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Sound recording equipment from multiple mics


soundhound82

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Hello all, I have a question about profesional field audio recording in filmmaking.

Let us assume the field sound recordist has a boom mic, for which the cable is connected to the mixer/recorder in the sound bag. Also, two actors each have wireless lav mics and their signals are received by the receiver in the sound bag; the receivers are also connected to the mixer/recorder.

My question is as follows:

When the sound recordist presses the 'Record' button at the start of a scene, and records dialogue from the boom mic and the two actors' lav mics, what is the recorded result after the recordist presses the 'Stop' button to stop recording after the scene has ended (director says cut)? If I take the recording media (e.g. SD Card) from the sound mixer/recorder and look at it on my computer after that scene, would I see a folder that has three separate .wav sound files representing the scene's audio from the boom mic and each of the two lav mics, OR would I see a single sound file that has all three mic sources merged into one file?

Personally, I think that all 3 sound mic sources merged into one file is difficult to separate in post and I am wondering therefore, what exactly is the workflow in professional audio recording in filmmaking? When the Director says action and audio recording starts, does the hard drive in the sound mixer/recorder record the multiple mic sources into a single file or split the sources into their own unique separate files? I think the separate files are far way more better especially in terms of visibility, so you know what you have.

Thanks!

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These are pretty fundamental questions, probably more suited to an academic forum rather than this discussion group, but I will give you basic answers to your basic questions.

"When the sound recordist presses the 'Record' button at the start of a scene, and records dialogue from the boom mic and the two actors' lav mics, what is the recorded result after the recordist presses the 'Stop' button to stop recording after the scene has ended (director says cut)? If I take the recording media (e.g. SD Card) from the sound mixer/recorder and look at it on my computer after that scene, would I see a folder that has three separate .wav sound files representing the scene's audio from the boom mic and each of the two lav mics, OR would I see a single sound file that has all three mic sources merged into one file?"

The two most common file FORMATS are Broadcast Wave Monophonic and Broadcast Wave Polyphonic (Note: Broadcast Wave is an enhanced and extended version of a Wave file). In the scenario you describe (forgetting about who says "action") if you are recording monophonic files, you will see 3 files representing the 3 sound sources (providing you have set up your recording properly, input and output routing, tracks enabled, etc.). If you are recording polyphonic files, you will see 1 file which has all three sources (tracks) interleaved into the onefile. All 3 files (tracks) are still discreet and independent, interleaved does not mean mixed together.

"Personally, I think that all 3 sound mic sources merged into one file is difficult to separate in post and I am wondering therefore, what exactly is the workflow in professional audio recording in filmmaking?"

The key word here is "professional" --- your personal feeling about it being "difficult to separate" is not relevant and it is an opinion based on little or no professional experience. In the world of professional audio recording in filmmaking, the polyphonic file is the preferred format generally, and as stated before, the poly file presents all sources independently but contained in one file.

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2 hours ago, soundhound82 said:

Personally, I think that all 3 sound mic sources merged into one file is difficult to separate in post and I am wondering therefore, what exactly is the workflow in professional audio recording in filmmaking? When the Director says action and audio recording starts, does the hard drive in the sound mixer/recorder record the multiple mic sources into a single file or split the sources into their own unique separate files? I think the separate files are far way more better especially in terms of visibility, so you know what you have.

 

Any NLE software made in the last decade (maybe two) will automatically separate a Poly WAV file into individual tracks on your timeline. Not sure what the issue is?

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Thank you kind folks for your very helpful replies. Jeff, I appreciate the breakdown. Sorry that I posted this under Equipment as I thought it was equipment related but it was more academic in nature. Being new to this type of audio it has indeed been helpful to get an insight into the process in a broad sense.

Appreciated once again.

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