Having Sound issues? help

J

JetFace

Okay so my latest short film I'm working on I've been doing some new like using a external mic. This is the set up I have

Canon Vixia HF S20
RODE NTG-2 Shotgun mic
XLR Cables
1 XLR cable that converts to a 3.5mm jack.
And I made my own boom pole for about 20, 30 dollars :D (indymoglue backyard effects video)

I know the camera is a consumers camera but it's a really high end consumer camera, and really nice. :) I notice some issues while listening to some of the takes, most of the time it was fine, maybe once in a while I might hear a tiny hissing sound but barely noticeable when I'm mixing music into those scenes. But for some reason, can't believe this happen, one of my shots that has alot of talking has this pretty loud buzzing noise. I really don't understand why it happens, there are a few more shots that do the same. So I just have to ask is it because I have the mic going through a 3.5 jack that is causing awfulness?

I know it can't be the mic considering I have used it for recording music as well not too long ago and I used a Centerance Pre amp which plugs instruments and mics directly to the computer by USB. I will be using this set up for my voice overs in the short, lucky most of the talking is the VO. But the next short I do I have to figure out a way to solve this issue so I don't end up hitting my head on the table while editing :) Thanks
 
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JetFace said:
1 XLR cable that converts to a 3.5mm jack.
Click to expand...

Does it convert from low Z to high Z?

JetFace said:
... once in a while I might hear a tiny hissing sound but barely noticeable when I'm mixing music into those scenes.
Click to expand...

What music? Sometimes there is hiss in the music tracks themselves.

JetFace said:
But for some reason, can't believe this happen, one of my shots that has a lot of talking has this pretty loud buzzing noise. I really don't understand why it happens, there are a few more shots that do the same. So I just have to ask is it because I have the mic going through a 3.5 jack that is causing awfulness?
Click to expand...

Was anyone monitoring the audio while you were shooting? That should have been caught right away! It's also possible that it was HVAC, an appliance, a light, a cell phone/PDA/laptop/tablet. Another possibility is a battery with a low charge. Or it could be a faulty cable, the cameras audio input, or a bad connection in the mic itself; these can all be intermittent issue that you would need to track down.
 
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Alcove Audio said:
Does it convert from low Z to high Z?



What music? Sometimes there is hiss in the music tracks themselves.



Was anyone monitoring the audio while you were shooting? That should have been caught right away! It's also possible that it was HVAC, an appliance, a light, a cell phone/PDA/laptop/tablet. Another possibility is a battery with a low charge. Or it could be a faulty cable, the cameras audio input, or a bad connection in the mic itself; these can all be intermittent issue that you would need to track down.
Click to expand...

I think I might have confused you when I was talking about music, nothing is wrong with the music, I'm just saying when I'm editing the sound, I'm mixing music into it as well to try and cover up the noise in the "sound" file.

How can I figure out if its converting to low or high Z?

We had like 3 different people using the mic and were all new to this external mic recording, maybe the person using it had the headphone volume down or just wasn't paying attention... :l

We did have two computers running so that could be a possibility, and sometimes I did have my iPhone on me so that could be possible. I will have to do some tests later on since I'm pretty busy with wrapping up this short and then getting ready for College.

Thanks for the help!
 
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JetFace said:
I think I might have confused you when I was talking about music, nothing is wrong with the music, I'm just saying when I'm editing the sound, I'm mixing music into it as well to try and cover up the noise in the "sound" file.
Click to expand...

The audio input of the camera is probably a hiss culprit, as well as many external sources.

JetFace said:
How can I figure out if its converting to low or high Z?
Click to expand...

Are you using an impedance matcher?

JetFace said:
We had like 3 different people using the mic and were all new to this external mic recording, maybe the person using it had the headphone volume down or just wasn't paying attention... :l
Click to expand...

Which is why you need someone competent paying attention to the sound. Do you take on someone who's never touched a camera as a DP? I think not...

JetFace said:
We did have two computers running so that could be a possibility, and sometimes I did have my iPhone on me so that could be possible.
Click to expand...

Unless being used to capture video or audio all electronic devices should not be only turned off, but taken off the set and their batteries removed. "Cross-talk" between electronic devices is a notorious cause of audio artifacts.
 
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In the past I had the exact same issues.

I discovered over time - and several projects - that it was a combination
of the equipment and the lack of specific attention paid to audio. We
used to do exactly what you did - different people who happened to
be available holding the boom. I finally made sure I used a dedicated
audio person to monitor audio when shooting. Even when I was using
a make-shift boom and a really inexpensive mic plugged right into the
camera and a total newb with the cans.

What a difference it made. That person would immediately know if
there was interference or buzzing and we would work on it - even
if we didn’t really know what to do.
 
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