Sound from the DJ at DVinfo.net

Al Ioimo · January 4th, 2005, 06:30 PM

Question: In a wedding or event situation how can I get the best, most consistent sound from the DJ?
I tried mounting a wireless mic in front of his speaker and the result was distorted. Can I hook up directly to his output on his unit? What if he turns up the volume? Should I be on automatic Gain Control or manual? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank Al…

John DeLuca · January 4th, 2005, 07:56 PM

The best way is to run solid XLR wires right into your camera or mixer and set it to line. You can also plug a transmitter into his board if you need to, people can sue for tripping on a wire.

John

Alex Ratson · January 4th, 2005, 08:18 PM

Try mounting a wireless Lav on the podium. I have done this many times with great results.

Anthony Mooney · January 4th, 2005, 09:37 PM

Hi

Most of the DJ'S will let you get an out-straight from their mixer.
Get your self a mini-disc(portable or not) and feed it with the out from the DJ.
Your camera will get the sound from the speakers. Then you will have two audio that you use them any way you like.
It works from me.

Anthony

Ben Lynn · January 5th, 2005, 03:25 PM

Always use the manual audio gain to set the levels. They normally hold their levels at one volume, blasting and distorted.

I've found that the problem with a straight feed off their board is that is can sometimes come out of them distorted/overmodulated. They never notice that because their cranking it down amps and large speakers but if they had headphones on their board they would hear some clipping at the top. On the video it shows up. So just be ready to work with your own board to try and get it correct if your pulling directly from them.

I've also put a mic in front of their speaker on occasion and it works well if you set the output down enough. Otherwise it will distort like what you encountered. If your wireless doesn't have this ability then you may need to place it in a location close to the speaker but not on it.

Ben Lynn

Jonathan Nicholas · January 7th, 2005, 02:11 PM

If you have a good camera mic there is no need to do anything other than check it does not distort.

Jon

Sunny Dhinsey · January 14th, 2005, 06:34 PM

I film weddings with a Canon XL1s and use nothing more than the standard on-board mic, and the responses generated by the clarity of sound are very pleasing. Even words of amazement from videographers that use £15-20K cameras are commonplace.

I have read postings by people citing that the XL1s mic gives poor sound reproduction, but I am sure that if used correctly, the mic will generate great results on most occasions.

Ben Lynn · January 14th, 2005, 07:05 PM

Back to the original question:

Using the onboard camera mic, no matter what it is, will not produce 'the best, most consistent' audio. The key word is consistent. The onboard mic is should be used in addition to a very clean recording from the dj.

An on board mic gives the sense of where you are in the room. It changes depending on which way you are facing and where you are in the room. And the music may be so loud that you don't notice the difference in some venues, but don't get caught at a venue that isn't loud and then you end up with very incosistant overall audio.

The feed from the dj is what brings in the consistency. It will remain at a level for the evening and can be later mixed in with the on camera mic in post for a very clean, yet realistic sound.

And as a comment, I would never record 'just' the sound from the dj. It would be clean but very fake sounding. And if I had to choose between one or the other, I would take the on camera mic over the dj feed. But if we're talking about how you can really make it go and step it up a level, then you need to have both.

Ben Lynn

Jason Robinson · April 3rd, 2006, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony Mooney

Hi

Most of the DJ'S will let you get an out-straight from their mixer.
Get your self a mini-disc(portable or not) and feed it with the out from the DJ.
Your camera will get the sound from the speakers. Then you will have two audio that you use them any way you like.
It works from me.

Anthony

Having two audio has saved several scenes for me. When the baby cries just to the side of your camera you want to have an option for that scene.... either aother camera's audio, or the DJ, or all three mixed and leveled together (I used that several times).

I don't know if I'll ever had too much source footage / audio.

jason

David McKnight · April 3rd, 2006, 02:47 PM

I request a feed from the DJ and go direct to a minidisk, which has an auto level on it that has worked well. In the interest of replacing the minidisk, I'm working on a way to use an iriver and dynamic mic (like a Shure sm57) and mic the dj's speaker cab.

