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ninjafreddan

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Everything posted by ninjafreddan

  1. Yeah, it's 2018 and AVID still can't make its DAW play nice with soundcards using ASIO-drivers in Windows. Don't rule out ASIO4ALL before trying it properly. Of course, it would be desirable to not use it, but if it works and even AVID themselves suggest using it, then it's worth trying, me thinks. It's Pro Tools, so please put on your silk gloves before using. :-) Cheers Fred
  2. When repeatedly having pointed out to the music video director gone commercial ad director, that he needed to think about not giving directions during takes with dialogue, and the 1AD steps in and calms me down: "no worries, he will be doing the editing himself, and he loves listening to his own voice" :-)
  3. I use my USBpre2 in Windows 7 and 10. Cubase, Nuendo, Wavelab and StudioOne runs like a charm. Haven't used it with Pro Tools. Seldom fire up ProTools HD, and when I do, it's on my main studio computer. How about trying the USBpre2-drivers together with the ASIO4ALL drivers? Sometimes ASIO4ALL fixes unstable ASIO-drivers really well and will be the bridge between the DAW and the hardware. I've compared the sound-quality of USBpre2 with a bunch of soundcards and external converters, and the USBpre2 sounds great in comparison. So, it's definitely worth its price. Good luck Fred
  4. It's a very powerful tool, we used a couple of the eight-channel version of Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen. Even treated as much as possible, the acoustics of the venue - an old shipyard made of steel scaffolding and metal panels - very still troublesome. The Cedar noise-reduction worked wonders making the presenters microphones sound much better - both on TV and inside the venue. So for live events, the Cedar boxes are really handy. A colleague used eight-channels of Cedar noise-reduction for a TV show, and he later told me that he ended up backing it off a bit, because he were loosing the "live feeling". That's how good it works. Another colleague uses it for Sweden's Got Talent, and it helps to keep much of the audience noise out of the jury's microphones, so that no further processing is needed. It's a live-on-tape show. I haven't used the DNS2 for EFP-sound yet, but if I even do, I would probably split the boom and record both the original and the noise-reduced sound, and use channel two to noise-reduce the camera feed. But I probably wouldn't listen to it too much in my headphones, because that would probably give me false comfort. But I don't know until I have used it in the field. There are a lot of recording situation where you know that not much sound editing will be done - because it's done by a video editor. In those cases the DNS2 will be a perfect companion, but do make sure to add it to your rental fees, because otherwise you're just spoiling the production with a pretty expensive and great-sounding box. Regarding your questions, I don't think that you have to buy a DNS2 yet, as long as your clients aren't asking for it. Will it pick up in reputation? Probably. Cheers Fred
  5. Well, if no one is giving you a printed or verbal run-down, it's your job to get that information from someone on set - preferably from the first or second AD. Be talkative whenever suitable and show the team that you represent the sound department. I don't do movies, but I do dox, reality crap and advertising. In dox and reality TV you have to step up and make sure that people get miked etc, because you only get one chance to catch the dialogue. Personally I have no problems halting a situation to get proper sound - impossible mic shadows, unable to boom, technical problems, miking someone that enters a situation etc. As long as it's not a sensitive situation where the flow shouldn't be interrupted. In advertising it's different, picture is king and sound can sometimes just be something annoying to deal with for inexperienced directors. They may lack basic understanding of sound and dialogue, they can lack sound discipline and talk through the takes giving directions to the DOP, the list goes on. One way to mark you position in the team, is to always be present outside the picture frame with the boom ready. Even if they are just trying something out, you are there with the boom just to make sure that you stay out of frame. That way you are always visible to the director and the DOP. And if they say something like, "this is a high speed take, we don't need any sound", you said, "okay, no problem, I'll stick around anyway", then you try to record some sound effects or just chill. When the team prepares for a new scene, you step up to the AD and asks if anybody needs to be miked, and when the DOP is ready to rehearse you ask for a boom position, again showing your presence. In one-camera productions, you should be able to get good sound on most locations, and when you can't, you