Huzzah! Right up my alley. I love when terms and lingo used are defined and clarified. I’ve run into people who felt “stupid” who aren’t stupid at all. They just feel stupid or can’t do something as they didn’t know the terms being tossed around. I’ve dug plenty of folks out of their “failure funk” simply going back through and picking up all the misunderstood terms and concepts they blew by, then getting them defined and understood. Great, great video!!! 👍👍👍
QUIET ON SET! Settle, settle. Lock it up... Thanks for this video! A slate can do even more, like last resort color/white balance, MOS indicator, DIT/footage organizer.
Over 30 years ago when I was just stating my professional career in TV, I had a roommate who was an aspiring radio DJ. I always annoyed him by watching TV shows all the way through the credits, hoping to see a name I knew. One day to help contain his impatience, I explained what each credit meant, to the best of my ability. (Back then a lot of the credits were film industry jobs that didn't translate well into the TV industry, so I didn't know a lot of them myself early on.) It worked so well that he'd call out the interesting jobs, "key grip!" "dolly grip!" "best boy!" etc. whenever we were together watching TV, to the bemusement of our friends. For some reason your tutorial reminded me of that.
What I was taught is that the sound team is responsible for providing a smart slate and camera provides the dumb slate. Also, low budget productions usually have low budget slates that break, so it's a good idea to have an extra one lying around.
Thats how I always was taught too. Sound dept brings the smart slate and i responsible for making sure TC is jammed to all the devices that its relevant to.
IFB might be an English term. In England, stage monitor speakers are referred to as "foldback" speakers. So IFB might be Interruptible Foldback Monitor.
@5:15 to correct you about who's responsibility it is supply the slate: Dumb slate: Camera Dept! They should provide it. Smart slate: the Sound Mixer supplies it. So it really depends on what type of slate you're talking about. But no matter which one you're referring to, the same person is paying for it: the producer! Don't bring one if you're not getting paid for it. (especially smart slates, they're not cheap! And deserve a healthy daily rental fee)
Hi, yes, that is the "correct" answer on real sets. On no-pay indie sets, I guarantee that 90% of the time the "camera department" will forget to bring a dumb slate.
@@curtisjudd yeah I work heaps on "no-pay indie sets" too, and it is indeed very common for nobody to have a dumb slate! None the less, I'm bringing so much already to these sets for so little (and anything you hand off to someone else.... high risk of damage!) that I leave the dumb slate at home unless it is explicitly asked for beforehand. (as wellllll... I don't feel too terribly bad about chucking that in for free, if it is asked for beforehand)
@@SoundSpeeding Good point. And what do you do when they don't ask beforehand and camera doesn't bring a dumb slate? Tell them to clap? That's some tough love, my friend! 😀
@@curtisjudd yup, let them clap! This is no different to me not bringing along a lens for the camera dept either.... that's an unrealistic expectation. It's camera's job. (although I have sometimes brought along lenses! For friends when requested, as I'm a nice guy and I like to help out) As for a smart slate, that's like being told you need two wireless for a shoot, then showing up on the day and they're demanding ten! That's a problem the producer created, not a sound problem. (just like shooting next to a construction site... "not a sound problem, a location problem!") Of course we do what we can to help, but we're running a business here and we have to be sustainable and fair. Even if you're just doing indie projects, you're still running a micro hobbyist business and you should apply some basic business common sense to it. In a way, I think it is even more important us filmmakers talk about the business side, which very few YT channels do, instead getting stuck in a hole of gear obsession (although, I'm just as guilty of gear obsession as anybody else!! I love me some gear nerdery). Matt Price used to talk now and then about the business side of working in the sound department, a pity he no longer uploads.
Generally good info! In the interests of jargon accuracy: IFB isn’t interruptible “feedback.” It’s interruptible “foldback.” It’s a circuit that was designed to allow a normal “one way” audio path from the talent to the control room to momentarily “fold back” and provide an audio loop from a TV director or tech director to the on-set talent. Most non-industry folk first learned about IFB from the 1987 movie Broadcast News when they saw Holly Hunter feeding facts in a live on-air scene to William Hurt. FWIW.
On the big union shows the sound mixer will include a certain number of slates with their sound package. If the camera department brings out additional cameras, the mixer can rent out an additional slate to the production if they have one or if they are out, they will have the camera department rent one. Also, IFB technically stands for Interruptable FoldBack but Interruptable Feedback is an AKA. It got it's name from the speaker monitor system (wedge monitors originally) used by bands on stage during concerts so they can hear themselves. Also the Telex IFB series listening devices may have had something to do with it. We usually refer to higher quality monitoring systems (Lectrosonics R1A for example) as IFBs on set.
Very often IFBs & also IEM/Comteks can all mean the same "thing" on set and be somewhat interchangeable, even though technically they mean different things. Comteks has kinda fallen into the same thing as "kleenex/xerox/taser/jacuzzi/etc" have become, they all mean one specific thing (a specific brand even). But now they just have became a generic term. Basically the director/producer/clients/etc just want "thingies to listen to from sound dept"
@@SoundSpeeding But Comtek is what non-sound people know all liatening devices as. Sound people usually refer to Comteks as the low power listening devices for non-sound people and IFB for better fidelity listening.
