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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Need help with Audio

A

Alain Vo

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I am curious, how are you guys recording audio when shooting on your scarlets? I haven't done an audio test shoot yet, but my next job is a quick interview and i will need to record audio. I have an H4n recorder with a boom i can use, but how will i sync up the time codes? I don't have a Digital slate. Please help me with a simple solution for good clean audio. (I've heard the scarlet doesn't record the greatest audio)
 
Hi Alain,

The Scarlet records beautiful audio if you set it up correctly. I record audio to the camera all the time. The trick is testing and common sense. Your main goal is to minimize the gain within the camera as much as possible and feed it a good signal.

This can either be from a mixer, or wireless lapel mics plugged in directly.

Proper XLR to balanced 1/8" cables or the W. Camera A-Box are a very good idea. They take most of the mystery out right away.

So do some testing and make it work. The answers are in the settings, but you have to work out the best option for your set up.

If you do decide to use the H4n, maybe hold it up to the camera like a slate so you can at least see the relative clip and timecode as you are recording. Post syncing is incredibly easy and quick, as long as you have a starting point. Definitely record scratch audio to the Scarlet either way.
 
A manual slate maybe?
Easy as it gets.
I always prefer to record sound to an external recorder.
 
I got this kit:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/488388-REG/Audio_Technica_ATW_1821D_Deluxe_Kit.html
No Problems so far. Absolutely clean Wireless Audio ... with the lapels, the handheld mic, or the other Audio Sources plugged into the transmitters.

at_on_scarlet.jpg
 

I recorded and mixed the audio for this show and about 80% is the camera track. I only had to go back and use the mixer track on a few lines that peaked because I don't use the in camera limiter. It was an attenuated mono line level feed straight into the mic ports. (NSFW- language and a butt shot)
 
Alain Vo said:
I am curious, how are you guys recording audio when shooting on your scarlets? I haven't done an audio test shoot yet, but my next job is a quick interview and i will need to record audio.
Click to expand...
The best solution is probably to hire a decent sound mixer and have them record the sound for you.

So much is location-dependent, it's hard to come up with instant fixes or solutions for production situations this complex. A lot of it boils down to choosing a quiet location that isn't sound-hostile. When that's not possible, then it takes experience to figure out how to tame the problem or at least reduce it to the point where the results are acceptable. And the rest is just getting a high-quality microphone as close to the talent as possible.

My own opinion is that the preamps in most digital cameras (including Red) aren't good enough to rely on for final sound. I think they're fine for scratch tracks, but in general, I think you're better off recording sound externally and syncing it up as dailies. One can make good arguments either way for a high-quality lavaliere on the interview subject -- done by 60 Minutes (among others), which I think is the gold standard for broadcast interviews -- or for a high-quality boom mic positioned overhead. I've done both for certain projects, with one being the backup for the other.
 
Get one of those 50 dollar olympus button-mics, plug it into the front, and sync the camera's onboard audio to your externally recorded audio (from your zoom or whatever) in post.
 
Beautiful audio has not been my experience with the Scarlet nor is that the consensus of professionals mixers, last time I looked into it, although I have noticed here a strong distrust of professional sound people when it comes to that craft, paradoxically. I would never use my Scarlet to record anything critical.

To answer your question, slate when you shoot.



jimhare said:
Hi Alain,

The Scarlet records beautiful audio if you set it up correctly. I record audio to the camera all the time. The trick is testing and common sense. Your main goal is to minimize the gain within the camera as much as possible and feed it a good signal.

This can either be from a mixer, or wireless lapel mics plugged in directly.

Proper XLR to balanced 1/8" cables or the W. Camera A-Box are a very good idea. They take most of the mystery out right away.

So do some testing and make it work. The answers are in the settings, but you have to work out the best option for your set up.

If you do decide to use the H4n, maybe hold it up to the camera like a slate so you can at least see the relative clip and timecode as you are recording. Post syncing is incredibly easy and quick, as long as you have a starting point. Definitely record scratch audio to the Scarlet either way.
Click to expand...
 
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