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My New Zaxcom Experience


PTA

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So I thought I should share my experience with my newly configured Zaxcom bag and how it has been performing. I took a little inspiration from Brian's "Blue Lagoon" story and also from Rado's recent article in Sound & Picture. While I was in preproduction for a show that I would be working on, I was informed that there were going to be scenes where GoPro's were going to be mounted to off-road racing cars and that they would be driving very far off into the desert, far out of the range of any wireless bag reception. In the past, they said they have simply boomed bits and pieces of the two-way radio but that it never sounded great and that it never really captured the moment of thrills because a driver can't drive and operate the radio at the same time. In this case I brought up the ability of Zaxcom wireless to record with timecode sync so it really didn't matter if the Tx's went out of range. Every time I bring this up to camera operators and producers that I'm working with for the first time, they are blown away by this. They agreed that this was definitely the way to go and were excited that it was a new way they could easily get audio regardless of where the cars drove, and capture the passion of the moment.

 

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My bag currently consists of a Nomad 12, 2 QRX's, MicPlexer, 2 TRX900LA's, and 2 TRX900LANC's. I had two Lectro SNA's feeding MicPlexer up on my harness like Rado had in the Sound & Picture article; thanks again Rado!

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Can the package command a higher rental for the remote record capability?  

It can and in this case it did! I basically treat them as normal wireless rental, but in this case I also treated it as extra recorders on top of that.

 

Way cool--you are using the QRX100 rx for 4 talent mics each w/ 4 TX each?

 

philp

Each QRX receives 2 Tx's, so two channels per QRX. Or, down the line if I wanted to transmit a stereo signal from a TRX900LAS, I could receive 4 channels per QRX.

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No need to thank me Palmer. I am glad to have other people embracing the work flow. Few notes:

What is your limiter setup?

By default it comes at -12.

Change it to -2.

That gives more room to play without a limiter.

Of course on the new TX you have more dynamic range.

Howy is developing a new version of zaxnet convert where each zaxnet assigned channel id would give you a track number id in the metadata so you can convert all mono bwav to polyphonic and even if delivered in mono will not be confusing when imported in nle software

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Another trick:

Even though the TX is recording in the car you can greatly improved your range by remoting the antenna up by the rear window or behind the driver head rest where you have better line of sight. Call zaxcom and have them send you a filtered antenna cable which is ssma to am a jumper. You can put a am a to bnc adapter or just use a regular am a antenna. I know it does not have a counter pose but it works...

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[snip]

Howy is developing a new version of zaxnet convert where each zaxnet assigned channel id would give you a track number id in the metadata so you can convert all mono bwav to polyphonic and even if delivered in mono will not be confusing when imported in nle software

 

Oh, that's good.

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What I'd love to see is to take an existing timecode stamped poly WAV file and then be able to append Zaxcom recordings automatically to the existing (possibly non-Zaxcom generated) poly WAV if a clip exists in the timecode limits of that file.

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No need to thank me Palmer. I am glad to have other people embracing the work flow. Few notes:

What is your limiter setup?

By default it comes at -12.

Change it to -2.

That gives more room to play without a limiter.

Of course on the new TX you have more dynamic range.

Howy is developing a new version of zaxnet convert where each zaxnet assigned channel id would give you a track number id in the metadata so you can convert all mono bwav to polyphonic and even if delivered in mono will not be confusing when imported in nle software

Thanks Rado. Yes, I do have them set at -2 already. I'm looking forward to the new Zaxconvert being able to do this. Last I saw on the Zax forum some kinks were still being worked out but maybe it is ready now, according to Glenn's post.

And as far as remoting the Tx antennea, it wasn't a good option for this shoot as there were many scenes where the car would drive in from the distance and JP out and start talking in front of camera. Therefore it was best to have the Tx's mounted on talent in the traditional manner.

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Palmer, pretty cool especially when your bag looks pretty compact and light.

 

Rado, Palmer, I'm curious about the range you guys got/get with the dipoles.  I have a Nomad, micplexer, QRX setup also and would like to know if the dipoles contribute enough for the cost expense.

 

Gabe

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Palmer, pretty cool especially when your bag looks pretty compact and light.

Rado, Palmer, I'm curious about the range you guys got/get with the dipoles. I have a Nomad, micplexer, QRX setup also and would like to know if the dipoles contribute enough for the cost expense.

Gabe

In my experiences it's the only way to fly. I get a lot more range and stability with the dipoles compared to the whips, a pretty good and noticeable difference. Just getting the antenneas up and out of the bag is the biggest difference.
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The new version of Zaxconvert is ready. We now use the transmitters ID number as the track number. The track name metadata is still what ever is entered onto the transmitter itself.

Glenn

but the track number is still 1...

this makes it impossible to generate poly files from multiple trx recordings...

