Audio Recording?

[Denny Kyser]

I have been asked to record the audio portion of a funeral tomorrow. The memorial ceromony is for a well known person so I guess the want the audio recorded. I am almost doing this for free, but still want to give them a decent audio track.

My question is the ceremony starts at 10:00 am, and they said it will last about an hour. The "About" is what worries me.

The only way I can record the audio is by using my Canon XH-A1 and my shotgun mic wirelessly, they dont want any signs of the service being recorded, I will be in a seperate room.

The tapes are only 60 mins, and if the service runs over I will have a lapse while I change tapes.

How much quality would I loose by going with LP mode and getting 90 minutes?
Again its only the audio I am concerned about.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Denny

[Travis Breitenbach]

Hm, I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure that's going to drop your audio quality from 48 kHz, 16 bits to 32 kHz, 12 bits. You might notice a difference, but I don't think it will be substantial. Record a test tonight. Otherwise, you can probably squeeze about 65min. out of that tape...

[Steve Oakley]

LP mode will not change the audio sample rate, just runs the tape 50% slower. as for being discreet, I'd tape a lav mic up under the podium mic instead, or look for a PA feed because if there is more then one speaking location... your in going to miss something..... or if the PA doesn't have a hum problem, mic the speaker if you can get a mic reasonably close that bounce won't be a major problem. good luck

[Thomas Barthle Jr.]

Originally Posted by Steve Oakley

LP mode will not change the audio sample rate, just runs the tape 50% slower. as for being discreet, I'd tape a lav mic up under the podium mic instead, or look for a PA feed because if there is more then one speaking location... your in going to miss something..... or if the PA doesn't have a hum problem, mic the speaker if you can get a mic reasonably close that bounce won't be a major problem. good luck

I second that. Find a feed from the PA system. This will guarantee you will record everything the attendees hear.

I would assume that when you slow the tape down, some info will be cut. Maybe NOT the sample rate, but the bit rate. Even with the old Otari 4 track units I used, when we slowed it to 15 ips (inches per sec) from 30 ips to save money, alot of the hi frequency detail is lost. Hip-hop and Reggae groups love this sound (probably adopted from lack of funds). Either way, your recording is mostly spoken word, not an extremely complex wave form like in music where the bits are completely necessary.

Thomas

[John Miller]

Using LP mode won't change anything regarding what gets recorded to tape. Using LP mode increases the likelihood of dropouts on the tape but this can be mitigated two ways:

1. Use the highest quality grade of miniDV cassettes available
2. Use the same camcorder for playback as recording

Following these 'rules' typically results in no problems.

[Thomas Barthle Jr.]

Thanks John! Good to know. Also, since he is using an HDV camcorder, is he better off putting it in DV to avoid the MPEG compression?

[Colin McDonald]

Originally Posted by Thomas Barthle Jr.

I second that. Find a feed from the PA system. This will guarantee you will record everything the attendees hear.
Thomas

Sorry but I must respectfully disagree. If there's an electronic organ it may not come through the PA, a pipe organ almost certainly won't, nor will singing or other congregational sounds (prayer responses etc.) If the service is taking place in one of the large churches that has a sound engineer you could arrange in advance to have an ambient mic added otherwise you will only hear the preacher and other contributors. A PA mix is usually not a recording mix for this sort of occasion.

By all means have a feed from the PA, but plan on including ambient sound as well.

[Thomas Barthle Jr.]

That is true, Colin. You have 2 tracks; one for the PA feed and one for an ambient mic WOULD be the best setup.

[John Miller]

Originally Posted by Thomas Barthle Jr.

Thanks John! Good to know. Also, since he is using an HDV camcorder, is he better off putting it in DV to avoid the MPEG compression?

Definitely. With DV, you'll end up with 48kHz, 16-bit PCM stereo - wholly uncompressed, slightly better than CD quality. Just make sure the camcorder is set to 48kHz, not 32kHz which is often the default.

[Colin McDonald]

Originally Posted by Denny Kyser

I have been asked to record the audio portion of a funeral tomorrow. The memorial ceromony is for a well known person so I guess the want the audio recorded. I am almost doing this for free, but still want to give them a decent audio track.

How did it go?