January 4th, 2005, 06:30 PM	#1
Al Ioimo New Boot Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chino Hills Ca Posts: 19	Sound from the DJ Question: In a wedding or event situation how can I get the best, most consistent sound from the DJ? I tried mounting a wireless mic in front of his speaker and the result was distorted. Can I hook up directly to his output on his unit? What if he turns up the volume? Should I be on automatic Gain Control or manual? Any help would be appreciated. Thank Al…

January 14th, 2005, 06:34 PM	#7
Sunny Dhinsey Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: London, England Posts: 127	I film weddings with a Canon XL1s and use nothing more than the standard on-board mic, and the responses generated by the clarity of sound are very pleasing. Even words of amazement from videographers that use £15-20K cameras are commonplace. I have read postings by people citing that the XL1s mic gives poor sound reproduction, but I am sure that if used correctly, the mic will generate great results on most occasions. __________________ Sunny Dhinsey Director - www.filmlore.tv

January 4th, 2005, 07:56 PM	#2
John DeLuca Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 496	The best way is to run solid XLR wires right into your camera or mixer and set it to line. You can also plug a transmitter into his board if you need to, people can sue for tripping on a wire. John

January 4th, 2005, 08:18 PM	#3
Alex Ratson Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Squamish, British Columbia, Canada Posts: 149	Try mounting a wireless Lav on the podium. I have done this many times with great results.

January 4th, 2005, 09:37 PM	#4
Anthony Mooney Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Long Branch NJ Posts: 69	Hi Most of the DJ'S will let you get an out-straight from their mixer. Get your self a mini-disc(portable or not) and feed it with the out from the DJ. Your camera will get the sound from the speakers. Then you will have two audio that you use them any way you like. It works from me. Anthony

January 5th, 2005, 03:25 PM	#5
Ben Lynn Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bloomington, IL Posts: 636	Always use the manual audio gain to set the levels. They normally hold their levels at one volume, blasting and distorted. I've found that the problem with a straight feed off their board is that is can sometimes come out of them distorted/overmodulated. They never notice that because their cranking it down amps and large speakers but if they had headphones on their board they would hear some clipping at the top. On the video it shows up. So just be ready to work with your own board to try and get it correct if your pulling directly from them. I've also put a mic in front of their speaker on occasion and it works well if you set the output down enough. Otherwise it will distort like what you encountered. If your wireless doesn't have this ability then you may need to place it in a location close to the speaker but not on it. Ben Lynn

January 7th, 2005, 02:11 PM	#6
Jonathan Nicholas Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Birmingham, UK Posts: 90	If you have a good camera mic there is no need to do anything other than check it does not distort. Jon

January 14th, 2005, 07:05 PM	#8
Ben Lynn Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bloomington, IL Posts: 636	Back to the original question: Using the onboard camera mic, no matter what it is, will not produce 'the best, most consistent' audio. The key word is consistent. The onboard mic is should be used in addition to a very clean recording from the dj. An on board mic gives the sense of where you are in the room. It changes depending on which way you are facing and where you are in the room. And the music may be so loud that you don't notice the difference in some venues, but don't get caught at a venue that isn't loud and then you end up with very incosistant overall audio. The feed from the dj is what brings in the consistency. It will remain at a level for the evening and can be later mixed in with the on camera mic in post for a very clean, yet realistic sound. And as a comment, I would never record 'just' the sound from the dj. It would be clean but very fake sounding. And if I had to choose between one or the other, I would take the on camera mic over the dj feed. But if we're talking about how you can really make it go and step it up a level, then you need to have both. Ben Lynn

April 3rd, 2006, 02:47 PM	#10
David McKnight Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Texas City, TX Posts: 39	I request a feed from the DJ and go direct to a minidisk, which has an auto level on it that has worked well. In the interest of replacing the minidisk, I'm working on a way to use an iriver and dynamic mic (like a Shure sm57) and mic the dj's speaker cab.