Audio Fan Noise Problem

[Peter Steele]

Hey guys,

I have a new Scarlet and have just started filming and I am getting a ton of noise in my audio which I am thinking is maybe the noise of the fan from the Scarlet? I am using a shotgun mic. Does anyone know what might be causing all the fuzzy noise?
Could it be a problem with the formatting since I am using the stereo mono converter?
Also does anyone know how in Davinci 12 to reduce the noise? Thanks

 

[Matthew Quinn]

Make sure if you don't have adaptive mode available that you set your fan to like 10% when you record

 

[Bob Gundu]

Are you recording into the camera? The preamps aren't the greatest. Try to record to an external device.

 

[Marc Wielage]

There are cases where a shotgun mic isn't necessarily the best tool for recording dialogue. In some cases, a wireless mic hidden on the actor will shut out more room noise. It doesn't sound as "real" as a high-quality cardioid or a shotgun mic, but if eliminating noise is the goal, this can work.

Camera position and proximity, plus the acoustics of the room, will also affect the results. In extreme cases, I've been able to use sound blankets to "shield" the actor and absorb as much noise as possible, then use iZotope RX to clean up the dialogue later on in post.

The other alternatives: 1) push the camera further away so that it doesn't get picked up by the microphone; 2) use a camera that doesn't make as much noise. There are some cameras that aren't ideal for dialogue-driven projects. Having said that, I've done sound for a couple of features that used Red cameras and we never had a situation where the fan noise was really much of an issue. Sirens, dogs barking, helicopters, trucks, trains, and planes were issues; the camera wasn't nearly as bad.

 

[Peter Steele]

thanks those are some good tips to know. Unfortunately right now the shotgun mic is all I have.

Is there anything I can do, short of buying a really expensive program like izotope, to filter out the noise on already recorded clips? I am using Davinci resolve 12 right now (the free version!)

 

[Nick Fury]

It might also be due to firmware. My new Weapon has a lot of noise, not due to fan, which is being affressed by RED engineers. This is present on either internal or external mic sources. Looking for an update from engineering very soon. You might ask RED if it is OK to roll back a few build generations and, if so, let us know which, if any, are helpful.

In my case, I am only using the external mic track for a scratch track, so not a sigificant issue. Still might be useable, depending, with Izotope Advanced processing. Wouldn't want to be tied to that though, as Bob adn Marc would say, an external recorder, at this camera price point is the preferred procedure.

Thank you very much

Fury

 

[Peter Steele]

Yeah I know I will eventually have to pick up an external mic. I wonder though if it also might be a settings problem or have something to do with the mono/stereo converter piece.

Also, in regards to turning down the fan during recording, is there any danger of the camera overheating? Will it be ok at something like 10% for a longer clip?

Thanks a lot for all the input!

 

[Justin Batchelor]

Adaptive mode is great. I film lots of theatre and interview based material and if the conditions in the room aren't too uncomfortable temperature wise, I can do full hour long recording without too much of a problem. Yes it makes a little noise, but adaptive mode will help greatly by keeping that noise stable and level. If the room itself is too warm, then there might be issues. Keep your own body heat down as well as an operator. I would avoid doing a manual setting for the fan, adaptive is fantastic.

The audio you have at the moment, if you have Audition or if DaVinci has good noise reduction software, do scrape passes where you just take off little by little. Doesn't always work, but instead of trying to take big chunks of the signal out, take small pieces over a few passes. Sometimes does the trick.

My two cents for what its worth.

 

[David Battistella]

Can you post an audio clip and a screen shot of your audio settings on the camera?

It might be a mic phantom power setting or a myria of things. Does your mic have a battery in it? Have you changed it recently?

David

 

[Peter Steele]

So I think I figured out at least the main problem. I simply had to switch the setting from "balanced" to "unbalanced" and the background grinding noise disappeared! I will still have to look into fine tuning some of the other settings that you have all mentioned and obviously down the road getting a better mic, but for now it is at least working pretty good. Thanks a lot for the help!