Sound for Video Session: FCPX to Audition - Sending Audio for Mixing

In this week’s Sound for Video Session, we look at one way to get audio out of Final Cut Pro X and over to Audition so that you can mix it with all of the tools that Audition and other plugins have to offer. 

If you are aware of other ways to accomplish this, feel free to share in the comments!

Gear and links discussed in this episode: 

XtoCC - app to help get audio from Final Cut Pro X to Adobe Audition. You can buy this in the Mac App Store or here.

Electrovoice RE20 Broadcast Microphone

Antelope Audio Orion Studio Audio - Computer Interface

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 2018 by Curtis Judd

Panasonic GH5S - 2 New Audio Features

The Panasonic GH5S has two new audio features which make this camera a little easier to work with from an audio standpoint: Timecode input and line level inputs. What does this mean? First, with timecode, you can simplify the process of syncing your video clips to audio clips recorded with a separate audio recorder. This means you can get higher quality audio and still sync quickly and effortlessly in post. Second, you could instead use your audio recorder or mixer to capture sound and then from your mixer, send the audio to the GH5S at line level which also results in higher quality audio but in this case you don’t have to sync in post - it is already baked in to the video clip!

Let’s have a look at how well each of these new features work.

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:
Panasonic GH5S Camera

Panasonic XLR1 Microphone Adapter - so that you can use XLR based microphones with the GH5S

Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Recorder - we used the MixPre-10T as the mixer/preamp but all of the audio was recorded with the GH5S in this episode

Oktava mk-012 Microphone - great budget microphone for indoor dialogue recording

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5S most of the time

Lupo Superpanel LED Light Panel - Dual Color. Decided to try a harder light look just to see how it went. Not always my favorite look, but you never know unless you try!

Rosco 1/2 Soft Frost Diffusion gel - slightly diffuses the light, taped to the LED panel

Ambient Recording NanoLockit Timecode Generator with Wireless Sync

Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - only for the shots of the GH5S, everything else shot with the GH5S

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 OS ART Lens

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Q&A

In this week’s Sound for Video Session, I make my best effort to answer your sound related questions:

0:11 Which loudness target (LUFS) should I aim for when posting videos online?
2:24 Which Izotope RX plugins do you use most? I’m hoping to buy one of the less expensive options if it contains most of what you use.
11:56 How do I provide a director with a feed of the audio or do a “wireless hop” to a camera?
12:53 When recording sound effects, where should the peaks hit on my meter (Sound Devices 633 in this case)
14:28 Sound Devices MixPre questions - pre and post fader metering, gain staging for loud environments, setting camera levels using tone?
17:00 Advice on how to sync sound for a documentary project?
24:18 Should I position my speakers/monitors above my computer screens since I have 3 of them?
26:06 The recording clipped on my Zoom H1. What happened?
29:27 Liability insurance for location sound freelancers?
31:02 How do you round-trip audio from FCPX to Audition?
34:01 Sound Devices MixPre - How to configure it as an audio interface with a computer and with my iPhone?
37:45 Which blimp cover/shockmount do you use and what is your advice for combating distracting ambient sound?
44:35 ** non-sound related question, but interesting nevertheless: How do you avoid looking like a jittery, stuttering nervous wreck on camera?

Gear and links discussed in this episode: 

Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer/Recorder
Sound Devices MixPre-6 Audio Field Recorder Review

Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Field Recorder Review

Zoom H1n Audio Recorder

XtoCC (app to help get audio from Final Cut Pro X to Adobe Audition)

Rycote Modular Windshield with Windjammer (original style) Review: 

Rycote Cyclone Windshield and Shockmount
RODE Blimp Windshield and Shockmount
Sound Devices ASIO Driver for MixPre Series Recorders for Windows:

Tentacle Sync E Review and Timecode Demo:

PluralEyes Audio Sync Software
Syncaila Audio Sync Software

Wireless Hop with Sennheiser G3 (Gregg Palmer):

Wireless Headphone Feeds (Comtek):

Izotope RX Elements
Izotope RX Standard
Izotope RX Advanced
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 2018 by Curtis Judd

Thank You Giveaway: Aputure Deity Shotgun Microphone

Congratulations to DAZ Studio, the winner of the giveaway and happy new owner of an Aputure Deity Shotgun microphone! Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing and to Aputure for their generous gift!

Our Light and Sound YouTube community just hit 80,000 subscribers - thank you! Our good friends over at Aputure have offered to give away a Deity shotgun microphone to celebrate. To enter the drawing, all you need to do is subscribe to my channel and Aputure's channel using the form above. Don't worry if you're already subscribed, this will just enter you into the drawing.

We reviewed the Deity microphone last year and found it to be a really versatile and dependable mic. If you don't have an XLR-based microphone, this will be a great start. If you already do, this will be a nice addition to your kit. 

