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Equipment suggestion for (max) 6 actor motion capture audio


SoundCollector

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Dear readers,

We are a team of game audio people that are working on a set of VR projects.
The studio is investing in their own mocap stage and are looking to get the audio system in there as well.
 

I've been looking at lav mic solutions but it's dizzying with the amount of stuff on the market.
I was thinking (as most game audio people do) we needed the audio to be as clean as possible, like no bleed from other actors what so ever. This is so we can trigger it whenever we want in game.
Looking at mics with those characteristics I've come across the Sennheisser MKE 40 and the DPA 4099...
In a post on performance capture audio on here from a couple of years back I'm seeing they suggest DPA 4060 mics which makes me unsure again as to what's the best way forward.

 

Besides the mics there is the other stuff that's needed to capture said audio. Transmitters, receivers and recorder (or interface)
They want to be able to record 6 actors simultaniously...


I'm really hoping someone in here already did this kind of stuff and knows what to suggest for a situation like this.

Thank you for your time.

Niels

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DPA lav mics are the go-to for the location sound industry.  Look at the DPA 6060 series. Wireless solutions are more varied. Lectrosonics, Wisycom, Shure, Zaxcom are the leading ones. Leading recorders are Sound Devices, Zaxcom, Aaton X3 and the Aaton Cantar Mini.  My preference is Sound Devices. Film Devices makes a Rack-N-Bag system that holds all the gear in a very organized way. Film Devices can also help design a system for you.

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Hire a sound engineer to design your system 🤷‍♂️. As opposed to asking a mechanic how to get the job done without him? 

You’re going to need a dedicated engineer to operate the audio package as well. It’s not something someone can pull off after reading the manual. I’d liken it to trying to buy an auto garage without a mechanic. 
 

I have 5 years mocap audio experience. Both mobile and studio. 
 

If you need a recommendation I will gladly refer you to my department lead. 

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You will never achieve "no bleed from other actors what so ever" if the actors are in the same room - no matter what mic you use. The only way to get that is individual voice recordings - or forbidding any overlapping dialog then editing the audio assets tightly. While DPA 4099s or MKH 40s are somewhat more directional than 4060s or other 'Omnidirectional' Lav mics, you'll still hear significant spill from other sound sources in the room.

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Nick is (obviously) right, but:
I don't understand it AT ALL.
If you do MoCap for games, it's 'interactive', meaning a character will speak as the game engine decides.
That means ISO recording always.
How do you you want to record 6 talents with MoCap simultaneous? Do you have 6 HMC's with hardware? How would you like to get that interactive with the game?

Note, I'm NOT a sound guy, I know a bit about MoCap / workflows. (Read, I've worked for Avatar and more blockbusters, and did custom work for Mocap companies, I've never seen simultaneous capture of talent.)
And I'm also Dutch.
Dus, je kunt me gerust mailen en wat concretere vragen stellen, ik denk dat ik wel 'iets' kan helpen.

 

 

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