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Wandering Ear

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Everything posted by Wandering Ear

  1. I think the Artemis 1 launch was somewhere around 220dB. So loud you can see the sound waves pushing through the air in video footage. Pretty cool.
  2. I prefer 56dBFP for dialog personally, but to each their own Nice write up about some of the technical side. Funny side note, 24 bit WAV files are Signed INTs so they also center around zero and have a range of +/- 8,388,607. Though as you point out their accuracy is linear throughout that scale. With that I always assumed, without ever looking into it, was since both values are 0 centered, then translating between 24 bit Integer and 32 bit float the 0 point would be the point of reference. The SD article claims that 0dBFS for 24 bit and 0dBFS for 16 bit are the 0 point of a 32 bit file, which they also identify as 0dBFS. I found this a very confusing statement: In that picture they show 0dBFS as the (almost) center of the dynamic range of a 32 bit float file, but that's not 0dBFS of the 32 bit file, it's 0dBFS of the 24 and 16 bit files. Full Scale of the 32 bit file is still the largest amplitude that it can represent. It's confusing to me. That same chart actually highlights the benefits of 32 bit really well if they just dropped the FS so it represented the available dynamic ranges instead of trying to tie everything to a somewhat undefined full scale reference. That fact that you could potentially preserve the entire existing dynamic range and recover accidental clipping without any boost in system noise is great in theory. However, the last time I recorded in a location where signal noise became a noticeable contribution to my track I was in an anechoic chamber. This is why despite the enjoyable debate around the theory behind 32 audio, I have not been able to come up with a scenario where recording them on location is worth it. This brings up another question I have about how some of the 32 bit recorders work. The marketing materials seem to claim that you don't need to set gain cause you record everything without noise and can set gain in post. However, unless there is a new class of A2D's I'm unfamiliar with, you have to amplify the tiny voltage from a mic to get into the correct voltage range for the AD. So do they all just provide a fixed amount of gain and figure you'll sort it out when you convert to a 24 bit workflow? If so, that could possibly explain the need for 30dB of gain in post?
  3. Also, am I the only one who dislikes using the phrase "record above 0dBFS"? 0dBFS is FULL SCALE, meaning the maximum amplitude a digital system can represent. So without qualifying it as specifically 0dBFS relative to a 24 bit system, that phrase doesn't really have a specific meaning? i.e. a 32 bit system has a different FULL SCALE than a 24 bit system, and although their maximum amplitudes are drastically different, they are both referred to as 0dBFS. I guess I could go around saying a 24 bit system can record 48 dB above 0dBFS of a 16 bit system, but why would I? It's a confusing statement. Instead speaking in terms of dynamic range is more accurate without needing qualification and better describes what we are trying to highlight imo. But then again, if we do that, how can we promote that new technology is accomplishing the impossible task of recording a digital signal above FULL SCALE?
  4. My best guess about this is that most DAW's are loosely based on consoles and console workflow which had minimal amount of boost that could be applied to each channel and infinite attenuation. There is no technical limit, just a programmed one. To answer the OP's other discussion, if they need to add 30dB of gain they should process the clips with a gain plugin rather than try to add it at the track level. That's assuming I understand what and how they are trying to accomplish.
  5. I think there are a lot of places where 32 bit has advantages (A2D, Gain forward, etc), but I have never come up with a scenario where 32 bit files are beneficial. Even with a scene that has 60dB of range like yelling to whispering, your lowest signal should still be ~70dB above 0.
  6. Some good suggestions above. If they want wide and tight I would also consider talking with production, post, and dp about breaking frame and having vfx paint out the boom. Seems like a perfect situation where a small cost of vfx could really be worth it to preserve the original performance. Sometimes a boom paint is cheaper than adr too. You just have to make sure everyone is on board and on the same page and do your diligence to make sure you don’t cross talent, motion, or difficult backgrounds that will make it hard for post later.
  7. This won’t help now, but i also invoice weekly on long form projects. Even on net 30 terms it limits the liability to 4 or 5 weeks and allows you to escalate your collection efforts while you still have leverage during production if you feel the powers above are not acting in good faith. +1 to @Philip Perkinssuggestion to look into writing off bad debts if French law allows it. It won’t get you paid, but could reduce or eliminate your tax burden on income taxes, which in effect recoups at least a piece of the invoice. Fortunately I’ve only ever had to do that once for a small amount.
  8. That looks nice! I have a bushman tripod that looks very similar and o love how small and light it is.
  9. That’s even more confusing 🤔 I’m sure there is a rule buried on page 400 somewhere …….
  10. I just went through the renewal process back in January. I only paid $35, but I do remember having to read a bit to figure out how to make the payment separately from the application. The process struck me as a little odd. I was within the 90 day renewal period, and I received an email renewal notice back in November. @Johnny Karlsson Interesting that your expiration is 2030. My renewal was granted 01/27/2023 and expires 02/01/2031. I wonder why the 1 year difference? @Derek H I chose to register as myself originally and not my company so I continue that way. Can't say I have a good argument either way though. Maybe some liability protection through your company if you're worried about fines?? Otherwise I'm not sure it will make much difference.