Thanks for all your support and encouragement! Get out there and make some great sound. 

Sound for Video Session: False Economies, Consumer & Pro Gear

"Fix it in post," is a very common mistake that often results in greater cost, broken budgets, and sometimes failure of a film project to get to the finish line. We call this a false economy and we discuss this subject in this week's Sound for Video Session. We also cover the difference between consumer and pro grade audio gear and when it might be appropriate to use each in the context of false economies.

So if you're self-funding a passion project, learn all you can to get great results with consumer grade gear. But once you start getting paid for sound production and post jobs, it's time to start considering pro-level gear to help mitigate risks and make sure your clients get what they need.

This episode shot/recorded with:

Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone
Antelope Audio Orion Studio Computer Audio Interface - record with your pro-level XLR microphones directly to your computer

Zoom H1 Handy Recorder (consumer grade recorder that produces surprisingly decent sound quality)
Tascam DR-10L (consumer/prosumer grade bodypack recorder)

Lectrosonics PDR (professional grade bodypack recorder)

Outro music licensed from Artlist: Sunscape by Oliver Michael on One Moment. 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: https://www.artlist.io/Curtis-54452/?utm_source=Curtis_Judd&utm_medium=Affiliate_99&utm_campaign=December

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Lectrosonics PDR: Professional Body Pack Recorder

When wireless just isn’t going to work (too much interference, too far away from the camera/recorder), a body pack recorder like the Lectrosonics Portable Digital Audio Recorder can be a great option. This is a professional level recorder with incredibly sturdy build quality and great sound.

Thanks to B&H for lending us the PDR for this overview.

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:
Lectrosonics PDR - Portable Digital Audio Recorder

Voice Technologies VT500 Lavalier Microphone

Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 OS ART Lens

Aputure COB120t Light (this is the key light in the talking head shots)

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box (used on the key light and for product shots in this episode)

Lupo Superpanel LED Panel (this provided the blue light on the wall behind me)

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Premiere to Audition with Dynamic Link & Mix vs Isolated Tracks in FCPX

In this week's sound for video session, we discuss two questions:

- How do I get a sequence from Premiere Pro CC to Audition CC and back again?
- I can record a stereo mix (L & R) plus isolated microphone channels on my recorder. When should I use which and how will those come through in Final Cut Pro X?

Gear used to record or discussed in this episode:

Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone
Antelope Audio Orion Studio Computer Audio Interface - record with your pro-level XRL microphones directly to your computer
Sound Devices 633 Audio Field Recorder for film production - my main recorder for film/video

Outro music licensed from Artlist: Sunscape by Oliver Michael on One Moment. 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 2018 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: What are Impedance and THD and Other Specs?

In this week's sound for video session, I talk through a couple of the specifications you often see listed for microphones, preamps, recorders and such: Impedance & Total Harmonic Distortion. We also talk about impedance bridging and what this means when choosing a microphone, recorder, mixer, or preamp.

Impedance Bridging article at Wikipedia.

Steve Hogan forum entry re: impedance bridging

Sound Reinforcement Handbook (2nd Edition), Davis & Jones

This episode shot/recorded with:

Lectrosonics PDR (Body Recorder with Timecode)
Lectrosonics HM172 Omnidirectional Headset Microphone
Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera (the noise you hear in the background was the fan in this camera)
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 ART Lens

Outro music licensed from Artlist: Midday Moon by Vikings in Tibet. 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 2018 by Curtis Judd

MixPre 10T: My Impressions After 2 Months (Final Review)

Sound Devices added some nice options to the prosumer audio recorder market earlier this year with the introduction of their MixPre-3 and MixPre-6. And now, they’ve added the MixPre-10T which takes the MixPre line legitimately into the professional recorder realm for $1800 USD. After working with the MixPre-10T for a couple of months, these are my impressions and thoughts.

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:

Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Recorder/Mixer

Sound Devices MixPre-6

Sound Devices MixPre-3

Samsung USB Thumbdrive - This was tested by Sound Devices and I find it works great for the file copy function on the 10T

Sandisk Extreme Pro SD Card I use in my MixPre-10T and 633

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Supercardioid Boom Microphone

Adapter Cable for Mini XLR outputs (TA3F to XLRM)

AC to Hirose Adapter (useful if you plan to use this as an audio interface)

Sound Devices MixPre Battery Sled for Sony NP-F Style Batteries

NP-1 Style Battery - Higher capacity, often used for powering everything in your sound bag

NP-1 Battery to Hirose Adapter - You'll need this if you use NP-1 batteries

Anton Bauer Digital 90 Battery - I keep this on hand as a backup - its big but can save the day

V-mount IDX 95 Battery (Same as above but with a different mounting mechanism for cameras)

I also created a course on how to get the most from your MixPre recorder:

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