iPhone to record sound

B

Bpgolferguy

All right....let me have it!

Seriously, though, I posted in another thread about filming a feature using only an iPhone (fitted with some lenses) and I know I am pushing it doing that, so I know I need to have kick butt audio for anyone to take this seriously. However, I'm so deep into this "FULLY DONE WITH AN IPHONE" niche that I'm really considering using one to record sound. Originally I was thinking h4n or something similar, but now I'm thinking why not an iPhone? I've done a little reading up on it (still need to do more), but does anyone have any opinions or experience they can share regarding this? I know there are some decent mics out there than can be plugged into the phone (haven't decided if I'll try to run a cord to my iphone I'm filming from, or just run it to a completely separate one and record on it (I have about 4 at my disposal). I've also heard they make XLR adapters that will let you plug an XLR mic into it (not sure what kind of quality is lost in the adapter though).

Any thoughts?
 
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You'll be stuck with the limited frequency range and bit/sample rate of the iPhone, not to mention the extremely crappy headphone preamp (there is no true mic input). Plus you will not be able to hear what is actually being recorded until you play it back, and then it won't be a true representation of what the audio sounds like until you get into a decent audio facility.

Is it possible? Sure. It's also possible to amputate your own leg. What you have to decide is "Is it a good idea?"

I get the feeling that the whole "do the entire film on an iPhone" is a gimmick, just so you can say in your promo "This entire film was shot on an iPhone." All I can say is that everything else - locations, acting, lighting, wardrobe, H/MU, set design, audio post, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. - had better be extraordinary in order for your film to receive even minimal attention, otherwise your iPhone only gimmick will be just that, an attempt at an attention grabbing gimmick.
 
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I wouldn't call it a gimmick. Did I want a way for my film to stand out? Yes. But am I going to sacrifice my expectations just to make it work? Absolutely not. Obviously I'm going to start out with an iPhone, which is what I'm researching now, but if it can't meet my expectations then I will not do it.

So I wouldn't say gimmick. I'm working a niche that's will hopefully allow my film to be seen since I can't compete in terms of high dollar equipment or staff. That's how I'd say it.

I was able to find an article that talks about the Behringer Q502 mixer and the fact that it's now compatible with the iPhone 5. Does anyone have any experience with it?
 
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What are your goals for your film? If you're planning on showing it to only a few friends/family members, it's probably not worth the cost to go out and hire a sound crew/gear.

Personally I wouldn't do it. Unfortunately, I know others who would. It's not that hard to find a sound guy with their own equipment willing to volunteer their time for a day or two to a highly organized, high production value, well written, well fed production that is worth their time.

If you suspect you can pull it off, go and do some tests to find out. Get the media into post production and see how the final results turns out. Post your findings here.
 
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Alcove Audio said:
Is it possible? Sure. It's also possible to amputate your own leg. What you have to decide is "Is it a good idea?"
Click to expand...

:lol::lol::lol:

Hey, it worked for Aron Ralston. Jus' sayin'... But that was his ONLY idea available. :P

OK, so to expedite the post process on this film, I did use my wife's iPhone 4 to record all the conversations and dialog with mixed results, definitely lo-fidelity. I wasn't using an external microphone (had no idea that was even possible) just the "Voice Memo" feature and speaking into it as you would a phone call, then I emailed myself the files. It did in a pinch and worked for this particular project, but I'd never go that route for anything a client was paying for or for anything "professional."

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.
 
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No, my goal is for this film to be in festivals....and to win. The story is something I have been working on for over 5 years and it's finally come to fruition. Unfortunately, my dream of unlimited fortune did not.

I'm definitely not going to use the iPhone's microphone to record. It will store all of my recorded sound, but getting it there needs to come from an external mic. I'm going to research a couple I have seen that go through the lightning jack on the phone (not even going to entertain those that go through the headphone jack after what I've read so far), but I'm also going to look at this Behringer Q502 mixer. It's cheap, plus it'll take an XLR mic which is the way I'm leaning toward (I'm willing to put up 100-150 for a decent USED shotgun mic). I just need to research more about the fidelity of the sound when it goes from the mixer to the phone via the iPhone camera connector (USB).
 
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This wouldn't be my normal opinion regarding audio (as I firmly sit in AA's camp here), but for the sake of recording it entirely with a iphone, I say go for it. :P

I've recorded some vocal tests with the iphone using a couple of different lav mics, and with a bit of eq and nr got some perfectly usable dialogue. The naf freq range is largly irrelevent, as the human voice only really occupies the midrange (a large chunk of it at that, but the iphone covers it well enough).

