Dear All
This is my first proper post. I am currently
developing a documentary which I hope to take forward
with the National Geographic channel, (it's a slow
process) about how fish communicate using sound, why
they use sound to communicate and the implications for
man. Below is my biography.
>From the earliest age I have been driven by three
passions - sound, wildlife and travel. Composing and
producing music developed my technical skills and then
working on various wildlife projects led me to become
increasingly interested in wildlife sound. Looking for
a way to combine my love of sound, wildlife and travel
the natural solution was to become a wildlife sound
recordist, but lacking the necessary practical film
experience I applied to the NFTS (National Film and
Television School). During my time at the NFTS, which
is an entirely practical course, I have had the
opportunity to work on many different projects and,
unique to the sound department, at every stage of the
process from conception to final mix. Whilst the
fiction films have enhanced my story telling and
narrative skills, the documentary and animation
aspects of the course have been most rewarding for me.
The former provided access to various unusual
situations and the latter allowed me to explore my
love of sound design and marry it with image. I have
been a keen amateur wildlife sound recordist for some
time and am a member of the Wildlife Sound Recording
Society. I have also attended international scientific
symposia whose focus is bioacoustics: IBAC
International Bioacoustics Council, Italy and the
Practical Applications of Passive Acoustics for
Fisheries, Boston MA.
I am young, strong, hard working and totally enthused
by all aspects of wildlife sound. I have experience of
working effectively with small teams of people in
difficult surroundings and a thirst to get out of the
city and engage with the natural world. I am competent
and creative in both my field recording work and in
the studio environment. I have good mac based computer
skills and I am very much interested in exploring new
technologies both taking post production and editing
systems into the field and exploring new and
innovative ways to bring sync sound to wildlife film
making.
This post is to ask you all for your help!
I have been asked to review the prototype 'Portadrive'
,HHB's latest high end location recording device, for
the Bioacoustics Journal. I realise that this unit
will be way out of the budget of many on this list
(including me!). But I would be very grateful if you
would glance over the preliminary specifications
(below) and coment upon (with specific examples where
possible) how this unit might solve problems that you
have encountered in your work in the field, as a
bioacoustician or hobbyist, in a way that other pieces
of equipment have failed to do.
Preview
HHB Announce Development Of
New PORTADRIVE Location Sound Recorder
HHB Communications announced the development of a
sophisticated new 8-track location sound recorder in
april at NAB 2002. Scheduled to ship later in the
year, the HHB PORTADRIVE combines pristine
24-bit/96kHz multichannel recording with flexible
on-board mixing facilities in a compact, portable
package to provide TV and film sound recordists with a
rugged, 'all in one' solution for professional
location recording applications.
The PORTADRIVE records audio onto a compact, robust,
shock resistant removable 2.5" hard drive in industry
standard BWF and SDII formats, allowing full
compatibility with Mac and PC-based digital audio
workstations, connecting via a drive docking station.
Over 2 hours of 8-track 24-bit/96kHz recording, or
more than 9 hours of 4-track 24-bit/48kHz is possible
on the supplied hard drive.
A comprehensively equipped 6 into 2 digital mixer is
built-in, enabling the simultaneous recording of a
stereo mix alongside 6 discrete inputs. Microphone
inputs are of the highest quality with 6 high-gain,
ultra-low noise balanced XLR Mic/Line inputs with
individual phantom powering, 'gangable' limiters,
attenuation, high pass filter, delay and phase
reverse. The 2-channel return input and both the main
and auxiliary analogue stereo outputs are balanced.
Digital connectivity is equally comprehensive with the
6 main inputs selectable to 3 AES pairs the first
input pair being switchable to SPDIF, and one stereo
pair of AES or SPDIF digital outputs.
The PORTADRIVE is equipped to read and generate
timecode in all popular international frame rates, and
to synchronise to word clock, video sync and digital
inputs. A SCSI interface is provided for data transfer
to and from external storage devices, and both USB and
Ethernet ports are included for control, logging and
upgrades. Comprehensive remote control is facilitated
via RS422 and a parallel remote socket, and a keyboard
port is also available for easy logging and labelling.
Consulting a team of experienced location sound
recordists during the development process, special
attention has been paid to the handling of the
PORTADRIVE and the easy accessibility of essential
facilities in the field. Central to an intuitive
operating interface are large, illuminated top and
front panel mounted LCD screens with wide viewing
angles, and 6 multi-function rotary encoders. Flexible
8 channel metering includes selectable ballistics,
clip and limiting indicators. Headphone monitoring
facilities are equally extensive. The PORTADRIVE also
includes a built-in slate microphone and oscillator,
input and output MS decoding and a pre-record buffer.
The PORTADRIVE is powered by an industry standard 50
watt hour Lithium-Ion NP1 battery which can be charged
in the recorder by the supplied universal voltage
power supply.
With more than 20 years in the industry, Tim White is
one of a panel of experienced international location
sound recordists / mixers assisting HHB by providing
valuable insight from the professional users
perspective during the development of the PORTDRIVE.
Already a committed fan of hard disk recording, Tim's
recent involvement in large format films that are
shown in Imax=AE movie theatres has heightened his
requirement for multiple channels and more
sophisticated mixing facilities.
"I need a device that will record 6 tracks with a
comprehensive built in mixer, that is also light
enough to be used over the shoulder" says Tim. "Times
have moved on and the use of multiple wireless
microphones on location is now commonplace. 4 channel
recorders are already in existence, but the 6 + 2
channels of the PORTADRIVE is real step forward,
particularly with 24-bit/96kHz performance. The
ability to interface with analogue or digital mixing
consoles, and the facility to plug the HD caddie
straight into a Pro Tools system is also a tremendous
advantage."
Speaking for HHB, Managing Director Ian Jones says
"Our timecode equipped PORTADAT portable DAT recorder
was a great success and put us in close contact with
the film and TV sound recording community. We've taken
a lot of time and care to understand how their needs
have changed before developing the PORTADRIVE, which
we confidently believe will become the new standard
for location sound recording."
Production units of the PORTADRIVE are scheduled to be
available in the fourth quarter of 2002.
April 8th 2002
Sorry to go on so much on my first post, thank you all
for your patience
Tom
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