connor_ict Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 We have just purchased a Panasonic FZ72 Digital camera,and we need to record assemblys/performances we tested it out today and the picture quality is perfect but the sound isn't very clear as it was being filmed at the back of the hall. Any suggestions on getting clear crisp sound? I know to put the camera closer to the stage but sometimes theirs no room so any ideas of add-ons or external mics for cameras to get perfect sound quality? Be grateful peeps!
Oaktech Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 Not a cheap solution... Sennheiser MKE 400 Microphone (502047) - Wex Photographic or Sennheiser EW122-P G3 Channel 70 Portable Wireless Lavalier Microphone System from Sound Exposure - The leading Pro Audio and Broadcast Superstore Would be my choices.
Domino Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 cheap 'worth a shot' solution: Condenser Zoom Video Microphone | Maplin I got one of those and it's better than you'd expect, obviously not sennheiser good, but alright
Chockster Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 I've used (and would definitely recommend) both the RØDE Microphones - VideoMic and the RØDE Microphones - Stereo VideoMic The stereo one was great for concerts and such, while the mono one was the one for talking-head shots. Really well built.
GeekyPete Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 For a Speaker (person talking not a loudspeaker, although they might me) Also worth considering a radio lapel mic and plugging the receiver straight in to the camera. That's if you don't have a sound desk then you can just take an audio feed off that.
dhicks Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 We have just purchased a Panasonic FZ72 Digital camera If I'm reading the specifications correctly that camera doesn't have an external mic input, so you'll need a separate audio recorder. Something like a Zoom H1 might be suitible, and it actually gives you an advantage in that you can place it right up at the front near the action on a small stand, no cables needed. It is another separate bit of equipment to remember to charge and switch on, of course. For getting the video and sound in sync there are, I understand, various time signal standards available. You could, however, simply start every school play / production with a clapperboard so you have a good point to sync video and sound to.
GeekyPete Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 Dhicks is right, I posted before checking the specs. It has a "Zoom Mic" built in but no support for an external one. Either zoom out and get up close and personal or use a different camera with support for a good microphone.
Andrew_C Posted January 25, 2015 Posted January 25, 2015 It has a "Zoom Mic" built in but no support for an external one. You're doooommmeeed.... Sorry, but no hope for an easy fix. If you use an external recorder, you open a whole world of pain synchronising audio to video. Even changing the camera will not necessarily give you an easy fix; if you use a cabled mic, you have to run it out, if youu use radios, you can have all sorts of problems with earth loops between various PSUs at the camera end, unless you run on batteries.
dhicks Posted January 25, 2015 Posted January 25, 2015 If you use an external recorder, you open a whole world of pain synchronising audio to video. In what way? If you sync up video and sound at the start of, say, an hour-long clip does it not just stay synchronised until the end, or does the audio tend to drift after a while?
connor_ict Posted January 26, 2015 Author Posted January 26, 2015 Thanks for the responses, as the camera doesn't have any chance of having an external mic connection looks like ill need to go through the pain of having to sync both the video and audio and hope for the best with an external microphone. If only we had brought a camera with the external connection
Andrew_C Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 does the audio tend to drift after a while?It will drift, and it won't take an hour. This is why pro-videoists have sync-locked cameras and recorders. 1
dhicks Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 It will drift, and it won't take an hour. This is why pro-videoists have sync-locked cameras and recorders. Darn. I've been looking at various "pro" video kit recently, but have been concentrating mostly on the video features, not so much the sound. I was considering the Panasonic GH4 with the YAGH add-on - it supports uncompressed 4K video (for recording on a separate Atomos device) and two XLR inputs for audio. It would also seem to support time code synchronisation via SDI in some fashion, although I don't know much about the details of how that kind of thing works (something else to read up on). In your experience, what might be the best way to capture audio in, say, a school hall doing a play or similar? A camera at the back, connected up to a small mixing desk for audio input that uses a couple of wired mics near the stage? Is that always problematic with cables getting in the way?
dhicks Posted July 24, 2015 Posted July 24, 2015 If you use an external recorder, you open a whole world of pain synchronising audio to video. Just came accross this thread while looking for something else. We seemed to have done okay in the run up to end-of-year, with half a dozen or so productions filmed with a random assortment of cameras (a couple of Panasonic camcorders, my Panasonic superzoom, a Sony camcorder left behind by a child and a Nikon DSLR). Each event was generally at least an hour's worth of footage, shot from at least two different angles - one or two fixed camcorders on a tripod, one hand-held. I've not had any trouble sycing the footage and sound up afterwards - everything seems to match up very nicly. I guess it's the sort of thing where the audio being a few millseconds out wouldn't really be obvious anyway, so maybe any timing drift is there but simply not significant enough to show. Also, I'm using Adobe Premier's sync-track-by-audio feature to sync tracks in the editing timeline. I don't know if it syncs at multiple points and keeps the two tracks in time - if so, it's working well.
JRowley Posted July 24, 2015 Posted July 24, 2015 (edited) Audio synchronisation is easy, set the camera going, set a microphone going somewhere and then just do a loud clap infront of the camera. Simples! It's just the drift that can be an issue. Edited July 24, 2015 by JRowley
dhicks Posted July 24, 2015 Posted July 24, 2015 It's just the drift that can be an issue. Yes - sorry, re-reading my post above I haven't made it clear that that's what I'm talking about. With footage from a variety of cameras, audio drift over and hour or two doesn't seem to be a problem - it could just be I'm not noticing a couple of frames worth of drift, or it could be that Adobe Premier is taking care of it in the background when I choose "sync by audio track" to sync up two video tracks, or it could be that all our cameras keep accurate enough time over short(ish) periods of time.
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