iRig Pre HD Adapter: Record XLR Microphones to your iPhone, Mac, PC

How can you use your XLR microphone to record to your phone or computer? You need an audio adapter. The new iRig Pre HD from IK Multimedia is a nice option for only $100 USD. In this episode we have a closer look and listen using microphones like the RODE NTG-2 and Shure SM58.

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:

iRig Pre HD XLR Microphone Adapter by IK Multimedia

RODE NTG-2 Shotgun Microphone

Shure SM58 Handheld Dynamic Microphone

Saramonic SmartRig+ Audio Adapter (2 XLR and 2 3.5mm Microphone inputs)

RODE i-XLR Plug-on Microphone Adapter

RODE Reporter Microphone

Panasonic GH5 Hybrid Camera (Product shots)

Panasonic 12-35 f/2.8 OIS Lens (My go-to lens with the GH5)

Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera (Talking head shots)

Sigma ART 24-70 f/2.8 Lens for Canon EF Mount

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Voice Technologies VT Duplex Headset Microphone Overview

In this week's sound for video session, we talk about and demonstrate the Voice Technologies VT Duplex Omni-directional headset mic. Headset mics are a good option when the presenter or talent may be moving around a fair bit, you want to ensure that the audio doesn’t drop when they turn their head, and it is ok for the microphone to show in picture.

This episode shot/recorded with:

Sennheiser EW112 G3 Wireless Microphone Kit (be sure to check which frequencies you are legally allowed to use in your country)
Voice Technologies VT Duplex Headset Microphone
Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 ART Lens

Outro music licensed from Artlist: Keep an Eye by Back to Dream. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Tentacle Sync E and MixPre, Booking Jobs, Mixing 2 Boom Mics, and More

In this week’s Sound for Video Session, we cover the following questions:

00:13 Does a Tentacle Sync E write audio or meta data timecode to the MixPre-3?
00:38 How do you book a location sound job?
03:50 How do you mix 5.1 surround in Premiere Pro (we cannot answer this, but cover why you probably want to do this in Audition instead)
05:02 Does using two boom mics make more work for post production? Should I instead use one boom mic and queue between the talent?
07:40 Here’s my audio post workflow. Any suggestions to improve it?
10:47 With Tentacle Sync E, I’m not getting any audio into my Canon C100mkII. Help!
14:59 How do I break into the semi-pro corporate video world and start earning money?
18:00 Questions about Zoom F8 on a documentary film.
23:49 Why can I not power my Sound Devices MixPre-3 with my Anker USB Power Bank?
26:28 Should I use Audition or Izotope RX to process my dialogue audio?
33:29 Should I buy the Zoom F4 or Sound Devices MixPre-3?
35:27 Bonus: How much light does the Aputure COB300d put out at two meters with the light dome?

Zoom F4/F8 vs Sound Devices MixPre-3/6:

Links for gear, videos, and lists discussed here.

Gear In my Kit - see all the details with links over at Kit

3.5mm TRS to dual XLR cable for getting timecode and audio into Canon C100
Dugan Automixer Plugin
Comparison of Izotope RX Versions: Elements vs Standard vs Advanced

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Light Meters, Luxi, Cinemeter II: How Accurate is Luxi and Cinemeter II?

What are light meters and why would you want one for shooting video? Don’t most cameras have good built-in light meters these days? How accurate is the Luxi (attachment for your smartphone to make it act like an incident light meter) along with the Cinemeter II app (for iOS)?

Let’s have a look!

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:

Luxi for All Incident Meter Dome for smartphones:

Luxi App (Free)

iOS/Apple

Android

Cinemeter II App ($25 - iOS only)

iOS/Apple

Lastolite EzyBalance Gray Card (Foldable)

Sekonic L-308S-U (Typical basic incident light meter - Minolta is not longer in business but sold to Sony who does not make light meters)

Sekonic Speedmaster L-858D-U Light Meter (top of the line exposure meter)

Sekonic C-700-U Spectrometer (Color Meter, NOT an exposure meter)

Panasonic GH5 Hybrid Camera

Panasonic 12-35 f/2.8 OIS Lens (My go-to lens with the GH5)

Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Recorder

Sigma ART 24-70 f/2.8 Lens for Canon EF Mount

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2jFUlim

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Supercardioid Boom Microphone

Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera (This is my main camera for corporate video work)

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Order of Operations - Processing Dialogue Audio

In this week's sound for video session, we cover my thoughts on which order I apply each effect or process when cleaning and sweetening dialogue audio.

This episode shot/recorded with:

Sennheiser EW112 G3 Wireless Microphone Kit (be sure to check which frequencies you are legally allowed to use in your country)

Voice Technologies VT Duplex Headset Microphone

Panasonic GH5 Camera

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 Lens

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Affordable Soft LED Light for Video: Linkstar RL-24VC

Producing soft light for interview and talking head style video traditionally requires you to use a big softbox or umbrella to diffuse the light. But edge-lit LED lights, like the Linkstar RL-24VC produce soft light while taking up a LOT less space. Let’s have a closer look at the Linkstar to see how well it does in terms of color quality, build, and most importantly, overall light quality.