tell the AD that you will need two minutes after the scene is done to record a wild track with the dialogue with the actors in position, or at a less noisy location close by. It's your job to be pretty persistent about recording a wild track when needed. The team can spend 20 minutes adjusting lights, props and optics - all you need is two minutes after the scene is done. When there are several cameras rolling at the same time, it can be tricky to get the boom in the proper position, so make sure to tell the AD that you will need time to get everybody miked and flag for a possible wild track after the scene is done. I'm sure you're a good sound engineer, so just stay close to the director and DOP, eavesdrop on their discussions about the scene, and be quick whenever someone needs to be miked. The better recording job you do, the less people will notice. C’est la vie. Cheers Frederick
  6. I use a couple of Shure UR5 receivers in my bag along with UR1 beltpacks and DPA 4060 lav mics. Pretty good sound quality, not that far behind Wisycom and Lectrosonics having compared them side to side. Like all Shure gear, they are robust and can take a lot of level, rock solid transmission and the range is very good. Regarding Shure's digital systems, I've used the four channel Shure ULX-D receivers quite a bit for conference sound - excellent sound quality (like a straight cable if you like) and very good range. I have the belt packs set to 10mW transmission strength and it gives me excellent coverage because it's a digital carrier. I've had presenters walk out of the hotel to smoke a cigarette and still being able to eavesdrop on them in my headphones. It's also a great system when 100+ journalists enter the press brief, each and everyone swinging a wireless handheld mic, because the receiver prompts you when there's an interference on one of the four channels - sure saved my skin on one occasion when I was monitoring the four channels on headphones but missed that one of them had occasional glitches due to interference. Fingers crossed that Shure makes a portable digital receiver, but I guess that will never happen. That's not my experience having used the Shure ULX-D system, and I don't think that Axient will be any different. Either the digital carrier is received or it's not. That's the good and bad with digital. Cheers Frederick
  7. Okay, then I should be fine using a straight TC cable. Thanks for the information. :-) Cheers Frederick
  8. Good to know, that's what I'll do if my current TC cable gets in the way of the camera configuration. Still, when working with one camera productions, I prefer having the camera set to REC-RUN and automatically slave my 664 REC to the incoming TC. That's why I want a TC cable that's not in the way. Checking the prices of the angled Ambient TC cables, they are quite pricey. Ahh well... Which audio cable did you use by the way? The Remote Audio with angled LEMO? Cheers Frederick
  9. Hi guys I'm going to work with an Alexa Mini next week. Reading about the need for angled cables, I'm going to order the Remote Audio sound cable. Regarding having a TC cable with angled LEMO-connection, I have found that Ambient makes TC cables with angled LEMO connections in several orientations. I plan to send the Alexa TC to a Time Code Buddy TRX - with camera set to REC-RUN. In your experience with the Alexa Mini, which TC cable would be best to buy? Which angle would be the best? http://ambient.de/en/product_custom_cat/timecode-cables/ Thanks in advance Frederick
  10. I use a DPA 4017B along with a bunch of DPA 4060 and they work great together. 4017B has a low-cut filter at 50Hz enabled all the time to take away rumble, and if I need to take away some more low-end, I prefer doing it with the low-cut filter in my 664. But if you're micing a male interviewee with a chesty voice, the low-cut on the 4017B might come in handy. Actually I seldom use the high boost grid, because it adds a lot of high-end which might make the voice sibilant. It's good to have the option, but when the clothing is thick enough to muffle the voice too much, I experiment to mic placement. By positioning it close to the rim of the clothing. I haven't used Zamcoms in a long time, but yes, the sound blends really well between the DPA 4017B and DPA lav mics. Cheers Fred
  11. Like Mr Teas says! Basically all digital recorders/converters need wordclock to remain in sync with other digital units. In my experience, recording without wordclock sync, the drift won't be consistent. Once, a colleague recorded a big concert with three 24-channel digital recorders. All three machines had wordclock cables connected, but machine no 3 was set to internal sync. All three machines recorded time code, still it rendered a lot of editing/realigning to get machine 3 in sync with the other two. Cheers Fred
