911! All audio didn't record? can be saved? at DVinfo.net

Louis Maddalena · March 5th, 2010, 06:22 PM

I just shot a love story with a couple and did all the audio recording with a H4N and a wirless mic, we changed the mic over to the girl and then she starts talking ... the girl.. didn't record at all, and I can't for the life of me figure out why..

Do you think it did record and i can't find the rest of the file? any ideas how to get the rest of the file back? I'm not going to touch the card again until somebody has an idea how to get the file back.

Louis

Noa Put · March 5th, 2010, 06:37 PM

Did you pause the recording on the h4 when you changed the wireless mic?

Louis Maddalena · March 5th, 2010, 06:49 PM

No I didn't touch anything, I just moved the mic to the girl from the guy, and then obviously checked for levels on the h4n... I don't think anything happened to the wireless mic, because the file ends, its not just an absence of audio... its the end of the file.

Alex Donkle · March 5th, 2010, 07:16 PM

If auto-record got turned on, that would turn off the recording when the wireless transmitter was temporarily turned off.

Or with people moving around it someone may have just hit the stop button.

Always monitor your recorder's output while shooting for this reason (among others).

Louis Maddalena · March 5th, 2010, 08:23 PM

I always have somebody monitor my audio... this time I didn't have a budget to spend so I just had my friend watch it... he's not really a video guy so I guess its possible something happened to it.. I'm going to continue to edit the story with the on board camera mic and see what I can come up with and then if they like it then reshoot the girls part.

Steve House · March 6th, 2010, 06:17 AM

How about ADR on her dialog using the track recorded from the on-camera mic as a guide track?

Marco Leavitt · March 6th, 2010, 10:49 AM

This sure sounds like operator error. Your friend hit a wrong button. Maybe he thought he pushed record and really put it into pause? As you say, the file ends, so there's nothing to try and reclaim. It's ADR for you.

Louis Maddalena · March 11th, 2010, 01:00 AM

Thanks guys for the help.... I'd really hate to ADR it as it was an interview and they are not professional actors I doubt they'd get the right inflection down to make it look like it actually happened, but we can see what happens. I guess I might just redo it. Have to figure out how to break the news to the clients.

Evan Donn · March 13th, 2010, 12:22 PM

Did the batteries die when you were recording? I had that happen once, and the zoom apparently didn't actually write the audio data to the file when it shut down. The file was there, it just had no data in it. Tried a bunch of file recovery things but nothing was there.

March 5th, 2010, 06:22 PM	#1
Louis Maddalena Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NYC Area. Posts: 550	911! All audio didn't record? can be saved? I just shot a love story with a couple and did all the audio recording with a H4N and a wirless mic, we changed the mic over to the girl and then she starts talking ... the girl.. didn't record at all, and I can't for the life of me figure out why.. Do you think it did record and i can't find the rest of the file? any ideas how to get the rest of the file back? I'm not going to touch the card again until somebody has an idea how to get the file back. Louis __________________ Red Epic available for rent, starting at $500 per day, Scarlets, and Lenses available too. rentals.maddalenamedia.com

March 5th, 2010, 06:49 PM	#3
Louis Maddalena Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NYC Area. Posts: 550	No I didn't touch anything, I just moved the mic to the girl from the guy, and then obviously checked for levels on the h4n... I don't think anything happened to the wireless mic, because the file ends, its not just an absence of audio... its the end of the file. __________________ Red Epic available for rent, starting at $500 per day, Scarlets, and Lenses available too. rentals.maddalenamedia.com

March 5th, 2010, 08:23 PM	#5
Louis Maddalena Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NYC Area. Posts: 550	I always have somebody monitor my audio... this time I didn't have a budget to spend so I just had my friend watch it... he's not really a video guy so I guess its possible something happened to it.. I'm going to continue to edit the story with the on board camera mic and see what I can come up with and then if they like it then reshoot the girls part. __________________ Red Epic available for rent, starting at $500 per day, Scarlets, and Lenses available too. rentals.maddalenamedia.com

March 6th, 2010, 06:17 AM	#6
Steve House Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Posts: 5,742	How about ADR on her dialog using the track recorded from the on-camera mic as a guide track? __________________ Good news, Cousins! This week's chocolate ration is 15 grams!

March 11th, 2010, 01:00 AM	#8
Louis Maddalena Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NYC Area. Posts: 550	Thanks guys for the help.... I'd really hate to ADR it as it was an interview and they are not professional actors I doubt they'd get the right inflection down to make it look like it actually happened, but we can see what happens. I guess I might just redo it. Have to figure out how to break the news to the clients. __________________ Red Epic available for rent, starting at $500 per day, Scarlets, and Lenses available too. rentals.maddalenamedia.com

March 5th, 2010, 06:37 PM	#2
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Did you pause the recording on the h4 when you changed the wireless mic?

March 5th, 2010, 07:16 PM	#4
Alex Donkle Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 38	If auto-record got turned on, that would turn off the recording when the wireless transmitter was temporarily turned off. Or with people moving around it someone may have just hit the stop button. Always monitor your recorder's output while shooting for this reason (among others).

March 6th, 2010, 10:49 AM	#7
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	This sure sounds like operator error. Your friend hit a wrong button. Maybe he thought he pushed record and really put it into pause? As you say, the file ends, so there's nothing to try and reclaim. It's ADR for you.

March 13th, 2010, 12:22 PM	#9
Evan Donn Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 795	Did the batteries die when you were recording? I had that happen once, and the zoom apparently didn't actually write the audio data to the file when it shut down. The file was there, it just had no data in it. Tried a bunch of file recovery things but nothing was there. __________________ My latest short documentary: "Four Pauls: Bring the Hat Back!"