THE MAGIC OF SOUND:
Creating & Using Sound for
Film, Video and All Other Media Projects

(THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO BOTH MEN & WOMEN)
A Rare Look at the Various
Elements of Sound

What technology and methods are involved in creating sound?
Why is audio such a key component to a great media project?
What technology is used in both major motion pictures and smaller projects?
What does it take to get any type of music (legally & in budget!) into your project?
What should media makers know about sound before they start shooting – the do’s and don’t’s of audio in filmmaking.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21st
at Z Space/Theater Artaud
450 Florida Street, San Francisco from 7 – 9:30 pm

Check it out HERE.

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-21.htm

Happy Charging!

I use a Tascam HD-P2 as my main field recorder and have a Sony MZ-M100 mini-disc recorder as a back-up. Of course both of these need plenty of battery juice to run (8 AA for the HD-P2 alone). I found re-chargeable batteries the way to go for both of these units but finding the best brand seems an ongoing journey. In the past I used Sony AA nimh 2500 mAh; which I found to perform decently but really don’t have the longevity and life-span that I would expect from a major brand (specifically, they don’t keep their charge very long and that is inevitably getting worse with age). In the last year I’ve been using PowerEx AA nimh 2700 mAh; at the same time that these give you a little more bang (mAh) for your buck they really seem to hold their charge much longer than the Sony brand. Of course I want to see how true this is in a year or so but up until now I can charge these up full and let them sit for two weeks and they will hold most, if not all, of their charge.

Where to buy batteries is a whole other issue but I’ve been very happy with the people and prices over at Thomas Distributing: Battery Supply and Electronics.

What is your experience?

At Instructables.com is a demonstration (see below) that shows you how to make a cheap microphone pre-amp. This particular project came out of a test that an audio teacher did with his class seeing if people could tell which of 3 pre-amps was the most expensive and which was the cheapest (ranging in cost from $5-$1500). Can YOU tell? You may (or may not) be all that surprised by the findings. Hopefully this will get my own project back on course…

Build The $5 Microphone Preamp – More DIY How To Projects

http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org/archive/archive-fieldguides.html

Anyway, it came down to these factors: I used this particular mic a lot and found that my best audio captures (voice and ambient) came from this mic; It’s actually a swappable mic in that the K6 is a particular power module that can also be used with other capsules besides the ME66 (and while I have no experience with these other capsules the idea of being able to expand on existing equipment was appealing); It’s a well made mic and has a very strong reputation. So, experience, variable, and reputation were key to me.

The criticisms that come with this mic is that it is very susceptible to handling noises (basically, it will pic up finger movements, taps, and other object encounters associated with handling it much more so than some other mics). However, in my experience, I really haven’t had any problems dealing with this and I’ve used this mic while walking on a farm and capturing people talking, walking and wind blowing. Okay, I did encounter a little problem with wind sensitivity (even with a Rycote softie) but nothing I felt was overly sensitive.

Another criticism is that it is not as durable as some other mics. This is true. Yet, I used one that traveled the world before my use and it came along with me as I traveled to South Africa. No problems. Just make sure you use a hard case to transport it. Otherwise – unless your prone to dropping things and tend to be rough with your equipment – it’ll handle many years of travel and use.

What I like most about it is the fact that it’s very ‘directional’. Meaning that, it captures what’s right in front of it really well and at the same time is able to ‘push aside’ sounds that come from the sides or behind it. I found this to be especially good for my style as I like to be out “on the street” and capturing life as it happens. And with this mic it is capable of capturing a specific spot even at a distance (leaving the extraneous noise at a tolerable background level while maintaining a strong central focus).

And finally, some say that it can sound a little odd when used in doors (especially small, somewhat “echo’ey” rooms…though, I’ve done interviews in just those types of surroundings and I didn’t find anything ‘wrong’ with the captured audio).