  12. I too tried it out at a broadcast trade fair this spring and was very impressed with the quality of the noise reduction. I would love to own it, but I've thought about it and it's too expensive. As a EFP-soundie I do my best to record clean multi-channel sound and send a good wireless camera feed. To my knowledge, I haven't lost any future jobs by providing sub-standard sound quality, because I make sure that every channel is usable, otherwise I fix it. Now and then, my mono camera feed is used by editors because they are lazy or thinks it's good enough. Not happy about it, but the client is always right, right? I love technology, but if I start providing a noise-reduced camera feed, the editors will use it for sure, and that will make my field work harder, knowing that my run-and-gun mono mix will be used. Too me, it's just a safety backup and logging. I think its faith will be in the hands of the rental companies, if they promote it as "the savior of location sound" and provide it once for free, the next time a production company rents gear for a TV-production, it might catch on and become the Auto-Tune of the broadcast business. The rack unit is already used in broadcast, so the big TV-network producers know how well it works. If the DNS2 would have costed around $2000, I would have considered buying it. But I'm already spoiling my clients with wireless time code etc, just to make my work-flow simpler. Time will tell Fred
  13. I've bought stuff on eBay since 2000 or so, and been successful on all my purchases. * knock on wood * You have to check the rating of the seller and the latest rating history, and if the price is too good to be true, then you have to consider that a legit ebay account might have been hijacked. Also check which other items that the seller have on sale at the moment. No matter how small or cheap the item is, I always ask a couple of questions, just to get a dialogue going with the seller. On some occasions, the seller hasn't responded or answered in a strange manner - when that happens I just let it go, no matter how much I want the item. Another thing you have to consider is counterfeits. You will find Sennheiser shotgun microphones at a bargain, a friend of mine bought one against my advice - sure enough, it was a counterfeit 416 that sounded like crap. You will also find Chinese wireless systems that looks exactly like Sennheiser G3 - it just doesn't say "Sennheiser". I can only imagine how those systems and lav mics sound. In you case, starting out with your own EFP-kit, having a lot of questions, I suggest that you buy used from one of the pro stores, like Trew that you've already visited. I don't know why they tried to talk you into buying a Zoom, but you should definitely go for a 552. It's built like a tank, sounds great, the limiters sounds great, the functionality is spot-on for run-and-gun and it's analogue. If you keep the knobs clean and be gentle with the connections making sure that the cabling is nice and tidy - then it will be a great companion that will just keep on working. My advice is to get the 552, two or three G3 with DPA 4060 lav mics (or similar quality), a curled snake cable with quick-release (the pro shop will help you out with that), a sound bag (the shop will help you out), a KTEK harness (or such), a KTEK boom with built-in cable and a shotgun mic with a proper windshield. The pro shop probably has a lot of old NP1 batteries laying around, they will help you out with a good battery power system for your bag that won't cost much. The kit will cost a bit, but you will have a solid kit for your field work, because in the field you will have to put all your energy on capturing the action, the gear just has to work, right? When you need to record ISO tracks, well the 552 can output two AES/EBU feed to through the snake cable. If the camera has two AES/EBU inputs (like Sony F3 and F5), then you can send the first four channels straight to the camera - pre-fader if I'm not mistaken, but it works if you keep track of the levels with the gain knobs. And if the production has a camera with two-channel input and still want ISO-tracks, then you hire a 633 and a time code box plus cables for those occasions. Just be prepared that you will be the one setting up the time code. Do a search on JW and you will find lots of information about time code. I haven't used the Rode system, so I can't comment on its sound quality, latency or range. It looks a bit plastic to me, but if you like it, the go for it. The G3-system has been used on a lot of documentaries, because it's cheap, pretty durable and sound good. Properly set up, it will give you good range and good sound quality. You just have to use a better lav mic than the one provided in the package. The two-channel Sony URX-P03D receiver might also be a good start. Like all things in life, you just have to decide to go for it, or not, right? Good luck Fred
  14. My half-inch Studer A80 master tape machine sounds great! 😉 Built like a tank and a furtiture in my control room. Plug-ins are not 100% "there" yet sound wise. Actually I miss the wow and flutter, at least the wow, helps gel the music and harmonies together. Do I roll much tape? Unfortunately not, that has to change... :-) Cheers Fred
