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Ambient car driving sound.


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I have a question that I can’t find the answer to anywhere. I have searched high and low and there is nothing out there so I joined this forum in an effort to get advice from folks who would seem to have knowledge in this area. I do videos where I drive in my car and record the drive. I am trying to drive every street in my area and capture it on video. People who used to live in this area love these videos because it brings back memories for them. 
 

Here is my question. When I shoot a driving video I delete the audio in post and replace it with music. The ambient audio is always horrible due to wind noise and driving has constant wind. I would like to record ambient driving sound to go with the video in real time. The following video is an example of the kind of audio I would like to record. How would I go about doing that? Where would I place the recording device? What kind of mic? I have no idea how to go about this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 


 

 

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Hi I, for me driving is a lot about listening as I rely upon my ears as much as my eyes to drive (I live in lockdown perhaps half a mile away from Domenic Cummings' parents if that means anything to anyone?! ... about as far again as the Care Home once a BBC building where Kate Adie started her career)... So yeah, I would appreciate the sound of the ambience myself although you seem to be more after the street sound than the car ... so ...

 

It depends somewhat on what you have or want to spend (and what the rest of the equipment is) as to recommendations for actual mics. I would suggest a pair of (omni) lavaliers, packed in foam, for a stereo image. Attached to both wing mirror (or just behind, for some extra wind protection) will give a decent 'car / ambience' ratio. But to get more ambience from car sound try going to the roof. If that is still too much 'car' you could try mounting on aerials (or an aerial type contraption on the roof).

 

The (little I watched of the) video you posted was highly edited / mixed however ... in an ambient fashion. So if you're after that actual sound you will also have to 'do stuff in post' as we say. Although I recommend experimenting a little with a couple of lavalier mics to come up with something you like yourself. You can always switch between positions depending on mood and mix music in if that works better occasionally.

 

If you're interested in specifics of recording vehicles (rather than the ambience of driving) it has been discussed here many times and there is much to be gained from a search. Ambience, however, is 'distant' from the vehicle, either attached and slightly distant or totally separate (and perhaps creatively constructed).

 

Hope this helps

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This is JUST the kind of information I was looking for. I’m grateful for your words of wisdom on this. Any specific lavaliers I should be looking at? What specifically should I capture the audio from mics in to. Money is not a problem here but realistically I’m not making Citizen Kane. These will be videos as described above. Driving on roads being recorded for historic purposes. Years from now folks will be able to look back and see and hear the way things were. 
 

Thank you for the information.  

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Search this forum, there has been quite a few posts regarding vehicle sound capture, Interior, exterior, engine exhaust, ect, including placement and preferred mic types. And many of us have done it at one time or another. There are other resources online that deal exclusively with S/FX capture.

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25 minutes ago, Rick Reineke said:

Search this forum, there has been quite a few posts regarding vehicle sound capture, Interior, exterior, engine exhaust, ect, including placement and preferred mic types. And many of us have done it at one time or another. There are other resources online that deal exclusively with S/FX capture.

I would be grateful if you could link me to anything pertinent. I have searched to no avail. 

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2 minutes ago, ronmac said:

Watson Wu has recorded several car sounds for video games and has discussed his methods on his site and in blogs and interviews on several other sites. Start on his https://www.watsonwu.com/ site and explore from there.

That’s not exactly what I’m looking for. I don’t need The specific car sounds like he records. I need ambient sounds of driving a car as referenced in the video above. I basically want to emulate what the video above does. 

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If money is no problem just go ahead and get a pair of DPA (Danish Pro Audio - although they're known generally as DPA) omni lavaliers model 4060 - or if you prefer go for the tinier 6060 new model. Many of us have used 4060s as first choice general car ambience mics for many years. There are lower sensitivity / higher 'max SPL' (can take louder sounds) models which are often used for recording more 'car' (especially muscle cars) against ambience - ie located by exhausts, engines etc ... the 4061 is the next model (up or down so to speak). The least sensitive / highest SPL model is the 4062 which is commonly used by those recording Formula One cars etc. For ambience go for the 4060 ... it is more suited to the medium sound levels around the car and is unlikely to overload, although the 4061 for such a purpose wouldn't be out of place either.

 

The main thing is placement and this will take a fair bit of experimentation (even more so for a non recordist). First try packing the mics in a largish mic foam windshield, much larger than the mic itself - up to 'tennis ball' if possible. Put that in a nylon sock. Try behind the wing mirrors. Try on the roof ... try left right roof aerials. If there's too much wind you might have to go for fur windshielding. Although mini fur windshielding (DPA's own or Rycote or Bubblebee) may well work fine (or better). It all depends on conditions. So go ahead and search for past discussions - there is more out there (and here). (Although much is focused on specifics like close miking and particular sounds there will be ideas there for ambient setups).

 

Good luck,

 

Jez

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