis on wireless Lavalier (lapel) microphones, an approach that I don't personally use.

 

I want to talk about my own approach without triple posting. At the outset, I should say that I have been involved in recording sound longer than photography. This means that I probably come at the subject a bit differently from people whose background is photography and who are just coming to grips with sound.

 

In this post, I'm going to say what microphones and recorder I use. I'm going to identify the microphones first because microphone selection is more important than recorder selection. In other words, if one is working on a limited budget, the focus should be on the microphone(s) first, and the recorder second.

 

You will notice that the gear that I use is very simple. That said, I am sensitive to the fact that what I use is also fairly expensive. However, I want to focus on the approach rather than the cost of my particular setup. If I post further on this, I will talk about how to adopt the same approach for a good deal less money.

 

So here is my setup:

 

Microphones:

 

I use Schoeps microphones. These are modular microphones which consist of an amplifier and microphone capsules that can be screwed onto the amplifier. A pre-amp and capsule is 20mm in diameter and about 150mm long

 

I have:

 

Two pre-amplifiers (Schoeps CMC6)

Two omnidirectional capsules (Schoeps MK2)

Two hypercardiod capsules (Schoeps MK41)

 

I do not use Lavalier (lapel) microphones, shotgun microphones or receivers/transmitters for wireless transmission.

 

Recorder:

 

Sound Devices 702T

 

This is a digital recorder that will record two channels. This means that I can connect two microphones to the recorder, each mic recording to its own channel, or one mic recording to both channels. Note that most, if not all, of the prosumer recorders out there can accommodate more microphones (four to six). However, for my purposes, one mic is usually sufficient, two are OK (and indeed necessary if I'm recording A/B spaced or ORTF stereo) and more is an unnecessary hassle. I do not use my M 240 to record sound.

 

Shock Mount:

 

I mount a microphone on a Rycote shock mount if the microphone is going to be moved during the recording.

 

Protection from Wind:

 

I protect a microphone from wind hits, depending on the amount of wind, by using a Rycote Zeppelin with fur cover or a foam ball with a hollow centre in which the microphone is inserted.

 

So that's it. Two mic pre-amps, four interchangeable capsules for the amps, a two channel recorder and some stuff to avoid cable and wind noise.

 

Cheers

[Guest redge]

For the purpose of making videos, I think that I could easily strip down what I use to:

 

One Schoeps pre-amp and one Schoeps hypercardiod microphone capsule;

 

A Sound Devices two-track recorder; and

 

A Rycote shock mount, Rycote Zeppelin and a hollow foam windscreen.

[stevesurf]

At the moment, there are three threads running in which sound recording is being discussed. People have discussed the gear that they are using, and why, and have posted photographs of their setups. Also, Mr. Overgaard has just published a new post on his web site that is very interesting, but also places a good deal of emphasis on wireless Lavalier (lapel) microphones, an approach that I don't personally use.

 

...

 

Cheers

 

Hi Redge, I agree with you that sound recording is a specialty that really needs attention and a specialist's approach. If a quality mic + preamp is available, I'll almost always use that over a lavaliere. During presentations, our speakers at events just sound so different with the lav, but many still insist on using them due to mobility.

 

I do typically use different products than you or Thorsten; using Shure or Sennheiser equipment; however your specification for the digital audio recorder is excellent.

 

Thanks for all those specs; very helpful.

[lenicolas]

Thanks for an intersting thread!

I'd love to have links to the products you're discussing or photos, but I can use google...

[Guest redge]

...your specification for the digital audio recorder is excellent.

 

Sound Devices makes wonderful field recorders. They are widely used in film and video production, radio and nature recording.

 

For someone who is happy to record to a laptop, their USPPre 2 is a great choice and significantly less expensive than a stand-alone recorder. The mics lying on top of the USBPre 2 in this photo happen to be made by Schoeps: USBPre 2 Microphone Interface for Computer Audio | Sound Devices, LLC

[Guest redge]

Thanks for an intersting thread!

I'd love to have links to the products you're discussing or photos, but I can use google...

 

Schoeps Mikrofone

 

Sound Devices, LLC | Audio & Video Production Products

 

Rycote

 

The Sound Devices 702T recorder records time code, which hybrid cameras do not yet support. The 702 without time code is somewhat less expensive.

