Aputure F7 LED Light - 7" LED Light for On/Off Camera Video Lighting

Aputure announced their new F7 on-camera LED light for video and filmmakers today, March 30, 2018. This affordable, compact LED light has been a part of my lighting kit for the last 2 months and I’ve found it more useful than I had originally anticipated. I don’t use on-camera lights very often, but when I need to in the future, I now have a great option. But I found it especially useful for off-camera use as an accent light with it’s wide color temp tuning capability, or even as a key light shot through a silk/scrim or bounced off of a reflector. There are three ways to power the F7 making it incredibly flexible. And of course the color quality is very good as well. Let’s take a closer look!

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:

Aputure F7 On-Camera 7” LED Light for video

Anker PowerCore+ 20100 USB-C Battery Bank - This one powered the F7 while some other USB battery banks would not. I think the bank must supply a higher current. Yes, it is expensive for a USB battery bank, but the quality is top notch. Conveniently, the included bag makes it easy to hang the battery on the light stand so it is easy to use with the F7.

Westcott 40" 5 in 1 Reflector for bouncing or diffusing the light to make it softer

Sony NP-F970 Battery - much more expensive and mine has been very reliable in constant use over the last 14 months. You will also need a charger (the F7 does not charge batteries).

NP-F970 compatible battery - much less expensive. I’ve had decent luck with Wasabi power and Watson, but they do seem to wear out a bit faster than the OEM batteries.

Sekonic C-700U Spectrometer - used for all of the color quality measurements

Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer & Recorder

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Super-cardioid Boom Microphone

Panasonic GH5S - My current favorite small camera

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

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

ATOMOS SUMO Audio Features

The ATOMOS SUMO 19” monitor & recorder is a dream to work with on set from an imaging point of view. The ATOM HDR feature makes exposing log footage much easier, has all the focus and other exposure tools pros rely upon, and even has some pretty impressive audio features. In this episode, we look specifically at the audio features and assess whether the microphone and line level inputs work well enough to rely upon for your projects and jobs. We also take a look at how the timecode and monitoring features hold up.

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:
ATOMOS SUMO 19 - this is the recorder version, not the monitor-only version

Tentacle Sync E Timecode Generator

Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer & Recorder

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Super-cardioid Boom Microphone

Panasonic GH5S - My current favorite small camera

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

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Q&A - Audio Interface, Upgrades, Headphones, Sync, & Giraffes

In this week’s Sound for Video Session, a Q&A session, we cover the following questions:

00:14 How to connect powered monitors/speakers to my Sound Devices MixPre?
02:37 Should I upgrade from the Zoom F4 to the Sound Devices 552 or save up for the 664?
05:44 What do you think of using noise cancelling headphones when recording location sound?
08:16 How do I sync 4 cameras and audio from 2 recorders?
11:13 How do I record giraffes in a hurricane with a Sony point-and-shoot camera?
14:26 Troubleshooting audio gear

Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode: 

Sound Devices MixPre Course

Whirlwind pcDI - convert the unbalanced output of your MixPre to balanced XLR cables to connect your powered speakers/monitors
Sound Devices MixPre-3 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Sound Devices MixPre-6 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Recorder/Mixer

Zoom F4 Audio Recorder/Mixer

Sound Devices 552 (2-Track Recorder, Cannot Record ISOs)
Sound Devices 664 (Records ISO Channels + Mix, But No AutoMix)
Sound Devices 633 (Record ISO Channels + Mix, also includes AutoMix)
Sennheiser PXC 550 Noise Cancelling Headphones
RODE NT1A Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone
Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone

Outro music licensed from Artlist: Awaken by Ethan Rank. 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: Camera Audio Return

In this week’s Sound for Video Session, we demonstrate camera audio return (camera return) - What it is, why you would use it, and how to set it up.

Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode: 

RODE Reporter Microphone

Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Recorder/Mixer

Remote Audio Break-away Cable - This is a set of cables often used in news shooting workflows which allows you to connect your mixer to camera (outputs, timecode, and camera return) and also usually have a quick and easy way to disconnect from the camera.

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

IKEA LED Bulbs: Good Enough for Video Lighting?