What should you consider when deciding on a mic? Well, be aware that each mic performs differently on different recorders. This was also one of the main reasons I chose the Sennheiser – I used it on my recorder (Sony MZ-M100 Mini-Disc) and liked the output. The other mic that comes with a lot of recommendation is Beyer but because I had never used one on my particular recorder and I got word that it can perform a bit softly with my recorder, I decided against it. So, if you’re going to get yourself a mic be sure to match it with your recorder and this is best done by working with as many mics and recorders as you can and that are in your price range and then thinking about each as you make your purchases (kind of like buying an engagement ring…you need to be aware that it should be able to fit both physically and stylistically with the wedding band). See what you like, what works for you and your style. Are you going to be mainly doing studio or indoor interviews? Or are you likely to be in more diverse situations?…the Beyer is supposed to be good for all of these and it is what the Kitchen Sister’s use (or at least Nikki does). But then the “This American Life” folks use shotgun mics like the Sennheiser (that’s at least what I’ve read). What will you use? Good luck and enjoy the process…

And as I await the arrival of my new partner, Sennheiser, I contemplate the big M…but I’ll leave that story for later .

Must read resource for choosing a mic:
Transom.org

Good Package deal on Sennheiser: B&H

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I placed a Sony MB-M100 Mini-Disc recorder connected to a PZM mic at the back of the room near the churches sound board. I didn’t have any time to test out locations for setting this mic up so my hope was to try and get the best overall sound from the service.

I had with me my Sony MZ-M100 connected with the Sennheiser “shotgun” mic with pistol style grip. I walked around the church and recorded from about every angle possible. The main problem I ran into was that it was sooo loud that I couldn’t tell what I was getting. The only time I could tell was if I stepped outside and stood a few feet from the entrance. I ran on hope for most of this job – hope that I’d get something usable between the two recorders.

After waking up around noon, I got to listening to the discs and found that I got some very usable audio. I think the strongest sections are of the songs that were performed, some sections of the Pastor preaching (in a truly Southern Baptist style and with great shout outs from the congregation). The Pastor only mentions HIV/AIDS briefly during one section where he is telling people that to stay strong no matter what ails you (something like that…I have only listened briefly for quality not content). So, I’m trying to figure out how I can mix this audio into the project. Spirituality, g-d and the church are not major players in this piece although they are brought up so I don’t think it’ll be too difficult to incorporate. It’s just that, well…this is a strongly “g-d” church service and everything is about g-d and my project isn’t necessarily taking the angle of a “g-d” paradigm. Spirituality does have a role; anyway I didn’t expect anything different and I’m very thankful for the opportunity to record there and the audio will be used in some shape or form. One idea I am thinking about is to insert some of the preaching and songs and then bleed into a mix of them with some beats and use them to connect sections of the project (I’ll have to get the help from the legendary KGB – a local DJ friend – for assistance on doing this).

I give many thanks to Pastor Zulu and his congregation for giving me the opportunity to record the service. It was an honor!

Above is my final equipment check. The Sony ECM-MS957 has been the mic I’ve used most in my audio work and will be my central one for this trip. I find it to be the most flexible and is great for interviews as well as collecting ambient sound. I will also be carrying with me:

1. Sennheiser with a K6 power supply and 12v phantom power pack. I haven’t used this one a lot but Ira Glass, of This American Life, seems to tought “shotgun” mics as good all around interview mics. I just think it’s a bit difficult to get a good sound if you don’t have a lot of experience using this type of mic for interview settings. There’s a nice discussion of “shotgun” mics over at this site: http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/review_shotgun_mics.html.

2. A lavaliere (I forget the brand at the moment). I generally use these for my more formal sit down in an office interviews. You just have to make sure you explain the basic dynamics of the mic to the interviewee so that they don’t go fiddling with their shirt during the interview or talking off to one shoulder.

3. I’ll be using a Crown PZM30D Boundary Microphone for the first time. This is the flat rectangular item in the picture (to the right side). I think these are generally better for capturing really solid sound but I’m going to use it in the background as I do individual work with a different mic. I’ll leave this one hooked up to a second MD recorder in various locations. I probably won’t use this a lot but I’m curious about it’s application in audio documentary.

4. I’ve borrowed a second Minidisc recorder, a Sony MZ-B100 (an earlier incarnation of my MZ-M100). This is decent little recorder and I’ll have this mainly as a back-up. The biggest difference between the two models is that the MZ-M100 is what they call a Hi-MD recorder. That is, it can recorder in totally uncompressed linear PCM mode (a much higher quality level than your average MD recorder).

That’s my gear! Feel free to use the “comments” link below to ask any questions or leave your comments.