How to Get Consistently Loud Sound with Loudness Normalization

In the last episode we covered how to set the input or gain level on your audio recorder when recording dual system sound (sound recorded by a separate, dedicated audio recorder). One of the things I suggested was that it is best to leave some headroom so that if the person speaking suddenly gets very loud, the sound will not distort and clip.

But the problem is that most of the sound isn’t loud enough. So how do you manage this? You loudness normalize the audio. This ensures that it is loud enough and that it is consistent from video to video.

Here are three ways to do that. The third way is to manually loudness normalize and is a longer, more involved process. You can see how to do that here:

Gear used or mentioned in this episode:

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Tascam DR-60DmkII Audio Recorder (good option for a beginner who wants to record higher quality sound - shown in the clip to demonstrate leaving headroom)

Audio Technica AT4053b Hyper Cardioid Microphone (for the talking head clips)

Sound Devices 633 (Talking head portions recorded with this)

Aputure Light Storm COB120t LED Light (Key Light)

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box (for COB120t key light)

Celadon LED Pro Radiant 2XL Pro LED Light (background light)

Panasonic GH4 m4/3 Camera

Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 Lens

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Clean Noisy Dialogue Sound with Adobe Audition

In this week's Sound for Video Session we run through several techniques you can use to reduce noise in very noisy dialogue sound recordings for film. We use a clip recorded on a busy urban street where we could not get as close to the interviewees as we would have liked.

Gear used to produce the short film and this episode:

Audio Technica AT4053b Hypercardioid Microphone - used this to record the interviews out on the street. Works well as long as you have a good shock mount and wind protection (see Cyclone below)

Rycote Cyclone Windshield and Shockmount - this is what prevented the wind from blowing across the microphone capsule and making that low frequency, distorted sound.

Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer/Recorder - my go-to recorder/mixer

Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Microphone (Voiceover for this session was recorded with this)

Antelope Orion Studio Audio Interface (Voiceover for this session was recorded with this - couldn't be happier. By far, the best audio interface I've owned)

How to Record Sound for Video: Dual System/Sync Sound

For professionally produced films, the sound is usually recorded separate from the camera by a dedicated audio recorder. Why? Usually, this allows the crew to record higher quality sound. Recording sound this way is called Dual System or Sync Sound. In this episode, we show you how to record dual system sound so that you can increase the overall production value of your video and film projects.

Gear used or mentioned in this episode:

Tascam DR-60DmkII Audio Recorder (good option for a beginner who wants to record higher quality sound)

RODE NTG2 Shotgun Microphone (XLR output)

RODE VideoMic Pro (3.5mm plug output)

Sanken COS-111D Lavalier Microphone (3.5mm plug output)

Sound for Video Session: Ear & Shotgun Mics, Gain, Perspective, Sound to Camera, Side Lobing

In this week's Sound for Video Session we covered several questions from you:

- Recommendations for earset microphones?
- Can you use two mics placed on separate sides of a person so you can record them when they turn the other direction?
- Shotgun Microphone Recommendations?
- Setting gain for line inputs
- Sound perspective: Using a camera mic and lav at the same time
- Record with audio recorder or send audio recorder output to camera?
- Does using the side lobe of a shotgun microphone sound better than using the mic on axis?
- Where should you aim a shotgun mic - mouth, throat, or chest?

My Recent Short Film Passion Projects:

Homeless:

The Music Maker:

Gear Discussed/Used in this Episode:

Countryman E6 Earset Microphone

JK MicJ 071S Headset Microphone: http://amzn.to/2liQ055

Sennheiser ME66 Shotgun Microphone (Has recently increased in price rather dramatically)

RODE NTG2 Shotgun Microphone

My Microphone Meta Review (My favorites from all the mics I’ve used):

Overview of the Zoom F-Control for Zoom F4 and F8 Recorders:

Can You Mix Lights with Different Color Temperatures?

A few weeks ago we reviewed the Aputure Light Storm COB120d, an incredibly versatile LED light for video and photography. One specification of the COB that is a little unique is that its color temperature is cooler than others at 6000K. Many people have asked whether it is possible to mix this light with other daylight balanced lights which are rated with a color temperature of 5500 or 5600K.

In this episode, we look at cases where it is probably ok to mix them and other cases where you may not want to mix them.

In short, if you use each light to illuminate a different thing or different sides of a thing, you're probably ok to mix them. If you use two lights with different temperatures to light the same thing (e.g., one as a key light, the other as a fill), things can start to look at little strange unless you use the cooler light as the fill.

Gear used or mentioned in this episode:

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Aputure Light Storm COB120d LED Light (6000K color temp)

Aputure Light Storm LS1s LED Panel Light (5500K color temp)

Photo Basics Barn Doors confirmed to fit the Aputure COB Lights

Panasonic GH4 m4/3 Camera - Still my main video camera

Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 Lens

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 Lens

Dracast LED500 Light Special Pricing

If you're in the market for an LED panel light which can be powered via Sony NP-F style batteries, B&H has special pricing on the Dracast LED500 for the next few hours. $200 for a color-tunable LED panel with barn doors, good build quality, and a CRI of 95. Looks like a good, affordable, flexible lighting instrument.