@@SoundSpeeds yup, that is what I'm meaning, for non-sound department people all these terms are interchangeable are the "same" to them. While for us though we'll give "Comteks" (in the loose sense, rather than specifically that exact brand name) to everyone non-sound department, but for us (boom op etc) then they'll get the good IFBs ;-) Or maybe a friendly sound favorite Director might get an IFB as well.
One thing I noticed in my time as a sound man. Boom operator's became a difficult sell to lower end productions because digital shrank the mixers package so much it could reasonably be carried while booming. I hated that trend because now I had to do both jobs and I think quality suffered a bit until I got used to it.
Great job, Curtis. By the way I loved your podcast with Casey Li on "Casey Talks to People". Really great info on a lot of topics that I had questions about that aren't necessarily related to production sound, like time management, RUclips strategy and ethics. I really enjoyed it.
Typically anything related to synch is sound's responsibility. So a timecode slate would come from the sound dept. Camera dept is expected to supply any plain slates.
Hey Curtis, where I am, sound usually provides a smart slate if LTC is used, and if no timecode, let camera provide a dumb slate. Production sometimes provides front panels to mount on a slate with the static info silk screened onto it. But I've never seen camera provide a smart slate. Since you're including timecode in this, maybe you should've added "lockit boxes" or "sync boxes" and a quick mention of what timecode does. Sometimes camera provides their own sync box, but often they expect sound to provide them. They'll often need to provide their own cable from the sync box to the camera, though.
It depends on the production. As I work on very small productions, I usually bring one because there's a 90% chance the camera guy will not have one. On bigger budget films, it depends. Camera department should bring a dumb slate, but if the production wants to use a smart/timecode slate, they pay the sound mixer an additional fee to include that.
Hi Dory, we're working on the PicoMic review. We ran into a bit of an issue with GH5 cameras but working with PicoGear it looks like it may be sorted so now we'll get back to testing. Should be up in the next 2 - 3 weeks.
Lavalier microphone hiding kit? Could you please make a separate video about hiding the lavalier and what additional thingies can you use to hide a lav? I know there are already quite few videos on youtube about techniques, but I was wondering what works best for you? As, for example, I saw that soft piece of tape that you showed here for the first time. Are there some other techniques that could be used to achieve even cleaner sound? Cheers, Curtis!
Hi Artjoms, that is a great idea! I have several previous episodes where we cover various lav hiding techniques, but it is probably time to review the kit and which tapes/techniques I end up using most often. Thanks!
I wonder if the term wires is one of those terms in the industry that predates radio mics, radio mics being another example. like Belling out a circuit or having your ship come in. There's another similar More film industry term that I'm thinking of but I can't remember it off the top of my head.
@@curtisjudd OK down the rabbit hole I go. Watching this video ruclips.net/video/MwtqTGJXwzU/видео.html There's a short snippet of singing in the rain, I think I remember the scene so I decide to go in search of it to refresh my memory of all of it. ruclips.net/video/m6jsXQm5IrM/видео.html I'm trying not to burst out laughing at four in the morning.
Hi Curtis, it’s very informative and practical that your video always be. Do u have any recommendations for the wireless boom transmitter? I am building kits recently
Curtis Judd My budget is around 1000 dollars ish. I might use it when I will be working on some mid or small productions. I am not sure about the range, but I think it’s not that far.
Would like to do that. Do you know of any budget friendly options you could point me to? I have Comteks but they weren't what most people would consider budget friendly.
@@curtisjudd Haha! I don't really know of any that is why I was asking. I thought you might know some. I was reading online from an old post - jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/3339-comtek-alternatives/ that possibly: Listen and Gentner products, Icom r5 , older PR72 comteks are pretty cheap used now, Sennheiser G2's with an inline volume control for headphones (Sony lavs I guess could be used and have volume control), wireless music world ear monitors, the IEM systems also cover a wide quality/price/performance range. The Sennheiser EW300G2 series, based on the G2 wireless, sounds just as good (or bad) as a Sennheiser G2 wireless! just as the sound of a G2 system can be affected by the choice of mic, the sound of an EW300G2 system will depend on the ear transducers used, which also span a significant swath of quality/price/performance options then they also have the SR 3254 / EK-3253 higher quality systems, which are stereo, Shure also has options, Comtek (or Lectro IFB) is king,
Hi Chris, great video. I have a question. When recording audio with lavs and boom mics on talent, you don’t mix both vocal takes in post do you? Surely the Lav and boom are back ups and you choose the best mic audio take?
Counterintuitive name "WIRES" makes sense if you think about it like you're an Agent in an undercover sting operation. You wear a "wire" strapped to your chest...but its wireless. A nicknamed coined by an audio-layman forsure. Sorry it was eating me up to not say that haha
I haven’t seen any reviews of COM’s suitable for use on set any recommendations? If everyone’s wearing headphones how do they also incorporate a two way radio.