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Can the package command a higher rental for the remote record capability?

yes.

my shoot yesterday was a drag race setup. People on the start. People on the end - half a mile away. One of the cars arriving - 3 miles driving scene. Rolling right in to the race.

What is a cheaper? Hiring 3 sound guys? Shooting everything in parts? Or paying a higher rental.

it is going to be a while till it becomes main steam but I am sure in the future remote TX recording will be a requirement for the shows that need it.

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Palmer, pretty cool especially when your bag looks pretty compact and light.

Rado, Palmer, I'm curious about the range you guys got/get with the dipoles. I have a Nomad, micplexer, QRX setup also and would like to know if the dipoles contribute enough for the cost expense.

Gabe

big improvement over whips. Especially when you remote the antennas higher. The amplification is a must if you use qrx100 in dual mode.
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yes.

my shoot yesterday was a drag race setup. People on the start. People on the end - half a mile away. One of the cars arriving - 3 miles driving scene. Rolling right in to the race.

What is a cheaper? Hiring 3 sound guys? Shooting everything in parts? Or paying a higher rental.

it is going to be a while till it becomes main steam but I am sure in the future remote TX recording will be a requirement for the shows that need it.

I don't think having a recording TXs for distant audio pickup is the same, or as good as having a second (or 3rd ) soundie right on the scene with their boom and their eyes directly on the talent and seeing what the cameras are looking at.   Looking at what the full Zax kits in use in this thread cost I'm not sure about the ultimate cost savings to the production either if a fair rental is paid.  The asymmetry between the cost of the GoPros and the cost of the full Zax rig makes me nervous, re what I've seen happen to equipment (and expendable) rates since the cheaper run of cameras started being used (esp GoPro).   I hope you guys are getting good rental for those kits. Those producers REALLY need to understand that the capability you are adding to their shoot-armamentarium is really significant in those cases, and needs to be paid for just like exotic camera gear (and the extra ACs that always seems to engender).

 

 

philp

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I don't think having a recording TXs for distant audio pickup is the same, or as good as having a second (or 3rd ) soundie right on the scene with their boom and their eyes directly on the talent and seeing what the cameras are looking at. Looking at what the full Zax kits in use in this thread cost I'm not sure about the ultimate cost savings to the production either if a fair rental is paid. The asymmetry between the cost of the GoPros and the cost of the full Zax rig makes me nervous, re what I've seen happen to equipment (and expendable) rates since the cheaper run of cameras started being used (esp GoPro). I hope you guys are getting good rental for those kits. Those producers REALLY need to understand that the capability you are adding to their shoot-armamentarium is really significant in those cases, and needs to be paid for just like exotic camera gear (and the extra ACs that always seems to engender).

philp

You bring up a good point Philip and this is how I see it. I decided to get some Zaxcom gear because of the features it offers me as a mixer and makes my job easier. I use the Tx recording in most scenarios as another backup and assurance to myself that I have the audio recorded at yet another source than just my recorder.

When a situation like this arises where production actually wants to use the recordings at the Tx's because it is specific to the shoot, then I charge for it. In my mind, it is like bringing a multitrack recorder on set as there is also some time for me post shoot associated with retrieving the files and organizing them.

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You bring up a good point Philip and this is how I see it. I decided to get some Zaxcom gear because of the features it offers me as a mixer and makes my job easier. I use the Tx recording in most scenarios as another backup and assurance to myself that I have the audio recorded at yet another source than just my recorder.

When a situation like this arises where production actually wants to use the recordings at the Tx's because it is specific to the shoot, then I charge for it. In my mind, it is like bringing a multitrack recorder on set as there is also some time for me post shoot associated with retrieving the files and organizing them.

It's exactly like bringing a 2nd MT recorder, only better for them, and they need to know that.  Hopefully your repeat clients (esp directors) will appreciate what you are doing for them and advocate for you in the budget-scrum.  (IE if you can get them to request that gear, then getting them to pay for it is a lot easier.)

 

philp

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It's exactly like bringing a 2nd MT recorder, only better for them, and they need to know that. Hopefully your repeat clients (esp directors) will appreciate what you are doing for them and advocate for you in the budget-scrum. (IE if you can get them to request that gear, then getting them to pay for it is a lot easier.)

philp

I agree 100%. Now the trick is to get repeat clients with the multitude of traveling reality shows these days. For me, it seems that I continue to see new clients every month for a new concept as they can't seem to come out with new shows fast enough. So far, when recording Tx's were needed on a shoot, I have had no problem convincing production that it was not only a good idea from a content standpoint, but something that they should be included in the budget to increase the quality of the show.

If it wasn't going to be paid for, then they become standard Tx's. I've found it helps to be extremely clear prior to production what it possible and if that is something they want.

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