The Immoral Mr Teas

Lucy, I'm not sure how to do it myself but I would try to change the subject title to something along the lines of ARRI mini and SXT Timecode input if you don't get any replies meanwhile give that a try and welcome to JWS best, Jez

Hmm, yes, for a couple of decades it was often considered safer to have a separate 'browsing' 'pute and keep the work 'pute "clean" at least for general use over a job. This kind of thing (in the age of auto updates) brings it all back home with a thunderous crash ...

That just means he/she promises to recognise our child. I wish most contracts were so thorough in our business.

It's good to see that sound guys 'that should be fired' are not limited to the Republican events - it is this sort of equality more than anything that makes the States united and America great I feel. Keep up the shoddy work folks! J x

What Constantin is pointing out here is that there is no connection whatsoever with hypers / pressure gradient mics and humidity: I can only assume one is mixed up with 'proximity effect' for which there is a link. Phil, did you not write a telegram to the same effect in 1968 about the 805? (Hey, sorry - I couldn't stop myself! It's late on a Friday night here ...) Best, Jez

Use this opportunity to rent and try out your favourite options. Take the ME66 but don't use it unless you feel others are not giving you better and easier results - and trust me you will not reach for it. I would suggest that the difference in a good boom mic would hit you far harder than the difference in a lav mic (thru a G3) tho I advance that the latter is not my area of experience. I don't mean to try several mics but just hire and try one different boom (like the CS3E) and perhaps even one different lav (either the COS11 or the DPA 4060/1 since you have experience of the B6) and swallow the cost since this cost will add directly to your experience and help immeasurably to your eventual choosing of equipment. Best, Jez

I would definitely consign the ME66 to the spares box and upgrade that side of it, and if you can find a decent second hand 416 that would be an ideal mic that would always have a place in the armoury. If you ended up buying new though I would have a good look at the various contenders (focusing especially eg on the reach, tightness, forgivingness of the type of work you'll mostly be doing on a boom outdoors) and I would add a decent rycote to that. A good hyper would complement this and also serve you long (Schoeps with all the trimmings and a Cinela if you want, but an MKH50 with a 'baseball' would be my first and cheaper choice - you could start using it in the shotgun rycote when used outside even then upgrade basket and mount if you felt it necessary with how it was getting use). That said, there are today several good mics that fall between hyper and short shotgun that might suit working which straddles these two - they might be worth looking at and could reduce a spend more. Though I would still look out for second hand 416s in case you locate a decent bargain. Not my place to offer advice on lavs for wireless systems or other accessories but clearly others here are helping there so best of luck. Jez

... and probably never by post production, except in a friendly interested manner. After you've used the tools at your disposal to get the best sound you can possibly get - then post production is going to use their best tools to edit and balance the sound as best they can. I have to suggest here (and hey, Senator called me up on the same issue decades ago) that matching lavs to hypers or shotguns is a dead end street (or cul-de-sac)! Far more important is using mics to the best of their characteristics to achieve the end result: clear sound. After this there is still (usually) a great deal of work to be done down the line - if not, you have had a very lucky shoot. - Apart from this, good advice from all here I think. I'd also go for a (less expensive, still expensive) MKH50 especially OMB'ing, with its handy low cut (and pad) inbuilt. I'd also try different gear out, try to work with others in bigger teams, and keep some of that money aside for gear you come to realise will be a REAL investment (could be a bag, a harness, a particular length of boom or even some cabling). Like Tom, I intend to get some 6060s when I can, to supplement / replace 4060s and possibly B6s, but especially in a OMB lo-no drama situation they could be a very expensive loss: fair enough if you feel sure you can take good care of them in videography situations but you'll be tempted to use them I expect in 'interesting' jobs where you're trying to do much more with less control and there's no insurance comeback for 'expendables'. Jez

Well, the Cut 1 filter can make life much easier in that regard. But I'm not sure what Cinela fits with it attached. I'm sure many here will know the ins and outs. Just be aware that it could be a very expensive retro decision to use one once you've bought the Cinela! Still, I'm sure the expertise can be found here ... elsewhere. (I own a Cut 1 but not an MK41, CMC6 nor Cinela)! Jez

pillepalle, can we have an updated picture then? I agree (as usual) with Phil here, if they sound matched they are matched enough. If they don't then one has to solve it somehow. Jez Edit : since it's Microtech Gefell, who make measurement microphones as well as the ones we are talking about, do they issue a frequency plot with their 'ordinary' mics? Then it would be easy to compare them?