Hi Tom, this is an area where I don't have a lot of experience yet, but I believe that some of the higher end pro mixers have com channels where you can send the mix plus use them as two-way radio. More to come as I learn more.
Hi Curtis, have been enjoying your videos as a non-pro interested in the realm of audio! I'm wondering if you could provide some advice as I really enjoy my wired headphones but need a low latency wireless solution around the house - I've tried some bluetooth dongles but either latency or reliability don't make the cut. Cost isn't a major factor, bi-directionality is a plus but not needed.
Hi alystair, Thanks! I'm afraid I must admit that I have no experience with wireless headphones. I actually avoid them for a variety of personal reasons so I'm afraid I'm not much help on that front. But I wish you all the best in your research!
I have been researching this, To some extent. The Apple headphones have a latency that is adjusted by internally delaying the Video, I'm glad I got them free. Supposedly there is an aptX LL protocol for super low latency But all Bluetooth devices must support it. I was actually looking at getting a sender and receiver to experiment with a wireless link for when running a cable across the room wouldn't work. Monoprice had a Bluetooth dongle that well had short ish ( would last fine if it didn't turn itself on and kill itself every time in my bag and doesn't work well charging ) battery life connected to my "Sunbeam headset adapter" has given reasonably good results for monitoring as I do live sound mixing. If you don't need stereo I think the Rode Wgo might be a good option. unfortunately you start in to the realm of professional quality inear systems and the pains that come with cheap wireless gear most notably microphones. Oh yeah there's also are reasonably low latency analog wireless headphones you attached to your stereo. And if you can find a good portable FM radio there's a couple stereo FM transmitters in the low power realm. CCrane andThink the other one is whole home something. I have the latter and I've Had mixed results with it, they have since reengineered it :_(.
Looking forward to your review of the Røde TF5. It'd be nice if you could compare it to, say, the Neumann KM 184 as well as the less expensive Røde NT5. So a wire is a wireless? To quote Waldorff from the Muppet Show: That makes sense! (His question was “why are the chickens singing this song?”, to which Statler replied “because the alligators were busy”). I have a question too: Is a person who’s wired up always wired up? (Sorry).
I always thought Slate was Audio department... the purpose of the slate is syncing audio with picture, camera doesn't care about that. Should be the editor in charge is that! 😅
So about this timecode generators. I work alot with a director using a RED dragon 6k, and im running a Zoom F8. I did buy this cable, a Lemo 4 pin to BNC. When we connect the cable everything syncs perfectly, but as soon as the camera needs a battery change we need to re-sync using the cable again. Only when the camera is indoor, running the AC power, it is actually worth the effort. (you know when you're a one man band audio guy and running around like a 8 months pregnant lady with your audiovest and everything attached, its really a big hazzle changing positions just to plug in the audio sync cable). So at the end of the day we just do the clapper hing to get some nice peaks. The cable i bought was wxpensive enough with shipping and taxes. Almost ended up at 100 euros. But is there a way to keep the timecode synced between the F8 and the RED, even tho they are turned off occasionally?
I doubt it will happen theoretically you could plug in the power cord Before swapping batteries and then unplug the camera if it supports that so the internal circuitry wouldn't be reset.
¡Thanks for sharing! Some advice for the workflow between FCPX and LPX, when I export the XML from FCPX the synchronicity of the dialogues is lost, or similar problems are experienced. Thank you very much
@@eseoele Ah, good to know - thank you! I was going to try Logic to see if the roundtrip process would work better than Audition. Sounds like maybe not. Thanks for that!
What is a "slate mic"? I was only on one set where the sound recorder would recite the slate info into a mic on his mixing council. So is the slate mic for that or to pick up the sound of the clapper? Everywhere the use a slate board they always read the slate data loud enough for all the mics to pick up. *_MORE SOUND JARGON_* "Quiet for recording room tone." This is what we shouted to get everyone to be as quiet as they could while the silence of the room was recorded for use in the editing suite. "Hold for sound." What is your take on when the sound team might say this after the camera is rolling? "Sound bad take." What would the sound team say if there was a sound problem during a take? What does the "sound report" contain on a professional project?
Hi Robert, Thanks - definitely some good ones there. Slate mics can be useful for wide shots where the talent are far away and only being recorded by a wireless mic - so that you can still hear the clapper. And like the recordist you cited - you can record notes at the header of a clip if you choose to do that. All productions are a little different. I've had to call hold for sound when one of our lav mics was picking up a LOT of clothing rustle and needed re-adjusting. Or if for some reason I'm still working on something else when camera starts rolling - e.g., someone was having trouble with their comtek. Lots of unpredictable things manage to come up from time to time. On the smaller productions I usually just talk with the director letting them know that there was a problem. Almost always it is a plane or an especially loud car that went by mid take. I give them the option of a retake and provide them my assessment of the chances of being able to make the take work in post. The sound report specifies which talent/mic are on which channel in the poly wave clip. I also usually include notes about which take was best ("Pick") and which have obvious issues. I also notate room tone/ambience clips. All of these things make sorting through the raw clips a lot easier for editorial. Or for me if I'm editorial. 😀
Curtis, can you help please. I have set my Rode VMp as boom to a 3.5mm 'Y' lead with one connection to Zoom H4n and other to my camera's Mic in/ (Fuji XT2) A single cable to camera and one input to Rode the other convertered from 3.5 to XLR into No 1 channel of Zoom. (no Mono Mix) Initially I have the levels too high at 75 but now set to 25 but there is this annoying 'buzz' I can hear in headphones and it records this noise. If I connect the mic straight to Zoom, no problem, no noise. It seem more when I plug into camera mic in. I am doing this so I get a 'guide track' on the camera SD card. I am sure I have done this before, probably using a wireless Lav mic.. Do you think it's because the Rode is powered? I did try the attenuation lead to camera but no audio was recorder. I am asking for something that can't be done? ie. just record rode mic to zoom and maybe a non amp mic like a Boya BY-MM1 straight into the camera (as camera accepts a non powered mic and works fine) OR do you know a better way? Would appreciate you help, thanks, Laurence
Thanks. I could I suppose put a separate mic on camera as a backup. It's worked before with splitter. What had baffled me is how it works fine with wireless transmitters. I could understand the other way round. ie wireless has noise and wired is fine. Very odd. I will not rest until I get it sorted ! haha
You forgot an extremely critical role of the Utility: fetching coffee for the mixer ;-) (btw, for the sake of the planet, & more importantly your wallet, get yourself some rechargeable 9V batteries! Rather than those single use Energizers)
I was a boom operator on a high budget commercial recently and we were expected to have a timecode slate. I believe for many commercials it's expected that the sound department brings it (which is not true of many features, shorts or scripted work) and we had an uber driver pick one up for us because the mixer didn't expect to need one. Got in trouble with production hahaha.
![BabyChiefDoit - Wonderful Time (Official Music Video) [Shot By @Rxllo]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_Bfqt3zV2KE/mqdefault.jpg)
Huzzah! Right up my alley. I love when terms and lingo used are defined and clarified. I’ve run into people who felt “stupid” who aren’t stupid at all. They just feel stupid or can’t do something as they didn’t know the terms being tossed around. I’ve dug plenty of folks out of their “failure funk” simply going back through and picking up all the misunderstood terms and concepts they blew by, then getting them defined and understood. Great, great video!!! 👍👍👍
Thanks BFM! The fundamentals are it!
@basicfilmmaker don't worry bro your still the best looking guy on RUclips :)
BadKarma 714 Wait...what? 😂
@@BadKarma714 Agreed. 😀
I find it great that some of these terms are getting out on Wikipedia like MOS and all the variations of what could stand and what stands for.
QUIET ON SET! Settle, settle. Lock it up...
Thanks for this video! A slate can do even more, like last resort color/white balance, MOS indicator, DIT/footage organizer.
Great points - thanks!
When MOS is circled that is my favorite ;-)
Sound Speed! Visually, hand where the clap takes place.
@@SoundSpeeding and Don't forget the C-47s to hold it in place.
Over 30 years ago when I was just stating my professional career in TV, I had a roommate who was an aspiring radio DJ. I always annoyed him by watching TV shows all the way through the credits, hoping to see a name I knew. One day to help contain his impatience, I explained what each credit meant, to the best of my ability. (Back then a lot of the credits were film industry jobs that didn't translate well into the TV industry, so I didn't know a lot of them myself early on.) It worked so well that he'd call out the interesting jobs, "key grip!" "dolly grip!" "best boy!" etc. whenever we were together watching TV, to the bemusement of our friends. For some reason your tutorial reminded me of that.
Good story! Would like to hear more!
your sound blankets Mr judd, sound blankets
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Fun video, Curtis! Enjoyed it.
Thanks Gerald!
I’ve always believed that sound provides all timecode & slate? Enjoy your content. Thank you Chris.
Yes, that’s my experience as well
Great, as always Curtis! And I'm looking forward to your review of the Rode TF-5...
Thanks Mike. We attempted to record an Irish lever harp last week and my lack of experience shone through! But the mics seemed very nice.
What I was taught is that the sound team is responsible for providing a smart slate and camera provides the dumb slate. Also, low budget productions usually have low budget slates that break, so it's a good idea to have an extra one lying around.
Thats how I always was taught too. Sound dept brings the smart slate and i responsible for making sure TC is jammed to all the devices that its relevant to.
I should note I didnt do any union gigs, so no idea how they roll on set :D
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time watching your videos is never wasted! Thanks for another great tutorial.
Thanks Joe!
Curtis Judd: providing a nostalgia trip through my teens and 20's lol.
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Yeah! A walk down memory lane...
Thank you so much for making this! It was so helpful
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Thanks Curtis you always provide helpful information for us sound enthusiasts.
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IFB might be an English term. In England, stage monitor speakers are referred to as "foldback" speakers. So IFB might be Interruptible Foldback Monitor.
I believe that’s correct - IFB = interruptible foldback.
@5:15 to correct you about who's responsibility it is supply the slate:
Dumb slate: Camera Dept! They should provide it.
Smart slate: the Sound Mixer supplies it.
So it really depends on what type of slate you're talking about. But no matter which one you're referring to, the same person is paying for it: the producer! Don't bring one if you're not getting paid for it. (especially smart slates, they're not cheap! And deserve a healthy daily rental fee)
Hi, yes, that is the "correct" answer on real sets. On no-pay indie sets, I guarantee that 90% of the time the "camera department" will forget to bring a dumb slate.
@@curtisjudd yeah I work heaps on "no-pay indie sets" too, and it is indeed very common for nobody to have a dumb slate! None the less, I'm bringing so much already to these sets for so little (and anything you hand off to someone else.... high risk of damage!) that I leave the dumb slate at home unless it is explicitly asked for beforehand. (as wellllll... I don't feel too terribly bad about chucking that in for free, if it is asked for beforehand)
@@SoundSpeeding Good point. And what do you do when they don't ask beforehand and camera doesn't bring a dumb slate? Tell them to clap? That's some tough love, my friend! 😀
@@curtisjudd yup, let them clap! This is no different to me not bringing along a lens for the camera dept either.... that's an unrealistic expectation. It's camera's job. (although I have sometimes brought along lenses! For friends when requested, as I'm a nice guy and I like to help out) As for a smart slate, that's like being told you need two wireless for a shoot, then showing up on the day and they're demanding ten! That's a problem the producer created, not a sound problem. (just like shooting next to a construction site... "not a sound problem, a location problem!") Of course we do what we can to help, but we're running a business here and we have to be sustainable and fair. Even if you're just doing indie projects, you're still running a micro hobbyist business and you should apply some basic business common sense to it. In a way, I think it is even more important us filmmakers talk about the business side, which very few YT channels do, instead getting stuck in a hole of gear obsession (although, I'm just as guilty of gear obsession as anybody else!! I love me some gear nerdery). Matt Price used to talk now and then about the business side of working in the sound department, a pity he no longer uploads.
Generally good info!
In the interests of jargon accuracy:
IFB isn’t interruptible “feedback.”
It’s interruptible “foldback.”
It’s a circuit that was designed to allow a normal “one way” audio path from the talent to the control room to momentarily “fold back” and provide an audio loop from a TV director or tech director to the on-set talent.
Most non-industry folk first learned about IFB from the 1987 movie Broadcast News when they saw Holly Hunter feeding facts in a live on-air scene to William Hurt.
FWIW.
Thanks for the correction!
Holy shit look who upped their intro and graphics. Looking slick as f Curtis.
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On the big union shows the sound mixer will include a certain number of slates with their sound package. If the camera department brings out additional cameras, the mixer can rent out an additional slate to the production if they have one or if they are out, they will have the camera department rent one.
Also, IFB technically stands for Interruptable FoldBack but Interruptable Feedback is an AKA. It got it's name from the speaker monitor system (wedge monitors originally) used by bands on stage during concerts so they can hear themselves. Also the Telex IFB series listening devices may have had something to do with it. We usually refer to higher quality monitoring systems (Lectrosonics R1A for example) as IFBs on set.
Thanks Allen for the clarifications - super helpful!
@@curtisjudd Always glad to help. Keep up the great content!
Very often IFBs & also IEM/Comteks can all mean the same "thing" on set and be somewhat interchangeable, even though technically they mean different things.
Comteks has kinda fallen into the same thing as "kleenex/xerox/taser/jacuzzi/etc" have become, they all mean one specific thing (a specific brand even). But now they just have became a generic term.
Basically the director/producer/clients/etc just want "thingies to listen to from sound dept"
@@SoundSpeeding But Comtek is what non-sound people know all liatening devices as. Sound people usually refer to Comteks as the low power listening devices for non-sound people and IFB for better fidelity listening.
@@SoundSpeeds yup, that is what I'm meaning, for non-sound department people all these terms are interchangeable are the "same" to them.
While for us though we'll give "Comteks" (in the loose sense, rather than specifically that exact brand name) to everyone non-sound department, but for us (boom op etc) then they'll get the good IFBs ;-) Or maybe a friendly sound favorite Director might get an IFB as well.
One thing I noticed in my time as a sound man. Boom operator's became a difficult sell to lower end productions because digital shrank the mixers package so much it could reasonably be carried while booming. I hated that trend because now I had to do both jobs and I think quality suffered a bit until I got used to it.
Yes, not a trend I like to see. It is very hard to truly mix and boom at the same time. Generally because boom and hope your gain staging was good.
I hit Like before I even watched, I love this sort of stuff. ( I used to read those “Bluff Your Way Into.....” books before the internet.)
Hahaha! Thanks Alan!
Thank you...
You're welcome.
These new presets are nice, both the opening and the notes during the video
Thanks!
Great job, Curtis. By the way I loved your podcast with Casey Li on "Casey Talks to People". Really great info on a lot of topics that I had questions about that aren't necessarily related to production sound, like time management, RUclips strategy and ethics. I really enjoyed it.
Hi, Thanks! And thanks to Casey who is a great interviewer. In fact, it looks like he just left a comment below as well. Happy recording!
love your channel man! Just started getting into sound for film, and you've helped me so much.
Thanks Saleh Beats!
Typically anything related to synch is sound's responsibility. So a timecode slate would come from the sound dept. Camera dept is expected to supply any plain slates.
Thanks.
Thanks for the video on this Curtis! Gotta link this to all my non sound people that I know now!
Thanks Daniel!
Great information and well presented as always bud. Thank you.
Thanks DBoom70!
Super detailed video on mics. 👍🏼
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Nicely done.
Thanks Allen!
Hey Curtis, where I am, sound usually provides a smart slate if LTC is used, and if no timecode, let camera provide a dumb slate. Production sometimes provides front panels to mount on a slate with the static info silk screened onto it.
But I've never seen camera provide a smart slate.
Since you're including timecode in this, maybe you should've added "lockit boxes" or "sync boxes" and a quick mention of what timecode does.
Sometimes camera provides their own sync box, but often they expect sound to provide them. They'll often need to provide their own cable from the sync box to the camera, though.
Hi Stefan, thanks, all good points. Thanks for sharing!
Great vid! Definitely a few in there I didn’t know!
Thanks Casey! By the way, my wife actually listened to our interview episode on your podcast and said, "That Casey guy is a great interviewer!"
Awesome! Thanks for passing that along!
Loved your podcast with Curtis
Living Spiritism thanks and thanks for listening!
@@cli23 you asked him a lot of questions that I've been wanting to ask him. Thanks so much
I was taught that the sound team always brings a slate, as its usually more needed for sound in the first place. (ignoring the post aspect)
It depends on the production. As I work on very small productions, I usually bring one because there's a 90% chance the camera guy will not have one. On bigger budget films, it depends. Camera department should bring a dumb slate, but if the production wants to use a smart/timecode slate, they pay the sound mixer an additional fee to include that.
@@curtisjudd thanks for the info!
Thank you Curtis
Very informative.
Please please Please Picogear wireless review
Hi Dory, we're working on the PicoMic review. We ran into a bit of an issue with GH5 cameras but working with PicoGear it looks like it may be sorted so now we'll get back to testing. Should be up in the next 2 - 3 weeks.
Lavalier microphone hiding kit? Could you please make a separate video about hiding the lavalier and what additional thingies can you use to hide a lav? I know there are already quite few videos on youtube about techniques, but I was wondering what works best for you? As, for example, I saw that soft piece of tape that you showed here for the first time. Are there some other techniques that could be used to achieve even cleaner sound? Cheers, Curtis!
Hi Artjoms, that is a great idea! I have several previous episodes where we cover various lav hiding techniques, but it is probably time to review the kit and which tapes/techniques I end up using most often. Thanks!
Good information.
Thanks jroar123!
I wonder if the term wires is one of those terms in the industry that predates radio mics, radio mics being another example. like Belling out a circuit or having your ship come in. There's another similar More film industry term that I'm thinking of but I can't remember it off the top of my head.
Funny how the terms develop and stick...
@@curtisjudd OK down the rabbit hole I go.
Watching this video ruclips.net/video/MwtqTGJXwzU/видео.html
There's a short snippet of singing in the rain, I think I remember the scene so I decide to go in search of it to refresh my memory of all of it.
ruclips.net/video/m6jsXQm5IrM/видео.html
I'm trying not to burst out laughing at four in the morning.
Hi Curtis, it’s very informative and practical that your video always be. Do u have any recommendations for the wireless boom transmitter? I am building kits recently
What's your budget and how much range do you need? Do you need backup recording on the TX? Do you need never clip or wide dynamic range capabilities?
Curtis Judd My budget is around 1000 dollars ish. I might use it when I will be working on some mid or small productions. I am not sure about the range, but I think it’s not that far.
Hmm, I'd probably opt for the RODELink with the TX-XLR transmitter: bhpho.to/30O4mhU
Curtis Judd thank u very much，i will check that out
Can you do some reviews on some budget friendly comtek, coms, and ifb?
Would like to do that. Do you know of any budget friendly options you could point me to? I have Comteks but they weren't what most people would consider budget friendly.
@@curtisjudd Haha! I don't really know of any that is why I was asking. I thought you might know some. I was reading online from an old post - jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/3339-comtek-alternatives/ that possibly: Listen and Gentner products, Icom r5 , older PR72 comteks are pretty cheap used now, Sennheiser G2's with an inline volume control for headphones (Sony lavs I guess could be used and have volume control), wireless music world ear monitors, the IEM systems also cover a wide quality/price/performance range. The Sennheiser EW300G2 series, based on the G2 wireless, sounds just as good (or bad) as a Sennheiser G2 wireless! just as the sound of a G2 system can be affected by the choice of mic, the sound of an EW300G2 system will depend on the ear transducers used, which also span a significant swath of quality/price/performance options
then they also have the SR 3254 / EK-3253 higher quality systems, which are stereo, Shure also has options, Comtek (or Lectro IFB) is king,
Hi Chris, great video. I have a question. When recording audio with lavs and boom mics on talent, you don’t mix both vocal takes in post do you? Surely the Lav and boom are back ups and you choose the best mic audio take?
