Phone Video + Lavalier Mic

http://youtu.be/Q0dRVx_BmtQ Can you record video with your phone and at the same time, record the audio with an external lavalier microphone like the RODE smartLav+? Yes! And you can do this with pretty much any smartphone and almost any lavalier microphone that has a 3.5mm plug. Check out the episode on YouTube for links to the mics and adapters.

Dialogue Audio Post Processing for Film and Video

http://youtu.be/VcMOBrdbHgk

I always do at least some post-processing of my dialogue audio. I think some are under the mistaken impression that you can just buy a decent mic, record, and publish and you'll have awesome sound. That can be fine for quick-and-dirty videos, but if you really want good dialogue audio, you’ll need to do some post processing.

This is an evolving process as I learn, but this is what I do currently to get pleasing, prominent, good sounding audio that plays back reasonably well, even on mobile devices. For TV the only difference would be to normalize at a lower loudness (-24 LUFS).

This is what I do in Adobe Audition. This is a pretty manual process but gives you lots of control over the final sound. If you willing to sacrifice a little control for a quicker workflow, you can try using Auphonic.com to automate the process.

RODE NTG-4 and NTG-4+: Innovative New Affordable Shotguns for Enthusiasts

And speaking of RODE, they also just announced two new Shotgun mics for enthusiast filmmakers: The NTG-4 and NTG-4+. These sit between their NTG-2 (an approximately $220 USD mic) and their professional NTG-3 (a $700 USD mic). The feature set includes several nice little upgrades from the NTG-2, my workhorse shotgun:

• Super Cardioid Broadcast Quality Sound
• Low Noise Circuitry
• Condenser Transducer
• Rugged Metal Construction
• On-Board Power Button and LED
• High Frequency Boost Button
• High Pass Filter (Flat or 75 Hz)
• -10 dB PAD Button
• Low Handling Noise

And then the NTG-4+ also has a built-in LiOn battery that apparently powers the mic for 150 hours and includes a USB port so that you can charge it nearly anywhere (including in your car)

But the thing that intrigues me most about this is the newly designed capsule that is apparently not quite as bright as many other microphones. You know, that brittle, sibilant sound that many modern mics produce? But then if you need a little more sparkle, you can always turn on the high frequency boost feature built into the mic. That sounds pretty handy!

Another item to put into my "To review" pile...

Interesting new Wireless Lav System from RODE: RODELink

At NAMM, RODE just announced their new wireless lav system targeted at filmmakers called the RODELink. Looks like an interesting system that competes with the Sennheiser G3 system but comes in at $399 USD. Also evidently comes with a RODE Lavalier which typically retails for $250 USD on its own. I'll see what I can do to get my hands on one when they're released in March.

Atomos Shogun XLR Audio Inputs: Decent Preamps

http://youtu.be/wJyUwa_RT6w There have been a ton of reviews and “first impressions” and “test footage” videos covering the new Atomos Shogun 4K recorder. But what we have not seen is much coverage of the XLR audio inputs on the Shogun. In this episode we have a quick listen to the preamps of the Shogun and compare it to the Tascam DR-60D audio recorder for reference.

Comparison of Aspen HQ-S and JK MicJ 044 Lavalier Microphones

I'm getting started on a comparison review of the Aspen HQ-S and the MicJ 044 lavalier microphones. They're both sub $50 USD lavaliers with 3.5mm plugs. The MicJ has a TS plug while the Aspen has a TRS. The Aspen records the same mono signal to both right and left channels on stereo recorders like the Zoom H1. In my initial tests, the MicJ produces a slightly stronger signal by about 3dB when looking at average RMS aptitude for this one-line clip, though only to the left channel. Not a big deal, I just drop the right channel and then convert to a dual-mono (stereo) track.

Here's a comparison of one line of dialogue where all I did was some compression and then loudness normalized to -21 LUFS.

What do you think in terms of audio quality so far?

First is the Aspen HQ-S with 3.5mm TRS plug.

[audio wav="http://learnlightandsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/10-Aspen-Sample-1-Normalized.wav"][/audio]

Next, the JK MicJ 044 with 3.5mm TS plug.

[audio wav="http://learnlightandsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/11-MicJ-Sample-1-Normalized.wav"][/audio]

Audio Technica AT2005USB & ATR 2100: Good Starter Microphone for Voice-Over and Screencasts

If you record voice-over, narration, or screencasts and are looking for an affordable microphone to capture your audio, the Audio Technica AT2005 USB may be a good option. It is incredibly versatile because it can record directly to your computer via the included USB cable or if you grow into a more professional audio interface or field recorder, it can also output to an XLR cable. It is a cardioid dynamic mic which means you have to work pretty close to it but it also does a very nice job rejecting most room reverb (known by non-audio types as “echo”).

Inicdentally, the Audio Technica ATR2100 microphone is almost identical to the AT2005. The only differences I could see is their finish color, the shape of the grill/pop filter, and the switch is slightly different. Otherwise they appear to be the same—same capsule, both with USB and XLR output.

Let’s take a closer look and listen and see whether it is a good option for your projects.

[embed]http://youtu.be/EHgSC3C0pTw[/embed]

Fixing Sound That Only Plays In One Speaker

One question that I get quite often is, “My recorded sound is only coming out of one speaker. How do I fix that?” This is usually a result of recording a mono mic into a stereo recorder or camera. The fix is very simple in Adobe Audition and most other audio editing apps (like Audacity which is free). This same fix also applies to cases where you recorded two mics into a recorder and one mic only comes out of one speaker, and the other mic only comes out of the other speaker. http://youtu.be/BKepIceNf1M

MicJ 044 Lavalier Microphone Review: Good Sound, Small Price

We have reviewed a bunch of rather inexpensive lavalier microphones over the last few years so I wasn’t sure that we should review yet another, but several of you asked for a review of the $29 USD MicJ 044. So, here it is. And to my surprise, it is quite impressive for only $29. But how does it compare to my longtime favorite cheap mic the Giant Squid? Tune in to hear the difference! http://youtu.be/RBxOLnVxg3A

Tascam DR-60DmkII Audio Field Recorder Review

Tascam recently released an update to their DR-60D field recorder. The DR-60DmkII is a great little field recorder and pre-amp with two XLR inputs, one 3.5mm input, lots of clean gain to produce very nice audio and a good limiter to prevent distortion from clipping. I really like the original version of this recorder, so let’s take a look and see what has changed in the mark II. http://youtu.be/TRoIMPHS91U