  11. I regularly do a corporate web series where most of our scenes are 7-12 pages and 5-10 people. Because of the content they are talking about, despite being a scripted narrative, the dialog has to be pretty much exact. We always end up with teleprompters standing by for the actors that can’t keep up for their close ups. Not sure if these are my longest, but my taped sides often end up 3 lanes wide otherwise they’d drag on the floor
  12. Currently I am charging $800/10 on payroll ($850/10 on Invoice) plus a basic kit at $350. I also do a "commercial kit" for $500 which has a pretty loose definition including what most small to mid commercials need, not including comteks. I charge $15/ea for comteks as ordered on all my packages. This puts my labor slightly ahead of the going "Key" rate here so I can be a bit flexible depending on the production / producer. Being a relationship based business I'd rather maintain my relationships and work regularly than argue over $50 or $100 in a day. I am fortunate enough to be very busy though, so I don't discount very often. I have found that G&E here has always been good about talking with each other and setting a going rate that they stick to. Following their rate raises has been a lot easier for me than raising my rates on my own. If I raise my rates at the same time as G&E it seems easier for the line producers to modify their expected budget across the board instead of by individual department. I think there is some merit to talking about rates with all the departments, not just sound. I also live in a small market, so that may not apply in NY or LA nearly as much. As for travel, parking always must be provided or paid. I charge mileage & travel expenses generally outside the "zone". Ferry rides, tolls etc I bill for if the travel is outside 30 miles, but I don't bill for tolls when I use the local toll routes.
  13. Recording forest ambiences for a show I just wrapped that shot mostly in the woods. It was a dream to combine two of my favorite activities (Backpacking & Sound Recording) and get paid to do it!
  14. I personally really like the Nuetrik video bnc’s. They are pretty low profile, and the rear twist makes it really easy to remove when the loop out monitor connections are packed in tight like on the teradek’s and 7” small hd’s
  15. I love that you didn’t just say “yes it works” but posted the measurements and details. Fantastic.
  16. +1 for the Cinela Cosi. Nothing else comes close.
  17. You make a good point. I was likely not receiving a strong signal in the small gap between the two filters. I do have a uhf transmitter on my antenna mast that feeds my boom ifb, but i know that’s not the source of my issue since it persisted with it off and i run it about 25 Mhz below the bottom end of my filters.
  18. I believe the micplexer filter is 5 or 10Mhz narrower. I’m not 100% sure the filter was my issue, the behavior of the system acted just like when you overload a receiver and attenuation was the solution. I’m also in a fairly mild rf environment at the moment with not much broadcasting except the local tv stations so it took me a minute to figure out why i was getting poor performance.
  19. In my current setup I’m using Wisycom active antennas which have a bandpass filter and amplification/ attenuation built in. Those feed into a micplexer which also has a filter and amplifier with fixed gain.
  20. Thank you for this insight. I never realized rf filters were reflective, but this is very good to keep in mind. My current setup indeed runs filter & amp at the antenna, then again at the distro on my cart and recently I struggled with some overloading that i didn’t understand even though my antenna amp was set to 2db below my cable loss. Additional attenuation ended up being my solution. This explanation fits exactly to what i was experiencing.
  21. Wow! That rat audio is gorgeous! I really love how the reverb sounds too. Gives it a really musical feel.
  22. Ok cool. I’ll try to throw together a proof of concept this weekend and see how it works.
  23. The arm car is likely to stay fairly close to the picture car. Maybe you can trigger playback from there if necessary? Many times i have been in follow vans where I’m promised we’llbe close and stay in range, just to find on the day we end up out of range of a Comtek bst75 mounted up high in the car, or just pulled over and parked as they free drive back and forth coming in and out of range. +1 to keeping the earwig tx in the car. Earwig reception is finicky enough as it is. this gives me another idea that i might build and test one of these days. I could easily build a website where you load the playback file and then have the site open on a phone in your car, and also open on your phone in the van and can control the playback from your van phone. It would require at least some cell service, but would require much less data than streaming the audio since it would only need to send/receive transport controls and would not have audio dropouts when the service gets poor. If this is something anyone is interested in, let me know and I’ll build a quick proof of concept.
  24. That must’ve been an incredible shoot!! How funny to all of a sudden be surrounded by Vice. I did a feature shot in an abandoned nuclear missle silo. I imagine it felt pretty similar, although we had no rats. How was it shooting down there? Was the train noise constant? Are there ventilation fans? Or was it pretty quiet? Thanks for sharing the podcast. I’m going to start listening to that on my drive to and from set.
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