  15. The AVX sounds good and the range is okay. One thing to consider is the latency. As mentioned before, you can't mix it with analogue sources like a boom mic or analogue receivers. Either you have a mixer/recorder with input delay or fix it in the editing. Due to the latency, you have to have closed-back headphones and listen rather loud to "filter out" the real sound source (about 6-10dB louder). Otherwise you won't be able to properly judge the sound quality, background noise or follow the dialogue (at least not the way I want to hear the dialogue). The increased sound level can be fatiguing. The short battery time of the receiver is also a problem, but powered via USB it's not a problem anymore. All in all, I think the AVX works as advertised - a system for the camera man on the move, run'n'gun. Cheers Fred
  16. Thanks for all the tips fixing the fan noise. Someone on this forum summed up the RED cameras perfectly: "It's computers with mounted optics." I've had noisy RED cameras and noisy Sony F5 cameras on location and asked the camera men to fix it. When not being able to do so, I have moved the shotgun mic closer and made sure the lavs sounded good. I'm sure it's different on a movie shoot, but for the run and gun TV stuff I work with, it's not my job fixing crappy cameras. I tell the camera man and location producer that the sound will be somewhat compromised and will need some sound editing. Then I focus on the action. Cheers Fred
  17. No, because 664 is basically an analogue mixer with digital recording. The analogue VCAs probably aren't fast enough for auto-mixing and I wonder if there's enough DSP for performing auto-mixing. I asked SD if auto-mixing could be implemented and they answered No. Cheers Fred
  18. +1 I always try to get a Yamaha QL1 or QL5 mixing console when doing conferences, just to get access to Dugan. On my last conference I sometimes had thirteen head mics open at the same time,and it sounded great thanks to Dan Dugan! :-) My EFP-work is still done on an SD664, but I'm thinking of upgrading to a 688, just to get access to the Dugan automixer - too often my wireless mono camera feed ends up being used in reality shows and documentaries. The camera feed sounds just fine, but it's annoying when three lavs are open and the video editor don't hear the resulting comb-filtering. Swinging the boom, I can't pull the knobs fast enough. Dugan auto-mixing would make the camera feed sound even better. Cheers Fred
  19. Late to the party, but thanks John for all the good advises how to achieve good production sound. I don't work with movies or TV drama, so I learned a lot! To me it boils down to two important advises - one for the director and one for the rest of the crew. Director - Involve the sound team in the planning of the movie just like you involve the DoP, and you will save production money. Potentially a lot of money! The rest of the crew (including the actors) - Your daily work comes down to one question "How will it look?". You need to add one daily question - "How will it sound?". Why should you follow these advises? Because it will make the director happy. Happy director, happy everybody! Win-Win. Cheers Fred
  20. Good points! I just would like to add that if you want to use wireless distributed TC, do consider one of the professional solutions. Ambient can distribute TC via LockitNetwork and Timecode Link. Betso has a wireless transceiver for TC, and Zaxcom has ZaxNet. I use the Timecode Buddy system and it works great! It distributes TC via the 865MHz-923MHz band to and from the MiniTRX transceiver, and via WiFi to iPhones and iPads using the WiFi Master unit (which now seem to have be replaced by the :Pulse and :Wave units). For one-camera productions, I put a MiniTRX (now replaced by the MiniTRX+) on the camera, and receive TC from the camera, then send it to my bag where I have the WiFi Master unit. With both the camera and mixer set to Rec-Run, my SD664 starts recording whenever the camera is rolling. Very convenient, me thinks. I know most of you want to be in control of REC/STOP, but for me, filming documentaries, it's great not having to think about going in and out of REC - and getting an indication whenever the camera is rolling (audible beep in my headphones and the screen showing that the mixer is in REC-mode). If I want to go into REC to record background sounds or such, I just press REC and speak a note into the shotgun mic. The MiniTRX can of course also receive TC from the WiFi Master unit, and distribute it to the camera, when needed. When not receiving TC from the master unit, it can be set to jam sync until a radio link is established again. The range is very good, up to hundreds of meters. For me, the system lives up to its name, it's a Timecode Buddy. :-) Cheers Fred