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:
Linkstar RL-24VC Bi-Color Edge-lit LED Light (temporarily out of stock, standby for updates)

Linkstar RL-18V Daylight Color Edge-lit LED Light (Smaller, 18 watt version - temporarily out of stock, standby for updates)

NP-F970 Type Batteries

This episode shot with the following:

Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Recorder - been working with this for about a month now, review coming soon. Here are my first impressions:

Sigma ART 24-70 f/2.8 Lens for Canon EF Mount - My new "all-purpose" lens for the Ursa Mini Pro

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Supercardioid Boom Microphone - featured in this comparison of indoor super and hyper-cardioid boom microphones (it's the little one and I love it):

Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera (This is my main camera for corporate video work)

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Zoom F4/F8 Limiters & Packing Checklist for Location Sound Job

In this week's episode, I discuss how the limiters in the Zoom F4 and F8 recorders work (not just simply digital limiters) and walk through the location sound job packing checklist I use before each job.

Sound Samples of Digital and Analogue Limiters:

Checklist for gear you need on location sound jobs: https://drive.google.com/open?id=13sI0mGplMC5p2VZHXotDdg9mSdvJVspP2H9_6qyn4Pw

Gear In my Kit - see all the details with links over at kit.co

Sound Devices 633 Recorder
Sound Devices MixPre-10T Recorder
K-Tek Avalon Carbon Boom Pole
Orca OR-30 Sound Bag
Orca OR-40 Audio Harness
Rycote Cyclone Wind Shield
Schoeps CMC641 Super Cardioid Boom Microphone
Sennheiser 8050 Super Cardioid Boom Microphone
Voice Technologies VT500 Lavalier Microphone
Sanken COS-11D Lavalier Microphone
Rycote Stickies (for concealing lavalier microphones)
Sony MDR-7506 Closed Back Headphones
Comtek Audio Feed Kit
Sennheiser EW112 G3 Wireless Microphone Kit (be sure to check which frequencies you are legally allowed to use in your country)
RODELink Wireless Filmmaker Kit

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

3 Gimbals Compared: Zhiyun Crane 2, Feiyu a2000, Gudsen Moza Air

Motorized three-axis gimbals have become incredibly popular and can help add some nice movement to your video projects to help tell your story. If you’re shooting with a hybrid mirrorless or DSLR camera, you can even work with a single-handle, pistol grip style gimbal. In this episode, we compare three of the most popular gimbals for DSLR and smaller hybrid cameras.

I would have a hard time saying that one is the best. If pushed and I could only keep one, I'd probably keep the Crane 2. But the Moza is probably more innovative in terms of software (motion time-lapse) and the Feiyu is more innovative in terms of hardware (controls on both the pistol grip and dual handle).

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:
Zhiyun-Tech Crane 2 - This is the largest payload capacity option of these three, good for larger cameras

FeiyuTech a2000 - dual-handle or single handle gimbal, good for mirrorless hybrid cameras

Gudsen Moza Air (Innovative dual-handle or single handle gimbal, good for mirrorless hybrid cameras)

This episode shot with the following:

Panasonic GH5 Hybrid Camera - my main camera for gimbals

Panasonic 12-35 f/2.8 OIS Lens - My go-to lens with the GH5

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Supercardioid Boom Microphone

Aputure C120d LED Light

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box

Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - This is my main camera for corporate video work

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Zoom F4 Special Pricing

One of my favorite pro-sumer level audio recorders is the Zoom F4 (affiliate link to B&H which helps support my reviews). It was a very good value when it was priced at $650 USD, but now it looks like it is (at least temporarily) priced at $500 USD over at B&H Photo. If you've been on the fence, now may be a good time to jump in.

Here's my most recent comparison episode which includes the Zoom F4:

And here's my original review of the Zoom F4:

Sound for Video Session: Audio Quality, Mixing and Loudness, Smartphones, Cables, Fairlight

In this week's Sound for Video Session, we answer questions about the following:

00:10 Camera vs audio recorder quality?

01:49 Mixing and loudness - which order should you do thing?

04:50 Gear for recording high quality audio with smartphones?

08:04 I'm picking up an AM radio station in my recordings, what should I do?

09:45 Sound Devices 633 - which inputs do you use for wireless and boom mics?

14:52 How to record in live theater?

16:44 When do you use a shotgun vs. a supercardioid when recording indoors?

18:12 How do you set levels when run & gunning?

19:22 How do I record better quality audio to smartphones?

21:56 What's the next step up in quality for wireless (up from RODELink, Sennheiser G3)?

26:39 What are your impressions on DaVinci Resolve and Fairlight for audio processing?

30:47 Do microphone cables that cost more make a difference?

Previous session on recording live sound with Mike Stranks:

Links to gear discussed:

Remote Audio 25 foot Canare Microphone Cable

Shure TA3-F to XLR-M Adapter Cable (e.g., to take a feed from DJ mixing board to SD 633 line input)

RODE iXLR - Adapter for Dynamic XLR Microphones to Apple Lightning (record with reporters' microphones to your iPhone)

Saramonic SmartRig+ XLR to 3.5mm preamplifier and adapter with phantom power.

Review:

Lectrosonics Professional Wireless Systems

Presonus Faderport Controller Surface for Mixing - affordable, motorized linear fader makes mixing easier and quicker.

Mogami Professional XLR Microphone Cables

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd