> I bought a new video camera not long ago (Panasonic HC-X1000), so I will =
be doing a lot more videos with sound, both instructional (I have a Sennhei=
ser ew 112 & 122-p G3), and natural (not sure on mic yet).
Phil,
Does the camera have a mount for a mic? If it has a built in mic this hss
generally two wide a pickup area for good sound and it also picks up camera=
noises like the zoom motor and handling.
Many semi-pro and pro news type cameras have a short gunmic mounted on a
soft mount with a windsock which gets basic sounds with an emphasis on what=
is is in front, but they also pick up out of vision traffic and, people,
etc. Contrary to what is generally supposed, a stereo camera mic is almost=
as deficient as an Omni, as the fig-8 element, which adds stereo also adds=
surrounding out of vision noise.
The next improvement is a good gunmic away from the camera, but this really=
needs someone else to deploy it and that was my job for 28 years.
> Here is my dilemma. I'm a horse breeder and sometimes I get the opportuni=
ty to get a bit of video that would be a lot better with its natural sounds=
.
If you don't want to record conversations, a camera mic or a mic mounted on=
you will get a lot of good sounds, so I would always advise recording camer=
a
side sound anyway. If you want speech, a radio mic is best but can be fiddl=
y
to set up, but this is how most TV interviews are gone.
Video sounds are roughly divided into actuality sync sound, speech or music=
.
You can use a separate recorder and sync it up later to the camera sound, o=
r
use it non-sync.
Syncing up sound later can be done with frame accurate time codes on camera=
and recorder, and that is how professional filming is done. Without a commo=
n
time code, each shot has to be synced up later and this is what a clapper
board does, or a hand clap in vision with a indentifying comment.
I'm sorry, but I just don't like music or muzak used to fill up the sound
track. I've even heard birdsong covered up by meaningless music.
> Bfd Brokeford Mares June 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dtw6fSK2To=
Ak Brokeford mares coming up to say hello. No cameramen where injured in th=
e making of this video. Holsteiner sport horses for performance.
Never mind the cameraman - was the camera OK? :-)
This video would have been transformed by live sound of any type like a
camera mic. Just wearing a pocket recorder and letting it run would have go=
t
good horse sounds and distant shouting etc. and also the cameraman nearly
capsizing. (With or without anglo-saxon)
With separate sound, to get which bit goes with what, just briefly describe=
the shot as you switch off the camera such as "four horses running towards=
camera".
Just as an illustration of the use of "wildtrack sound" taken separately
from the camera, on wildlife films you frequently see a distant bird on a
long telephoto lens with close up bird calls carefully edited into sync. It=
is difficult to get distant sync sound even with a parabolic reflector, and=
relatively easy to sync up a separate wildtrack recording of the appropriat=
e
species in the cutting room.
Coming back to the horse sequence, general hoof sounds etc edited in would=
have been preferable to an orchestra ostensibly playing in a open field
which you sometimes hear used.
David Brinicombe
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