Rob Danielson wrote:
> As a film and video maker, I know well close micing, layering and
> mixing in the retreat of headphones. What I have learned through my
> buttocks, is hard to unlearn, but I'd like to bring my mediated
> experiences closer to place, back to particulars of selected
> experiences. I am not a purist, I will layer and fabricate to no
> end if it takes me back more knowingly to the original spot, but,
> like most, I prefer being in the field. I didn't know where to seek
> out good advice as I became interested in field recording and have
> only recently come to this list which has been a tremendous help. Its
> obvious to me now that low noise, for me, translates into to less of
> the most tiring aspects of the work. But should one trade in the 10
> years of learning to equalize? Tell me; my guess would be self-noise.
> Rob D.
The realities of portable recording in natural environments pretty much
force us back toward the purist approach.
How would you apply the 3:1 rule to a bird calling 50 feet away? That
seems like it's going to lead to darned large mic separations in
multimic setups. Or deal with the elaborate phase shifting and
reflections in a multimic situation?
And then there is the problem of practical, battery operated portable
multichannel recorders. And that a simple mic becomes a elaborate
balloon of suspension and wind protection.
And how much we can carry before we collapse under our load. I really
hate it if I have to make two trips through the brush to get the gear to
where I'm recording. It's real restricting, we need to be as mobile as
our subjects.
And that most of us have no one paying the bills but us. Which limits
what we can do.
That's how we become purists. We just get too big a headache trying to
get more elaborate stuff to work. Though as Bernie has pointed out in
his book, mixing has it's place too.
The equalization techniques of the studio still apply to my mind. The
listeners are the same, and mostly listen with the same equipment that
they listen to music. The actual techniques used will differ, and there
certainly is no nice handy cookbook around. Comparing notes on how we do
it is definitely helpful. I certainly look at studio techniques with a
eye to how I might apply them to what I do.
Yes, low noise is almost a mantra. It sets the limits of what we can do.
It's so blasted tough to filter a lot of what we record. The tools we
have for the task were not designed for what we do. You are right, low
noise simply makes it easier, gives us more scope in the field.
Some of it is just different thought processes. I think of doing close
micing, but I'm talking about 20 or 50', not a few feet. My subjects
shut up if I get a few feet away from them. Or call differently. And I
get one take, or at least no control over the talent. It's also a
interesting challenge to get something good with one, handheld (stereo)
mic. All the sudden the characteristics of a single mic gain a lot in
importance. I expect for those used to multimic it's a fair amount of
relearning and frustration. Since I came at this from science and home
recording and not studio, I've had less to unlearn. More a steady
process of learning.
I think your 10 years experience will prove very helpful. But will have
to be flexibly applied. I'm certainly paying attention to how you go
about it.
Walt
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