Jennifer, please come back to us! We are getting too excited at the prospect of recording a viola without any information as to who is playing, what they're playing, in what circumstances, in what kind of room! Will it be Brahms or Scelsi? Dvorak or Xenakis? Let us know what you are doing!? Jez x

What Phil and Constantin say, ... and also First I assumed you were playing the viola, then thought no, maybe I assume wrongly? I play viola. A quality lav mic can give a decent result - mounted, say, on or behind the bridge, or on a short 'arm' clipped to the body (technically I would say pointing to the sound holes but actually being a lav, an omni, and up so close, just being out of the way of the player/playing would be how to go about it). Such a close mounting will give a more direct 'in your face' sound but if instrument, player and mic are all good it could / should be good. The other option, a more distant micing, will give a result which includes more reverberance of the concert space, if that's what you're after. The only problem is that it is dependent on the positioning of the mic to get a nice balance of instrument and room and the probability, if not finding or being able to get a good position, is that the balance will favour 'room' and the recording will be much too 'thin' sounding. Recording mono with a single mic rather than finding a good stereo (say, two cardioid mics) position for a room recording will also lessen a potential advantage of going 'distant', that of placing the instrument in a perceptive space for the listener. I would definitely follow Phil's advice and try to do some tests (find a player if not yourself) and see what works or doesn't in the room you're going to record in. But knowing no more than what was said in your original question I would personally go with a mic mounted on the instrument since it will have the 'easiest' decent result. Best and good luck, Jez Adamson

Hi Davinzzie, welcome! Mid - Side in its essence (and maths) is a coincident technique so, yes, the capsules should be exactly aligned, as in occupying the exact same space. Since sound reproduction over the century has (generally) been a stereo system on a horizontal plane it has generally taken the compromise to be vertical - the further the distance, the further the compromise, so to speak. Which translates to high frequency wavelength, but on a vertical plane in this instance. Since MS is hardly a measurement standard it is up to the user how exact they want or need the result to be. Personally I would tend to use MS for recordings where I want a definite mono central image but where an ambient side image could or would be advantageous for presentation. In my case the vertical compromise is already accentuated in that I would probably be recording MSM or double MS if I was recording MS at all. The obvious and newly common situation for MS coincidence necessity is ambisonics where the vertical is or can be more necessary for the release format. So really it is up to your needs whether to record MS at all, whether you can sacrifice high frequency definition or if you need the vertical aspect? Best, Jez

I've recorded dozens of fields and an even greater range of things in fields. Sorry! But it does point out the validity of Jon's comment, that recording technique is recording technique, and that I have no idea what you're thinking to branch out to record ... or indeed where? What's the documentary, what's experimental about it, and where are you planning to be? Aside from that what kind of format are we looking at (cinema, internet, radio, cd, vinyl?). Are you recording atmos, wildlife, people .... or music? And an approx budget if you plan on spending anything would maybe help. Then I might know whether to recommend old books like 'Wildlife Sound Recording' by John B Fisher, or websites like Nature Sounds, or classic radio documentaries by Glenn Gould, or just help discuss pro's and con's of differing recording techniques, equipment, clothing and travel advice. Lots of good stuff already discussed here in the past (with links to elsewhere) if you search in the archive too. Best, Jez

Yeah Werner, for 'distant / ambient' nature or atmos recording a super-low noise mic is the choice, the MKH20 being the obvious one but I have settled happily with B&K for my main trips. Though DPA 4060s and MKH 8040s are my general main pairs / surround options. Also being a post person (editor etc) really I approach stuff as how it will work in the mix - which I guess is why we realise the libraries aren't giving us what we need and we have to record (we want to anyway!) what we need. The "sad" thing here might be that a lot of great sounds, badly or strangely recorded, are actually great sounds worth using. There's a lot of history to be found here on JW and also RAMPS about the deliverable broadcast etc aspects of recording. I won't mention M .......