Booming wasn't as successful though. The snr was just to weak, but the lapel mics we tried were fine (due to mic being closer to the source). The iphone headphone/handsfree cord doesn't have the best quality mic out there, but you can always plug a better one in of course.

I do have about 25 years music prod experience and use pro audio editing suites and plugins though, so depending on your sound-fu, you will likely have a harder job than I did if you're also planning on doing the post prod on the iphone? :hmm: Saying that, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if theres some mini DAW apps out there by now. :lol:
 
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My 2 cents:

I think we all need to step back a bit and take a big fat wad of perspective. Of course, good production sound is important, as are many other things in the filmmaking process. I would never recommend spending all your money on an Alexa, leaving no money for sound and forcing you to record onto your iPhone (for example).

However:
If you have zero dollars, if you're shooting with a handycam, or for some other reason, your choices are on-camera mic, or iPhone hidden much closer - surely the iPhone is the lesser of the two evils in the situation?

In this particular situation, I see no reason you could not simply use an H4n... What are you going to shoot on (camera-wise)?
 
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Thank you for all the responses, I love the debate. I know this isn't the BEST method, but in terms of budget, and to also go along with the fact that I'm trying to do a lot of this using just an iPhone, I have to start there.

To answer a questions.....
-I am shooting the film on an iPhone (fitted with lenses and using filmic pro app)
-I will be doing post production in FCP on a MacBook.
-I would like, if possible, to use the iPhone as a sound recorder (it doesn't need to be the one I'm filming with, in fact I'm almost certain it won't be).
-I am going to be using an external mic and boom a lot of the shots. There may be a couple where I will need to sneak the recorder behind a prop or something like that, in which case I've seen some plug in mics (via lightning jack port) that seem to be decent. As for the booming, I plan to invest in a "decent" (150ish) shotgun mic.

I'm not going to use anything that plugs into the headphone jack on the iPhone. Too many articles say it's beyond crap. They do make XLR adapters, but again not sure how much quality you lose in the adapter.

From what I saw with the Behringer Q502 I can plug my XLR mic into it, have the ability to control the audio in the mixer, and then it feeds into the iPhone to be recorded via USB (using camera connection adapter). To me this sounds like the best option, except I need to research (or test) how much quality is lost in the connection between the Behringer and the iphone.

I figure getting an H4N for $250-300 (and I've heard they have their fair share of flaws) plus the shotgun mic will put just under $500 which is way over what I can spend. Plus I don't have a mixer in that setup (unless the h4n has one built in, I'm not sure). But if I use the iPhone as the recorder, buy the mic and mixer (plus any cords) I'm probably around $250 which I can swing.

I'm not sacrificing good audio by choosing the iphone, I'm simply looking for a new way to do it that can possibly achieve similar results. EVERYONE uses an H4N or similar, but that's because the iPhone is just stretching it's legs in the video/sound department. Instead of just bowing to one of those other recorders I'm exploring the world of what "could be." Thanks again for all your input!
 
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not sure what the default specs are, but there are apps for better sample rate. Quick bit of google-fu reveals: http://nofilmschool.com/2011/11/iphone-48khz-audio-field-recorder-xlr-inputs/
You'll still have to deal with the quality of the A/D converters in whatever XLR converter/preamp you buy, but there's a lot on the market. None of this is going to get you anywhere near "pro quality" audio, but you might get some youtube-passable audio.

I understand working with what you have, and trying to do something to the best of your abilities with the limited tools you have is better than not doing anything. So, by all means, do an all-iphone film!

But I don't know if you could call it a "niche", because I don't know if there's a market looking for it. Most people (other than filmmakers) don't care what a film was shot on. But as a gimmick, it could be very effective. Gimmick is not always a bad word, and if you treat it that way, it might help in the marketing after you are done. If so, go all the way! Record ADR on the phone! Do Foley with the phone! Record the score on it! If there are any visual effects apps you like, use them! But bear in mind that since you are limited with the tools you have, it's going to take you much longer to do something than it would otherwise (not necessarily a bad thing. The old addage: time, quality, money, pick two).
 
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Ok, I've narrowed it down. I purchased a Behringer 802USB mixer than I will plug the XLR mic into, do my thing on the mixer, and then have that sent to iPhone 5 for recording via USB.

Now for the mic. Before I was saying $150 would be max, I've decided to make $200 the very limit (my partner kicked in $50...ha). I have boom pole, shock mount, cables, etc so that 150-200 is just for the shotgun mic alone (or possibly 2 different mics if that is possible on that budget). My film will be 80-90% indoor audio, so I'm leaning toward the audio technica 875 or 897. Any thoughts on which is better? Also, I saw the senn me66 is about $200, but do you need the K6 for it to work correctly? If so that sends it out of my budget.

Thanks again for all the help!
 
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