Practical Lessons from a Paid Location Shoot

This week's episode is a different than our usual episode: I spent the last 3 days on a shoot in a different city. I was primarily the sound guy and my brother Cary was primarily the DP. The job was for a documentary corporate video. We learned some lessons with this experience and wanted to share those here.

We didn't get to talk about lighting much but the short story is that the producer did not want large imposing lights and we needed something we could transport via checked baggage on our flight. We opted to use the Aputure LS1s LED panel and a Kamerar BrightCast flexible LED panel, both shot through Kamerar D-Fuse soft boxes. These both came in my pelican case and traveled well. They did a great job in the varied lighting situations we encountered for the interviews.

Gear mentioned in this episode or used in the shoot which we did not have time to discuss:

Aputure Light Storm LS1s LED Panel Light - easier to transport than Aputure COB120d and the producer did not want large, imposing lights.

Kamerar BrightCast Flexible LED Panel Light - again, easy to transport and even lighter than the LS1s with about 1/2 the output power but the ability to color tune between daylight and tungsten.

Kamerar D-Fuse Soft Box for LED Panel Lights - super light. Not the softest of soft boxes, but small and easy to transport.

Sennheiser G3 Wireless Lavalier Microphone System (G3 ew119p) - my new favorite wireless lavalier system. Takes a few minutes to set up at the start of a shoot, but holds a signal even when out of line-of-sight which is better than the digital wireless systems I've used.

Nikon D750 DSLR Camera - Good old DSLR, but a good option in this case since we had two of them and needed two cameras for the interview shoots.

Varizoom Jib - Reasonably priced jib which travels well and allowed us to get some good camera movement

Atomos Ninja II HDMI video recorder. An oldie but goodie. The screen is not amazing but the ProRes files it records are great to work with in post production.

The Music Maker

I am about ready to jump out of my skin because I'm so excited to finally show some of my work to all you who have been kind enough to watch my YouTube episodes!

My friend Levi Whitney asked me back in June last year if I would help him by doing the sound for a micro documentary piece on Joel Nowland, a guitar maker here in Utah. Joel makes amazing acoustic guitars which have been played by some big name musicians. But Joel is an incredibly humble guy who loves the craft of creating things for other people. And what's more is that he does it with a significant disability.

So here is what Levi and I made. I recorded all of the production audio for this piece with my trusty Audio Technica AT4053b hypercardioid microphone and my Sound Devices 633 audio recorder/mixer. I recorded a few foley clips with the Aputure Deity shotgun microphone, again with the Sound Devices here at my home.

Levi shot the piece with a Sony A7SII and graded and edited.

I hope you like it.

And I'd like to thank Levi for having the confidence in me to do the sound recording and mixing and Joel for opening his home, his workshop, and his story for the world to see and hear.

Levi will have a piece in the coming weeks over on his YouTube channel covering how we did the lighting. I've covered the sound from the film (both mixing and foley) in these previous Sound for Video Sessions:

Sound for Video Session: Mixing with Buses and EQ

This week we have another film mixing session where I show you a couple of basic tools for mixing in Adobe Audition: Buses and EQ.

With a bus, you can make adjustments to multiple tracks at the same time. Huge time and frustration saver. With EQ, we essentially make room in one track for another track, e.g., we reduce the midrange of the music so that dialogue is easier to hear without pulling the audio down so far that it is hard to hear.

Gear used to produce the short film and this episode:

Audio Technica AT4053b Hypercardioid Microphone - used this to record the interviews out on the street. Works well as long as you have a good shock mount and wind protection (see Cyclone below)

Rycote Cyclone Windshield and Shockmount - this is what prevented the wind from blowing across the microphone capsule and making that low frequency, distorted sound.

Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer/Recorder - my go-to recorder/mixer

Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Microphone (Voiceover for this session was recorded with this)

Antelope Orion Studio Audio Interface (Voiceover for this session was recorded with this - couldn't be happier. By far, the best audio interface I've owned)

Zoom F-Control for F4 & F8 Overview

Zoom disrupted the audio recorder market for enthusiast filmmakers with their F4 and F8 audio field recorders in 2015 and 2016. The quality of these recorders was unprecedented at their price points (now priced at $600 and $900 respectively) I like both of these recorders so much that I bought both of them!

But one thing that is difficult to do with them is to truly mix while recording. The controls are rather small and placed in close proximity to one another. And when working on a dark set, they’re nearly impossible to see. That’s where the Zoom F-Control makes a huge difference and simplifies the process of making a good mix.

Also, we talk a little bit about what a mix is and why you care if you’re a filmmaker or Vlogger.

If you’d like to learn how to record and post process your sound, be sure to have a look at my sound for video courses at http://school.learnlightandsound.com 

Visit us at https://learnlightandsound.com for more updates on how to improve your lighting and sound for video. Also be sure to subscribe to get new episodes every week! 

Gear used or mentioned in this episode:

Zoom F-Control Surface (FRC-8) for Zoom F4 and F8 Recorders

Zoom F4 Audio Field Recorder (Price recently reduced to $600 USD)

Zoom F8 Audio Field Recorder

Sony MDR-7506 Headphones (my new favorite headphones for recording, but not for post work)