And I find I fart more frequently in hot / humid conditions - just like my Schoeps! J

Jim, couldn't not come in on such a lovely reflection of the strive! I do in fact love every instance when I see a schoeps makes its way into the frame in early Hill Street Blues - not because it is a fault but because the sound was great, the picture was great, and the storytelling was uninterrupted. Back then the public just witnessed perfection. J

Google how to get finance to make a film? No, I'm with Max here too, write stories, direct the actors and try your best with the technical aspects (and here's one who seems interested in sound, not just lenses, which could be a blessing)? Max seems to me to be potentially the director / producer we might wish to work with in 5 / 10 years time when he's done some interesting work and one suddenly hits big. For what it's worth I have always been proud to advance as a technician but never forgotten that I am a filmmaker first. Sadly, tho, Max, not a production sound mixer so I can 't answer the wireless question! As a dialogue editor, I would push a little in a low budget setup for (in increasing order): bodypack recorders to ensure (ish) sound is down; working to make sure that lavs work with costume / hair (compromise for sound if sound is necessary to tell the story); simplify setups when you can to get the story + performance down on a nicely recorded boom with no need for radios. Good luck and welcome, check the forum too for previous posts on all systems mentioned,. Best, Jez

One is never going to be disappointed in buying an MKH40; it will serve you well and long! The only thing is that Richard has now got me thinking about this new MG 310! So thanks for the thread and notifying me of an interesting new mic! Cheers, Jez

Jacob, I second Mattias here in having a good look back at older car / vehicle recording posts on the forum: there are several of us here who have done this professionally and extensively and posted comments. As one of them I would advocate and recommend the DPA lav (4060 if SPL isn't expected to be too high, 4061 or 4062 if it is). If you have a budget of $1000 or some such I would look for a recorder a little over the H4N, even just an F4. That and two DPA lavs would probably be a perfect solution but let us know (try to find out) the expected noise levels of the cars you're trying to record. Best, Jez Adamson

Jay! Always a challenge, always a pleasure! There's an old 'classic' Big Youth song, Mammy Hot Daddy Cool, which goes into this issue in more length - I will only quote the first line; "The daughters like it hot, diddly - oh" The second point is just this - both male and female selective hearing has been proved time and time again to be EXACTLY EQUAL! Jez x

Hi Andrej, I'm probably going to just be another voice and not much help but I will chime in anyway! The MKH 40 is already a quite 'tight' pattern for a cardioid so just be aware that the 50 is even tighter. I own a 40 but would generally rent a 50 which I usually find more useful for much dialogue type work, but they have the same sound / characteristics. If you have the chance to rent / try the DPA I would do that as (whilst not knowing the mic myself) my experience with DPA and B&K mics are that they can be quite spectacular with music / voice applications so could well be a perfect 'one mic' solution to start with. And again I don't know the MG model(s) you're talking about but having used the UM70 in music in the 90s they are a company I have a great respect for - it was a lovely mic and often reached for in the studio against eg a Neumann 87/89 or AKG414. Just to say I would generally expect an MG product to be classy ... Apart from the gain / noise floor one thing I love about the MKH is its robustness in bad conditions (like hot or wet weather) which is partly why I bought one. But I would say - in your case - try what you can since you clearly are looking for a mic to do a couple of things excellently and a couple of other things well? Good luck, Jez

Hope the Tokyo show went well! Shot at La Jetee a few years back, a great place. Never been to Kobe (aside the airport) but good luck on that one next week. All the best, Jez

Well, to hell with it! I just won the lottery and was thinking it would look nice next to my IV-S and IV-SJ ! What's money anyway? J

Check back HK related questions on the forum over the last year or so. I've lived / worked / visited a fair bit over 30 years and myself and others have offered / found more current info. HK is a small place. I've found sometimes rentals can be found in related areas (conferences etc) which can be used for film, tho the old guard (Salon, Cinerent ...) are still about. joinwoo, I'll call you for a beer when I next manage to visit! I met your near namesake John Woo back in 91 and later lived next door to Chow Yun Fat's mother! Best, Jez Adamson