If you’re shooting video on a really tight budget and you cannot afford an expensive, pro-grade lighting instrument, can you get away with using consumer grade LED bulbs from IKEA? Let’s take a look and see whether these bulbs can produce decent quality light for your video projects and consider the “down-sides.”

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:
IKEA RYET LED Bulbs (not recommended for video use)

IKEA LEDARE LED Bulbs (usable for tiny budget, non-color critical video lighting)

Shop/Clamp Lamp - the aluminum lamp you’ll want to concentrate the light and mount it on a light stand

Westcott 5 in 1 Reflector (I use the middle section to soften the light - it is a scrim/silk)

Sekonic C-700-U Spectrometer (for measuring CRI, color casts, spectral light output, etc.)

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Super-cardioid Boom Microphone

Panasonic GH5S Camera (My current favorite small camera)

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

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Zoom F1 Audio Field Recorder

Zoom’s new F1 is a tiny audio field recorder which works well in place of a wireless lavalier system but can also be used as a camera-top shotgun or “wireless” shotgun microphone. Here’s our overview of the Zoom F1.

Thanks to B&H for lending us the F1 for this overview.

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:
Zoom F1 (with lavalier microphone)

Zoom F1 (with shotgun microphone)

32GB microSDHC Card (you’ll need one, not included with the F1. This'll give you over 30 hours record time at 48kHz, 24 bit)

Mic Stand Adapter (I used this to mount the shotgun mic configuration on a regular 5/8” mic stand)

Voice Technologies VT500 Lavalier Microphone (this does NOT come with the F1)

Panasonic GH5S (My current favorite small camera)

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

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Timecode, Recording in Noisy Places, Optimize Audition, & More

In this week’s Sound for Video Session, we answer your questions:

00:18 Zoom F4/F8 timecode restore after lunch?
01:35 How do I record crispy audio in an industrial space?
04:01 How to set scratch disk and memory allocation for Audition?
05:28 Audition’s new Dynamics plugin
08:08 How do I mix music behind dialogue?
11:03 How to apply compression consistently on 3 track podcast?
13:16 How do I make two microphones sound the same?
15:16 Are there disadvantages to recording 96kHz/24 bit?

Sample recorded in industrial area:

Review of Voice Technologies Ear Worn Microphone:

How to mix dialogue and music:

Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode: 

RODE Reporter Microphone
RODE iXLR (dynamic microphone to iPhone adapter)
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

A Little Piece I Worked On...

Last fall I was privileged to work as the location mixer for a short piece on the effects of the outdoors on your brain. Interesting topic, and a lot of fun for a one-day shoot.

I like the final piece overall but was a little disappointed in what was done to some of the production audio. The main correspondent was mic'd with a Voice Technologies VT500 lavalier through a Sennheiser G3 wireless system and a DPA 4017B shotgun mic directly into my Sound Devices 633. Also used the Rycote Cyclone as wind protection for the shotgun mic.

The production tracks were all good but something happened in the final edit, particularly to the dialogue of Dr. Strayer which sounds like they kept both the lav mic and the boom so there's some odd phasing. **sigh**

Nevertheless, it seems to make its message clear and I had a great time with a fun crew. Thanks attn: and REI Co-Op!

80K Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing to celebrate 80K subscribers! The lucky winner of the drawing was DAZ Studio - congratulations!

A big thanks again to Aputure for generously supplying the Deity microphone for DAZ.

If you'd like to see our review of the Aputure Deity Shotgun Microphone, have a look here:

Thanks to EVERYONE for your support and encouragement!

Mixing Board Basics for Video/Filmmakers

Why are we talking about mixing boards on this channel where we normally cover sound for video? Because understanding the basics of mixing boards makes you a better location sound mixer for film/video! Here’s a quick high-level look at how mixing boards are laid out and how knowing that can help when you're troubleshooting sound issues.

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:

Allen & Heath SQ-5 Digital Mixing Board - 48 channel, 36 Bus Mixer with Motorized Faders

Panasonic GH5S 4K Camera - works great when you don't have a lot of light. Much improved over the GH5, but alas, you give up the in-body image stabilization of the GH5 so it is a tradeoff.

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

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd