Audio Tests

My Name is John has been rushed into production as our main actor is only available for a week before he goes on tour, so i thought before we started filming i would get some audio tests in to see what would be the best way to record audio on set. I tired out three different recording set ups these where, a basic microphone from the ZoomH6, radio microphones recorded through the ZoomH6 and finally a basic microphone coming straight from the camera. I tried two different tests with all three one was to see what the audio quality was like with a static interview style shot and the second was having the person move to see what the audio sounder like then.

ZoomH6 - Mic Stand 
In this test the microphone was plugged into the ZoomH6 it was a basic rode microphone and i used a three meter XLR Cable to connect the two. I had the microphone placed in a mic stand and i was sat down about a meter in front of the microphone, i did some audio tests as well as reading some of the script though i am not the best at reading so i really don't do it justice.

The audio quality of this test is great and there was really o reason that it shouldn't be as this is the set up that we have used for many of our previous films. One problem that i seem to be hearing is there might be a slight echo, but this will be mainly down to the studio where i recorded these.

ZoomH6 - Boom Pole
This was the second test i did using this layout but this time i got Ethan to walk back and forth while i followed him with the boom pole, i tried to stay about 1 meter away from him, as though there was a camera and i was staying out of shot. I had Ethan read apart of the script for this as well as this is probably the best thing to record as it will be what i am actually recording.

The audio on this test is again great quality though there is a problem with levels as i try and keep up with Ethan as he walks back and forth, as once he goes to turn he puts his back towards the microphone, which makes his voice a lot quieter. this is something that can be easily fixed on set, by just getting a feeling of how my actor is going to walk around so i no when to move the microphone.

 ZoomH6 - Radio Mics - Moving
In this test i had a Radio microphone on me as i walked around delivering lines from the script, the radio microphones are very easy to use you have the microphone plugged into a transmitter which in this case was attached to my jeans, and then the receiver is plugged into the ZoomH6. The microphone itself was clipped just onto my tshirt just under my chin.

The audio from this test is a little quit for my liking, this is because if i made the gain any higher you could hear the movement of my tshirt when i moved, even with the gain down you can still hear the shirt a little bit in the background. I don't think i will be using radio mics for moving shots.

 ZoomH6 - Radio Mics - Static
This was another test with the radio mics, but in this case i was sat down doing an interview style shot. This would be where i would mostly using radio mics if i am going to use them, as this removes the problem of trying to hide the microphone as it wouldn't stand out as a much in a interview.

This is much better audio than the last test with the radio mics, as there is no movement, though this may have been because i was trying to not move, though i feel like the actors will move a lot more in there interviews scenes. This means that i might just avoid using radio mics as i've gotten much better results using the other microphone.

Black Magic - Mic Stand
This is the first year with our black magic, and when we had a tech demo on them we where told that unlike last years cameras these ones had plug ins for XLR cables meaning that i could plug a microphone straight into the camera. This set up was the same as the very first one i did just the different fact the the mic was plugged into the camera.

There is no real difference between this audio and the audio recorded using the ZoomH6, so this may be a great way to record the interviews, a problem i do have though is that i have no control over the gain whist recording, this wouldn't be so much of a problem as i could adjust it in post production.

Black  Magic - Boom Pole
Again i got Ethan to walk back and forth while i recorded him with a boom pole.

This audio wasn't as good for some reason when i listened to it back, this isnt really a big deal as i wouldn't like to be using a microphone that is plugged into the camera whilst doing moving shots as this is going to restrict my movement