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Showing results for tags 'soundboard'.
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For a video shoot when documenting an event with a podium or dais table of speakers: When asked to get soundboard feed from an AV company contractor at an event or conference and it is of a low quality we have choices but as usual it depends (mostly on time.) sometimes there is a active press mult box but often I'm the only one taking a soundboard feed. I wanted to see if others came up with better ways... If it is at a hotel usually it is just an analog MONO feed out of a mixer that is doing the amplified P.A. system for the event. Sometimes it is a setup and walk away room where there is no human monitoring the wireless RF mics, mixer, or P.A. system at all. It just may be a busy hotel with a low priority on AV or a very small hotel. Over the years based on experience I will come with every connector type to take a feed as it may be my only option to get something out of the board. Often it will have a low buzz or hum. Usually eliminated with a ground lifted transformer like a Whirlwind SP1X3LL Line Level Splitter. A big issue for me is when the Audio/Visual dept. sets up the audio for the P.A. only inaccurately and has very low micpre levels and overall levels feeding the speakers as well as the feed they give you. Since they leave open all the faders at all times the noisefloor is close to AM radio reception noisefloor. These are situations with 3 guys on lavalier mics or a handful of handmics used as table mics without goosenecks and the FOH A1 has never heard of noise gating. In the room PA it may sound "okay we can hear them talking" but on our headphones when you have a all-day event with 2 or 3 sessions throughout the day it is numbing to listen to. Another major issue is RF Coordination in advance with the event organizer, contractor AV company, sometimes liasoned through a hotel AV department, actual A1 Front of House guy getting your request in advance for just a couple frequencies so he can coordinate on his end and ideally assign you 2 frequencies and 2 backups if you are being required to take a wireless board feed if they will not allow you to run XLR cabling for safety reasons or time reasons. Another way I can eliminate the low quality feed is by being able to split the microphone(s) at the stage bypasses their preamps low level and any ground loop issue coming out of the FOH board. I would use Whirlwind SP1X3 - Mic Splitter on each mic cable before it goes to a snake. This is fine with just a couple mics but problematic when there are 10 mics from a table of speakers. This gets a little hairy if you are there to document the event but not there for the entire day. Usually I will take their feed and if I have time also take a split of the podium mic myself if I can. The politics sometimes make it more of a challenge since it is their sandbox and equipment. Sometimes I am also able to take a Direct Out from their mixer for the podium mic only and then I have that clean as an ISO without the powerpoint sound FX and any music from VDR playback videos, or still low playing walk-in music. Sometimes I will discretely place a boundary mic up on the podium as a backup mic. And if none of that is possible I will run a lav mic up the gooseneck of the podium mic and into the podium mic's foam windscreen or underneath the mic with my own windscreen. This gives options when a terrible sounding soundboard feed is offered. Usually you want to have a crowd mic MONO or stereo for all applause. How else do you guys solve this problem?