[Guest redge]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I might mention that DPA, a Danish manufacturer of extremely good microphones, has a section on its site called Mic University that contains excellent information on sound recording: Mic University

 

If you're in the market for a Lavalier mic, DPA's are very highly regarded.

 

I forgot to mention headphones for monitoring. It's important that they be neutral. The "standards" are the Sennheiser HD25 and the Sony MDR-7506. Noise cancellation headphones/earphones are a bad idea for sonic, communication and plain ordinary safety reasons.

[Guest redge]

I went looking around the internet for sound files that show what this setup sounds like, and to my surprise couldn't find any.

 

On the theory that a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm going to upload some audio over the next couple of days that will correct that.

 

The first will show the difference between a voice recorded on Schoeps omnidirectional and Schoeps hypercardiod mics. At the moment, I'm thinking of using the first sentence or two of Richard Ford's novella Wildlife or Alan Johnson's new autobiography This Boy. But if someone has something in particular that he or she wants to hear, let me know.

 

Then I'll upload a couple of wild sound recordings, one close in and another more ambient. For the first, I'm thinking of the sound of an M 240 shutter (which I need to record for a current project), and for the latter, perhaps a NY subway train. Again, if someone has something specific that they want to hear, let me know.

 

The idea is to make the recordings at fairly high fidelity (48kHz, 24 bits) in lossless .wav format and upload them to SoundCloud.

 

I'll be using a Sound Devices 702T as the recorder, but their USBPre 2 (which is about 1/3 the money if it is convenient for one to record direct to a laptop) would produce the same results.

 

The sound files can be played back on a computer sound card and speakers/headphones/earphones, but to really appreciate them it would be best to use an audio interface (if you have one) that replaces your computer's sound card, and external speakers or headphones/earphones.

 

Cheers

[Guest redge]

Good, current, helpful discussion on a professional film/video sound recordists' forum about the current crop of prosumer digital recorders (Olympus, Sony, Tascam, Zoom): JWSoundgroup.net: Zoom H6 and other such prosumer recorders

 

For those who aren't familiar with the jargon, an XLR is a type of connector used to connect a microphone to a recorder, MS means a mid-side stereo mic arrangement and "pres" means pre-amplifiers. The references to 552, 664, 788 and 302 are to various Sound Devices products.

[Guest redge]

For people looking for a significantly cheaper alternative to Schoeps mics, this JW Soundgroup thread is worth reading. The thread started in 2006, but is added to from time to time and remains current, with a post as recently as today: Oktava MK-012 any thoughts or comments on it - Equipment - JWSOUNDGROUP

 

I'd suggest paying particular attention to what the thread says about sourcing Oktava mics as well as discussion about their strengths and weaknesses.

 

I'm still planning on uploading some high quality files showing how the Schoeps mics sound, and the difference between the omnidirectional and hypercardiod mics. I just need to find a bit of time to do it. Traveling tomorrow, but hopefully before the end of the weekend.

[Guest redge]

The Cinema Audio Society is an organization of sound professionals in the film industry. The current issue of its quarterly journal has a good piece on "wires" (wireless microphones). You can read the article, entitled To Wire or Not to Wire (starting on p. 28), here: Cinema Audio Society

 

The whole article is worth reading, but one of the key takeaways follows. He draws the analogy of a Director of Photography using a GoPro camera, and says:

 

Wires are the 'GoPros' of sound. First, they are both smaller and of lesser quality than the traditional inventory of equipment we both use. Secondly, they are prepared, attached in their position, and out of our technician’s hands as the shot is being acquired. Due to how a director designs a shot, sometimes a GoPro is the most brilliantly effective way to capture it, and quite possibly the only way to. Wires are the same. Sometimes, due to how a shot is designed, wires are the only way to capture the dialog. This is fine. But no one would ever expect a DP to capture every shot using a GoPro...

 

Let’s say we just shot a bunch of stunts and car crashes with Go Pros rigged everywhere. The DP and director are happy and it’s time to move on to the close-ups of our actor’s dialog. Imagine if the DP was asked to continue to capture those close-ups with the GoPros instead of their favorite, high-quality 100mm prime lens attached to an Alexa camera. It would be unacceptable. So it is not unreasonable for us to want to capture that same dialog with our high-quality overhead boom mic of choice.