comparing what I recorded to a pros

[Joe Ed White]

Hey all, great forum.

I would like to download some dialogue clips recorded by a pro on a film shoot. I'd prefer it raw before any mixing was done so I can compare it to what I'm recording with a zoom h4n.

Know where I can download a few samples?

[Rick Reineke]

Our friend Dan Brockett has audio files of many of the pro mics that we use .. Shotguns, lavs, cards; interiors, exteriors; male, female voices.
Which may or may not be relevant to the H4

As I Hear It - Choosing the Right Microphone

[Warren Kawamoto]

What you're essentially doing is comparing microphones, placement, and booming technique. What microphone do you have connected to your h4n? Or are you trying to compare the built-in h4n mics with a professional mic?

[Joe Ed White]

Great Ric, thanks very much. I'll check it out.

And yes Warren I'm having my own little mic shootout of sorts. Just me and my h4n against the pros. Mainly because I want to know it's strengths and weaknesses, backwards and forwards before I add another mic to the mix. Or it could be that I quit smoking so I'm trying to keep myself to busy to think about it :)

[Eric Lagerlof]

Ed, I'm not sure exactly what you are trying to compare but as one of the other responders alluded to, it doesn't really work this way. The quality of audio recording is dependent on so many variables. Yes, the recorder, the data rate at which it's recorded, the microphone used, its placement, the environment that you are recording in, the quality of the voice(s)/instrument(s) you are recording ...

OTOH, listening to the acoustic qualities in a pro recording, the range of frequencies recorded, the absence (if possible) of background noise, etc., is always a good thing to listen for. I started out mixing for live music groups, both electric and acoustic. Musicians tend to 'work' mics, knowing how to do it. Besides video talent often not really caring much about microphones, for video production the greatest challenges usually had to do with keeping mics close to talent and yet out of camera view, which meant working boom mics, the effects of changes in lavalier mic placement and the mixing of boom and lav sounds etc. I think if I was using a Zoom with buit-in mics, I'd be thinking of how it sounded relative to where I might be able to fit it into a video frame, how much background vs. foreground sound it captured (contingent to placement of course!) etc. as opposed to how it sounded to other professional recordings. Just some thoughts...

[Chad Johnson]

Your Zoom is stereo. No pro records dialogue in stereo. No need for a shootout, the zoom will lose. Get a hyper for indoors, and a shotgun for outdoors. Done.

[Joe Ed White]

Great, thanks Guys.

But it would still be nice to hear what a pro considers acceptable audio. Specifically dialogue from an outdoor shoot.

Just how much can be fixed in post, ya know?

[Chad Johnson]

YOu could take away one of the 2 stereo channels for starters.

Here's an outside recording of dialogue.

YouTube - Sennheiser MKH 416 vs. RODE NTG-3

[Joe Ed White]

Thank you Chad, that's what I was after. Mind if I download it as an mp3 just for reference?

Now if you could squeeze in another test and sneak a zoom H4n in there .... ;)

[Chad Johnson]

It's not my video Joe, but I'm sure it's not a problem.