Audio setup for videographer

Lonergan6275

I am going to start recording weddings and plays and such. i have decided the camera i am going to invest in (PANASONIC HDC-MDH1) the one downfall i see in this camera no xlr inputs but i think i will rectify that whit a xlr adapter such as BeachTek DXA-5Da.
i have seen some video guys use shotgun mics at the front of the stage/alter and use Sennheiser G3 Wireless Lav and "Plug" XLR to transmit back to the camera which is around 15m away. I was wondering is there a more affordable alternative for transmitting from mics to camera.
any help would be greatly appreciated.

TommyGun

Lonergan6275 wrote: »

I am going to start recording weddings and plays and such. i have decided the camera i am going to invest in (PANASONIC HDC-MDH1) the one downfall i see in this camera no xlr inputs but i think i will rectify that whit a xlr adapter such as BeachTek DXA-5Da.
i have seen some video guys use shotgun mics at the front of the stage/alter and use Sennheiser G3 Wireless Lav and "Plug" XLR to transmit back to the camera which is around 15m away. I was wondering is there a more affordable alternative for transmitting from mics to camera.
any help would be greatly appreciated.

I use zoom H1's and sync up afterwards. You can use a lav mic with them. There great and very good value.

Lonergan6275

few questions about the h1.
how would you rate the quality vs a shot gun set up? are u recording from a speeker, mixing desk or pa system? what distance do u place it from the subject.

TommyGun

Lonergan6275 wrote: »

few questions about the h1.
how would you rate the quality vs a shot gun set up? are u recording from a speeker, mixing desk or pa system? what distance do u place it from the subject.K

I have a h1, h4 and lots of other mics. They all do a job.

I use the zooms for up close work, on the alter, singing in the church and for the speeches, I find the h1 excellent. I dont really like the h4. The shotgun is only used as a back up audio.

Audio is all about getting close, so I place the h1 up close. It is very small so I tape it to the hotel mic for speeches, place it on the alter etc.


I can say the h1 is the cheapest bit of kit that improved my work by a big step, along with my monopod, there my two best buys ever.

I hope this of help.

Ger

sayali26

Hi Friends.........

I converted MPEG format to video format and after that i am facing the problem of audio video syncing.Please suggest me how can i solve this problem.

Thanks

Sayali

Lonergan6275

sayali26 wrote: »

Hi Friends.........

I converted MPEG format to video format and after that i am facing the problem of audio video syncing.Please suggest me how can i solve this problem.

Thanks

Sayali

What editor are y using,
Do u have any audio / video reference.

Fionn

the one or two times i had audio that i had to sync to video i did it manually - took a little bit of trial and error but easy enough to do.

My current audio setup is a Sennheiser ew 135-p G3 wireless mic (very expensive) and a XLR ECM-XM1 shotgun mic on one cam and a ECM-PS1 Mic on another.

I got caught out recently when the priest moved to a lectern but left my mic behind which resulted in a terrible echo for that portion of the ceremony!

Been looking into geting something like the H4N, is it overkill for what i want here? I've looked at the H1 as well.
Has anyone got any opinions on any of the digital recorders as shown on this website Top Ten Recorders the first two look to be real good , probably cost a lot more on this side of the ocean tho!

Lonergan6275

TommyGun wrote: »

I have a h1, h4 and lots of other mics. They all do a job.

I use the zooms for up close work, on the alter, singing in the church and for the speeches, I find the h1 excellent. I dont really like the h4. The shotgun is only used as a back up audio.

Audio is all about getting close, so I place the h1 up close. It is very small so I tape it to the hotel mic for speeches, place it on the alter etc.


I can say the h1 is the cheapest bit of kit that improved my work by a big step, along with my monopod, there my two best buys ever.

I hope this of help.

Ger

What would be the max distance u can get away with placing the h1 in relation to any sound source. i would be hoping to record all sound on the device (is that too optimistic? ) i don't think i can stretch my budget to much more than the h1 and a back up mic around €50 range or around €200 for an alternative audio set up.

TommyGun

Lonergan6275 wrote: »

TommyGun wrote: »

I have a h1, h4 and lots of other mics. They all do a job.

I use the zooms for up close work, on the alter, singing in the church and for the speeches, I find the h1 excellent. I dont really like the h4. The shotgun is only used as a back up audio.

Audio is all about getting close, so I place the h1 up close. It is very small so I tape it to the hotel mic for speeches, place it on the alter etc.


I can say the h1 is the cheapest bit of kit that improved my work by a big step, along with my monopod, there my two best buys ever.

I hope this of help.

Ger

What would be the max distance u can get away with placing the h1 in relation to any sound source. i would be hoping to record all sound on the device (is that too optimistic? ) i don't think i can stretch my budget to much more than the h1 and a back up mic around €50 range or around €200 for an alternative audio set up.

You will find the matter how good the mic is you have to be close to get excellent audio due to the inverse distance law. As you double the distance, the sound wave weakens by four.

The h1 has to be within a few feet and a shotgun max 10-15 foot. The shotgun I have is the rode ntg-1. I only use this for back up.

The best of luck with your selection.

The cheapest place to get audio gear is

http://www.thomann.de/ie/index.html


1.3 The Inverse Distance Law (http://www.videoskills.net)

As sound waves travel through air, each doubling of distance from a sound source results in a halving of sound pressure. This is known as the Inverse Distance Law.

This loss of power is equal to 6 decibels (dB). A decibel is not a unit with an absolute value. It’s a relative unit, a logarithmic measurement that represents the ratio between one value and another. Because of the way that we perceive the volume of sound waves through our ears, in a non-linear, logarithmic way, it is an ideal unit for use in an audio environment. An increase of 3dB is roughly equal to doubling of audio power. As humans, we will perceive a 3dB increase in volume in much the same way, whether it’s caused by an increase from 1 watt to 2 watts of power, or from 100 watts to 200 watts.

To look at it another way, if you were to move away from a sound source in an area (with an absorbent ground surface) from 4 feet to 8 feet, the sound level is reduced by 6dB; another 8 feet to 16 feet the level is reduced by another 6dB (giving a total of 12dB); then move from 16 feet to 32 feet away, the total combined sound level reduction is 18dB, and so on.

In practical terms, this rule helps to explain why microphones should be placed as close to the sound source as possible. The closer the microphone is to a given sound source, the greater the sound pressure it will receive from that source, the higher the signal output it will generate, hence improving the signal to noise ratio and the smaller the amount of colouration that will occur.

It also explains why it is difficult to move away from unwanted background noise that isn’t being generated in the close vicinity. If the source is 3 feet away, then moving another 9 feet away could reduce it by 12dB. If it’s a building site 100 yards away, you’re going to have to move 300 yards further away to achieve the same 12dB reduction.

TommyGun

Just re-read your post. If you have €200 to spend get the all rounder ntg-1 ( get the ntg-2 if your camera does not provide power), if your camera has no xlr connector get the rode video mic.

It is better to get alright audio everywhere than excellent audio in only one place. Ie if you are doing a wedding audio at the alter, musicians etc. you would need multiple h1's.
Ger