  21. I got ya! The difference is that I can make the decision on location, if a couple of dBs noise reduction will save the sound, not assume (or hope) that it can be fixed in the sound editing. Also, it's going to be interesting to hear if the sound of the lavs will better marry with the sound of the boom, when the boom doesn't add 10dB more ambience than the lavs. We all know what can be achieved with a properly positioned boom mic. Imagine the background noise being 6dB lower, on location. If the Cedar DNS 2 works as well as I hope it does, it will improve the result of my work (with minimal effort), because there will always be situations when it's not possible to change location. Also, it's going to be really interesting to hear how Cedar copes with room reverberation and echoes. If it can bring down the reverberation by 3-4 dB without sounding artificial, much have been won. Time will tell. Cheers Fred
  22. I gave it a try at the LLB fair in Stockholm yesterday. It's a truly magical box. I tried it with an omni-directional hand mic and turning the knob, it started attenuating the heavy ambience of all the visitors - Cedar quality. Even with heavy noise reduction (-20dB), it still sounded good, no space monkeys. In a real recording situation, 6-8 dB of attenuation will get you a long way. I can see myself using one channel for my boom, and the other for the wireless camera feed - cleaning up the sound for all those video editors that don't care much for sound editing. It's going to make me (and the video editors) look great! :-) And I plan to insert it on the stereo out, or mic group, when I do sound for conferences - most likely get a cleaner and more audible result for the audience and the producers. Win-win. No hardware bypass, but you can't get everything (the rack version has it). Cheers Fred
  23. Man, you had me giggling for an hour. Wifey did not understand the humor. :-) Coming to think of it, doesn't it look like he's taking a munch while the rest of the crew is filming during rehearsals? Love the part where John says: "I had some glitching at the end of the day, because the transmitters started to loose battery power..." So, either they were not able to conjure up replacement batteries, or nobody was listening to the sound being recorded. Epic fail. :-) Cheers Fred
  24. Sounds like you have to contact Sound Devices. Been using my 664 for two years now with practically no problems (apart from the Ch5 noise floor / cycle phantom power off/on "feature"). *knock on wood* Please let us know how it works out, okay. Have a nice weekend Frederick
  25. That makes sense to me, and I bet there's a person taking care of the camera equipment - making sure it's running properly. The same person can care for the sound equipment too (even if he's a camera guy). ;-) Nobody wants to return from a gig with bad sound, it will echo onto the camera guy too. If instructed and paid for, he or she will help out to make the sound kit stay complete and working. I would approach the rental companies or pro dealers and ask for a used ENG kit - for example a Sound Devices 552 in a comfy bag with harness and rain cover. A coiled snake cable to the camera with a one-hand detach connection is IMHO essential - it will make working in the field easier. I think you should go for a stereo send to the camera, it will get you a long way, and it's nice to be able to split up an interview on two channels. You never know what happens, suddenly you get cloths rustling from one of the mics, coughing, scratching etcetera. A Sennheiser MKH50 mic will get you through any gig, both indoors and outdoors as long as you protect it with a good wind screen and windjammer. I would buy a new boom with internal cabling - KTEK with side-exiting XLR and a coiled cable to the mixer, will be a great parter in the field. I would also buy two new NP1 batteries and a charger. The battery cup and power distribution system can be used as long as they are in good condition. As for the wireless, Sennheiser G3 with MKE2 Gold lav mics will produce a sound that's good enough. You can of course always improve the sound quality by buying more expensive wireless systems. A pro dealer will help you out choosing the right wireless system depending on your needs. Hirose power cables for the receivers can be made by the pro dealer. The digital systems available, like the Sennheiser AVX will automatically scan frequencies and make sure the transmission is as trouble-free as possible. But they will also introduce latency and can't be mixed with the boom - so it's probably better to go for analogue wireless systems. An all analogue ENG kit will be easier for a novel soundie or camera assistant to use. As for multi-channel recordings with timecode, if they seldom happen, I would rent a kit and soundie on those occasions. Because you'll probably need more wireless systems, time-code cables that compatible with the camera etcetera. Good luck Fred
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