Usually, that’s correct, but sometimes we phase align the two mics like we demonstrate here: ruclips.net/user/livekkfd_0o1P7E?feature=share
My time code kept drifting 3 sec from the camera to my zoom f8. I wasn’t sure why. And being the only sound mixer is tough!!
Rough. That's odd to have that much drift.
Counterintuitive name "WIRES" makes sense if you think about it like you're an Agent in an undercover sting operation. You wear a "wire" strapped to your chest...but its wireless. A nicknamed coined by an audio-layman forsure.
Sorry it was eating me up to not say that haha
Hahaha!
Very instructive video. I work mostly in Paris, so I'm not so familiar with the whole US terminology. thank you for clearing that up.
Thanks.
can you make a video how to keep up soundadministration during scenes and takes?
What do you mean by sound administration?
@@curtisjudd how fill in An sound report on set.
And how to read a sound report when in post production.
@@peerdeheer Good idea. Thanks.
Yes nice video
Thanks
Shared Curtis :)
👍
OMG! I have that exact same slate. How's it working out for you?
Fine, with some gaff tape to hold the clapper top to the plastic slate. 😜
I haven’t seen any reviews of COM’s suitable for use on set any recommendations? If everyone’s wearing headphones how do they also incorporate a two way radio.
Hi Tom, this is an area where I don't have a lot of experience yet, but I believe that some of the higher end pro mixers have com channels where you can send the mix plus use them as two-way radio. More to come as I learn more.
Hi Curtis, have been enjoying your videos as a non-pro interested in the realm of audio! I'm wondering if you could provide some advice as I really enjoy my wired headphones but need a low latency wireless solution around the house - I've tried some bluetooth dongles but either latency or reliability don't make the cut. Cost isn't a major factor, bi-directionality is a plus but not needed.
Hi alystair, Thanks! I'm afraid I must admit that I have no experience with wireless headphones. I actually avoid them for a variety of personal reasons so I'm afraid I'm not much help on that front. But I wish you all the best in your research!
I have been researching this, To some extent. The Apple headphones have a latency that is adjusted by internally delaying the Video, I'm glad I got them free. Supposedly there is an aptX LL protocol for super low latency But all Bluetooth devices must support it. I was actually looking at getting a sender and receiver to experiment with a wireless link for when running a cable across the room wouldn't work. Monoprice had a Bluetooth dongle that well had short ish ( would last fine if it didn't turn itself on and kill itself every time in my bag and doesn't work well charging ) battery life connected to my "Sunbeam headset adapter" has given reasonably good results for monitoring as I do live sound mixing. If you don't need stereo I think the Rode Wgo might be a good option. unfortunately you start in to the realm of professional quality inear systems and the pains that come with cheap wireless gear most notably microphones. Oh yeah there's also are reasonably low latency analog wireless headphones you attached to your stereo. And if you can find a good portable FM radio there's a couple stereo FM transmitters in the low power realm. CCrane andThink the other one is whole home something. I have the latter and I've Had mixed results with it, they have since reengineered it :_(.
Looking forward to your review of the Røde TF5. It'd be nice if you could compare it to, say, the Neumann KM 184 as well as the less expensive Røde NT5.
So a wire is a wireless? To quote Waldorff from the Muppet Show: That makes sense!
(His question was “why are the chickens singing this song?”, to which Statler replied “because the alligators were busy”).
I have a question too: Is a person who’s wired up always wired up? (Sorry).
LOL! Thanks Lau. It totally makes sense!
Relying on Sound dept to bring a slate; that’s the first time I’ve heard that 😂😂
Small productions.
I always thought Slate was Audio department... the purpose of the slate is syncing audio with picture, camera doesn't care about that.
Should be the editor in charge is that! 😅
So about this timecode generators. I work alot with a director using a RED dragon 6k, and im running a Zoom F8. I did buy this cable, a Lemo 4 pin to BNC. When we connect the cable everything syncs perfectly, but as soon as the camera needs a battery change we need to re-sync using the cable again. Only when the camera is indoor, running the AC power, it is actually worth the effort. (you know when you're a one man band audio guy and running around like a 8 months pregnant lady with your audiovest and everything attached, its really a big hazzle changing positions just to plug in the audio sync cable). So at the end of the day we just do the clapper hing to get some nice peaks.
The cable i bought was wxpensive enough with shipping and taxes. Almost ended up at 100 euros. But is there a way to keep the timecode synced between the F8 and the RED, even tho they are turned off occasionally?
Yes, use an external timecode generator which you keep connected to the RED for the entire shoot.
@@curtisjudd Thanks for the answer! What timecode generator would you recommend me using?
