» Posts Tagged ‘microphones’
Audio technology is a pretty stable industry, but manufacturers are continuing to experiment with new features to help sweeten the deal. This time, it’s an interesting approach from Shure: a shotgun mic with its own internal recording capabilities called the VP83F. Hit the jump for the details: More »
RØDE's New smartLav iOS Lavalier, VideoMic Upgrade, Plus Apogee's iPortable Recording Studio
We recently posted about RØDE’s iXY microphone and Rec app for iOS devices. While perhaps not suitable for everyone’s needs (or inversely, budget), it marks another step toward a lone multi-purpose tool handy to the crafty filmmaker — the iOS iPhone/iPad. While I’ll never own one, even I have to hand it to the iLeatherman. In a pinch, it’s a light meter, it’s a GoPro, it’s a shot designer, and with iXY and RØDE Rec, it’s a dual-system audio recorder, too. Now, RØDE continues its drive to make iOS a viable field sound-rec system with the smartLav lavalier microphone — as does the Apogee ONE, a like-minded iPad portable ‘recording studio’ system. RØDE has also upgraded its VideoMic for those run-and-gun shooters unsatisfied with smartphone sound — check out the details of each below. More »
Ever been in a situation and needed a high quality microphone and recording, but didn’t want to carry around a few extra devices? Well RØDE has introduced the iXY Microphone, which is the first device for iOS capable of 24-bit/96k audio recordings. The new microphone has a high-quality on-board A/D converter, and attaches to the data connection port on the bottom of the iPhone or iPad. It works with RØDE’s own recording app to achieve the highest-fidelity recordings possible. Here is the video introduction from RØDE: More »
As I said in my previous post on the Great Wireless Mic Shootout, great location audio will make your film shine. To ensure a proper sync with any second-system audio however, you need great source audio on an external recorder and from the camera. Luckily for us DSLR shooters there are plenty of options for on-camera mics out there. And if you’re not a fan of all that second-system syncing in post, you’re in luck — now through December 31st, RØDE is packaging PluralEyes 3 — a $200 value — with the purchase of their Stereo VideoMic Pro or their VideoMic Pro. Hit the bump for an informative video from Aahron Rabonowitz of Red Giant/Creative COW fame: More »
Good location audio will make your film shine. The less you have to redo in post the better, as nat sound will bring a level of realism to any project. There are many tools available to help you achieve better sound, from a bevvy of tried and tested field recorders to some crucial on-camera mics like the ever-popular Rode, but what about those hard-to-reach areas away from the camera? Clearly wireless mics are the solution, but which mid-range system is the best? Thanks to Dave Dugdale of Learning DSLR Video, we have our answer. Check out the wireless mic battle of the ages after the jump. More »
RØDE Microphones has recently created a new version of their Soundbooth Broadcast, a web application that allows users to interactively compare a wide variety of the manufacturer’s mics. The original Soundbooth page‘s interface was akin to a simplified mixing program, wherein real-time mute and solo controls were offered for each layer of a typical studio music recording. The original listed the types of mics used for each layer (bass drum, snare drum, vocals, guitar amp, etc.) and demonstrated how each layer contributed to the mix. Now, RØDE is giving us the ability to compare the characteristics of a range of their mics — including voice-over condensers, live performance-style dynamics, shotgun-style super cardioids, even headsets and camera-mounted mics in some cases — matched against each other in various common real-world acoustic environments. More »
Audio is the bane of every low-budget and independent filmmaker’s existence. It’s the one thing most filmmakers have the least amount of experience with, but also the least of amount of time to deal with properly. If you want the best possible audio on set, it takes just as much work as getting a good image. Since this is a visual medium, there’s no question the moving images should be the best they can be, but often the quality of the audio matters more than the quality of the video. For anyone starting out, here’s a quick video and then some simple tips about getting better production audio. More »
I own an Audio-Technica AT-897 shotgun microphone, and I’m not particularly pleased with it. The shoddy sound quality of the dialogue on The West Side is one example of a microphone that was asked to perform is some non-ideal conditions, and did not deliver. Ever since I bought the AT897, I’ve found myself wishing that I had just gone with the industry standard (at a similar price point), the Sennheiser K6/ME66 combo. But you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have. That said, I’ve been eyeballing shotgun microphones that would be a significant step up from the AT897 for a good while, and the Rode NTG-3 has long been the top contender. Now Jim Feeley at ProVideo Coalition has written up a full review of the NTG-3, and here’s what he has to say about it: More »
Rode has released the successor to their very popular VideoMic, the aptly-named VideoMic Pro. Rode’s duo of mics are usable both on-camera and mounted on the end of a boom, and work well with DSLRs sans adapters thanks to their 3.5mm mini output. The new mic is described as a “broadcast-quality” microphone; Philip Bloom got his hands on an advance review unit, and used it to film this video: More »
My Audio Technica wireless mic operates in the 700 MHz Band, which was never a problem until the switch to digital TV allowed the FCC to auction off the 700 MHz frequency band for $19.5 billion in 2008. As a result, it is illegal for anyone to operate their 700 MHz wireless mic as of today. More »
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