Audio Options

Scott Thibodeau · September 25th, 2012, 12:57 AM

Hey folks,

I am currently in the middle of editing a travel doc that I shot in Baja California. I'm doing voice overs and am wondering what might be my best option before I invest a lot of time in recording. This is just a self produced project so renting studio time is not in the budget. I have 3 options right now.

1) I have a USB Snowball mic from Blue Microphones. It seems to do an OK job with audio but not the best.

2) I have a Canon HF-S200 camcorder with a Canon DM-100 Directional Stereo Microphone. I'm wondering if there is a way to use the microphone via the camcorder as an input device for recording directly to my editing suite. The other option would be to record the narration to memory cards but that's a bit of work to pull the card from the camera, plug it into the computer and import it into the editing suite after each take and then put it back into the camera again.

3) Lastly I have a Samson AirLine Micro Camera Wireless System that has an audio out from the docking station. It's a small lav mic so I'm not sure how good the quality would be using this as I've only ever recorded directly into the camera with it.

Any suggestions at all would be very much appreciated. Thanks a million in advance.

Scott

Steve House · September 25th, 2012, 04:23 AM

I'd stick with the Snowball set to cardioid pattern and work on mic position and room acoustics to get the sound as best you can. The other two options you mention seem rather kludgy to me - camcorder audio is not the best to begin with and the less said about Samson the better.

Jim Andrada · September 25th, 2012, 12:03 PM

+1 to what Steve said - one concern though would be noise from the system if you're close enough to use USB

Scott Thibodeau · September 25th, 2012, 03:33 PM

Thanks both for your input. I'll start with the snowball then. It's not too bad it just seem to sound tinny to me. I'm guessing I can add some effects to it to baritone me up a bit. ;)

Oren Arieli · September 25th, 2012, 05:33 PM

If the sound is thin, you might want to get closer to the mic and use a good pop filter. Many microphones have a bit of a proximity effect that emphasizes the lower frequencies.

September 25th, 2012, 12:57 AM	#1
Scott Thibodeau Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Posts: 96	Audio Options - Suggestions Please Hey folks, I am currently in the middle of editing a travel doc that I shot in Baja California. I'm doing voice overs and am wondering what might be my best option before I invest a lot of time in recording. This is just a self produced project so renting studio time is not in the budget. I have 3 options right now. 1) I have a USB Snowball mic from Blue Microphones. It seems to do an OK job with audio but not the best. 2) I have a Canon HF-S200 camcorder with a Canon DM-100 Directional Stereo Microphone. I'm wondering if there is a way to use the microphone via the camcorder as an input device for recording directly to my editing suite. The other option would be to record the narration to memory cards but that's a bit of work to pull the card from the camera, plug it into the computer and import it into the editing suite after each take and then put it back into the camera again. 3) Lastly I have a Samson AirLine Micro Camera Wireless System that has an audio out from the docking station. It's a small lav mic so I'm not sure how good the quality would be using this as I've only ever recorded directly into the camera with it. Any suggestions at all would be very much appreciated. Thanks a million in advance. Scott

September 25th, 2012, 04:23 AM	#2
Steve House Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Posts: 5,742	Re: Audio Options - Suggestions Please I'd stick with the Snowball set to cardioid pattern and work on mic position and room acoustics to get the sound as best you can. The other two options you mention seem rather kludgy to me - camcorder audio is not the best to begin with and the less said about Samson the better. __________________ Good news, Cousins! This week's chocolate ration is 15 grams!

September 25th, 2012, 12:03 PM	#3
Jim Andrada Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Tucson AZ Posts: 2,211	Re: Audio Options - Suggestions Please +1 to what Steve said - one concern though would be noise from the system if you're close enough to use USB

September 25th, 2012, 03:33 PM	#4
Scott Thibodeau Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Posts: 96	Re: Audio Options - Suggestions Please Thanks both for your input. I'll start with the snowball then. It's not too bad it just seem to sound tinny to me. I'm guessing I can add some effects to it to baritone me up a bit. ;)

September 25th, 2012, 05:33 PM	#5
Oren Arieli Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 919	Re: Audio Options - Suggestions Please If the sound is thin, you might want to get closer to the mic and use a good pop filter. Many microphones have a bit of a proximity effect that emphasizes the lower frequencies.