Tentacle Sync E works really nicely: ruclips.net/video/o36XYOPp0BE/видео.html
I doubt it will happen theoretically you could plug in the power cord Before swapping batteries and then unplug the camera if it supports that so the internal circuitry wouldn't be reset.
@@imark7777777 i listened to mr judd and got myself tentacte sync-e instead :)
¡Thanks for sharing! Some advice for the workflow between FCPX and LPX, when I export the XML from FCPX the synchronicity of the dialogues is lost, or similar problems are experienced. Thank you very much
Hi Saul, what is LPX?
Curtis Judd Hi! LPX is Logic Pro X
@@eseoele Ah, good to know - thank you! I was going to try Logic to see if the roundtrip process would work better than Audition. Sounds like maybe not. Thanks for that!
DID NOT GET the name of a distribution system for monitoring on set audio
Comtek.
Are those presets for your fancy text fly in and fly out effects? If so, which ones?
They are Apple Motion templates produced by Ripple Training if I remember correctly.
What is a "slate mic"? I was only on one set where the sound recorder would recite the slate info into a mic on his mixing council. So is the slate mic for that or to pick up the sound of the clapper? Everywhere the use a slate board they always read the slate data loud enough for all the mics to pick up.
*_MORE SOUND JARGON_*
"Quiet for recording room tone." This is what we shouted to get everyone to be as quiet as they could while the silence of the room was recorded for use in the editing suite.
"Hold for sound." What is your take on when the sound team might say this after the camera is rolling?
"Sound bad take." What would the sound team say if there was a sound problem during a take?
What does the "sound report" contain on a professional project?
Hi Robert, Thanks - definitely some good ones there. Slate mics can be useful for wide shots where the talent are far away and only being recorded by a wireless mic - so that you can still hear the clapper. And like the recordist you cited - you can record notes at the header of a clip if you choose to do that. All productions are a little different.
I've had to call hold for sound when one of our lav mics was picking up a LOT of clothing rustle and needed re-adjusting. Or if for some reason I'm still working on something else when camera starts rolling - e.g., someone was having trouble with their comtek. Lots of unpredictable things manage to come up from time to time.
On the smaller productions I usually just talk with the director letting them know that there was a problem. Almost always it is a plane or an especially loud car that went by mid take. I give them the option of a retake and provide them my assessment of the chances of being able to make the take work in post.
The sound report specifies which talent/mic are on which channel in the poly wave clip. I also usually include notes about which take was best ("Pick") and which have obvious issues. I also notate room tone/ambience clips. All of these things make sorting through the raw clips a lot easier for editorial. Or for me if I'm editorial. 😀
Curtis, can you help please. I have set my Rode VMp as boom to a 3.5mm 'Y' lead with one connection to Zoom H4n and other to my camera's Mic in/ (Fuji XT2) A single cable to camera and one input to Rode the other convertered from 3.5 to XLR into No 1 channel of Zoom.
(no Mono Mix) Initially I have the levels too high at 75 but now set to 25 but there is this annoying 'buzz' I can hear in headphones and it records this noise. If I connect the mic straight to Zoom, no problem, no noise. It seem more when I plug into camera mic in. I am doing this so I get a 'guide track' on the camera SD card. I am sure I have done this before, probably using a wireless Lav mic.. Do you think it's because the Rode is powered? I did try the attenuation lead to camera but no audio was recorder.
I am asking for something that can't be done? ie. just record rode mic to zoom and maybe a non amp mic like a Boya BY-MM1 straight into the camera (as camera accepts a non powered mic and works fine)
OR do you know a better way?
Would appreciate you help, thanks, Laurence
Hi Laurence, yes, I’d generally use a separate mic for the camera and then sync in post. Interconnecting multiple devices gets messy. Best wishes.
Thanks. I could I suppose put a separate mic on camera as a backup. It's worked before with splitter. What had baffled me is how it works fine with wireless transmitters. I could understand the other way round. ie wireless has noise and wired is fine. Very odd. I will not rest until I get it sorted ! haha
Good luck reverse engineering the issue!
Welp, I'm adding this language to my resume...
Get outta here Rosetta Stone!
Hahaha!
Once panted wireless drops in chinese food takeout boxes.
Hahaha! Gotta do what you gotta do!
You forgot an extremely critical role of the Utility: fetching coffee for the mixer ;-)
(btw, for the sake of the planet, & more importantly your wallet, get yourself some rechargeable 9V batteries! Rather than those single use Energizers)
Hahaha! You’re so right about the coffee!
The british call the comteks "CANS"
Thanks for sharing!
I am "that guy" 🙄
Hahaha! We all are at least once. :)
I was a boom operator on a high budget commercial recently and we were expected to have a timecode slate. I believe for many commercials it's expected that the sound department brings it (which is not true of many features, shorts or scripted work) and we had an uber driver pick one up for us because the mixer didn't expect to need one. Got in trouble with production hahaha.
Hahaha! Nice that Uber solves the problem!
Unexpected expectations