XM-55 Help

SkyCopeland

SkyCopeland

I'm really trying to get the worth of the dollar here as I'm going from one job to the next. Currently I have the T4i and I'll be shooting a music video so I won't need any really good sound (the artist has recorded the song at the studio already). Then a week later I'm doing a video that will need me to record sounds.

So I want to get the Vidpro XM-55. It seems to come with a lot for such a good price. Obviously though I can't just connect it straight into the T4i due to it being an XLR mic. I was going to use a XLR female to 3.5mm male to connect it to the T4i.

Would that adaption lower the quality of the sound? Is the XM-55 even good at audio?
 
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SkyCopeland said:
I'm really trying to get the worth of the dollar here as I'm going from one job to the next. Currently I have the T4i and I'll be shooting a music video so I won't need any really good sound (the artist has recorded the song at the studio already). Then a week later I'm doing a video that will need me to record sounds.

So I want to get the Vidpro XM-55. It seems to come with a lot for such a good price. Obviously though I can't just connect it straight into the T4i due to it being an XLR mic. I was going to use a XLR female to 3.5mm male to connect it to the T4i.

Would that adaption lower the quality of the sound? Is the XM-55 even good at audio?
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I'm going to preface this (and all my advice posts on this forum) with I'm not an audio pro, although I'm learning.

Mic selection depends what and where you're recording, and you gave no hints.

It looks like the XM-55 kit comes with an appropriate adapter for using it on your camera, and you will not have to buy anything else. You'll have to power it with an AA battery.

I'll warn you that on-camera connections usually sound crappy since you get lots of vibration and handling noise from the camera itself, so you'll probably want to have it off-camera if possible.

I'll also warn you to make sure your camera can set volume levels manually or else you'll be getting all sorts of annoying effects and increased noise during small breaks. I don't know if the t4i can set them manually without installing aftermarket firmware hacks (specifically, magic lantern).

Lastly, I have no idea if the XM-55 is any good at audio, or will be suitable for your uses. But I believe it will connect to your camera and provide sound that's probably far better than your camera's built-in mic, as long a shotgun mic is appropriate for whatever you're doing.
 
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SkyCopeland said:
I'm really trying to get the worth of the dollar here as I'm going from one job to the next. Currently I have the T4i and I'll be shooting a music video so I won't need any really good sound (the artist has recorded the song at the studio already). Then a week later I'm doing a video that will need me to record sounds.

So I want to get the Vidpro XM-55. It seems to come with a lot for such a good price. Obviously though I can't just connect it straight into the T4i due to it being an XLR mic. I was going to use a XLR female to 3.5mm male to connect it to the T4i.

Would that adaption lower the quality of the sound? Is the XM-55 even good at audio?
Click to expand...

The XM-55 comes with an XLR to 3.5mm adapter.

Here is what it sounds like straight into the 3.5mm jack on the camera:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNUlTbmIA90

Pretty bad. I wouldn't waste $99 on it. It'll cost a little more, but the $169 Rode Videomic with the Lyre mount will give you a little better results.

The audio pros here will tell you that the top of the camera is next to the worst place to put the mike, (the worst place is in the camera), but if a mic on top of the camera all you have the budget for, the Videomic is a better value for your money than the Vidpro.

Hope this is helpful,

Bill
 
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brunerww said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNUlTbmIA90
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Ugh that was horrible.

Was that a fair test? Would any shotgun sound good in the same situation? It looked like it was aiming right at the girl with a loud street right behind her. If the shotgun was above her, then we should've barely heard the street, if the mic was any good at off-axis attenuation. Right?

I did notice there was also a bias in the sound, like a pressure in the left channel. And it wasn't balanced L/R. It felt wrong and actually felt annoying ... not sure if that was from mixing or from the mic.
 
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About the music video... What sort of audio playback system are you using?

Now, on to mics...

The "lowest" I would go would be the Rode VideoMic. It has decent sound and a reasonably robust build.

You may find this thread to be of interest:

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=49443&highlight=$1,200

If you go cheap on the sound gear you get cheap sounding audio.

If it's a hobby go ahead and buy the XM-55; one piece of junk is just as good as another. But if you are looking to make this a career read the above thread and other posts by AudioPostExpert and myself. You may also want to check out "The Location Sound Bible" by Ric Viers.

"Sound is half of the experience."​
 
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Alcove Audio said:
About the music video... What sort of audio playback system are you using?

Now, on to mics...

The "lowest" I would go would be the Rode VideoMic. It has decent sound and a reasonably robust build.

You may find this thread to be of interest:

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=49443&highlight=$1,200

If you go cheap on the sound gear you get cheap sounding audio.

If it's a hobby go ahead and buy the XM-55; one piece of junk is just as good as another. But if you are looking to make this a career read the above thread and other posts by AudioPostExpert and myself. You may also want to check out "The Location Sound Bible" by Ric Viers.

"Sound is half of the experience."​
Click to expand...

This is my first time trying to sync a music video to its song... Having never done it before I'm going to try with my Adobe Suite software.

And yea... I want to make a career in the industry, but not in sound. I have a very basic setup right now with just my T4i, a few lenses, tripod, etc... So I have absolutely nothing for sound and after buying all of this (plus not being able to find a normal job) I have decided to do the music video, collect the 100$ and then buy a mic to do the next job by the same guy which is just a "day in the life" video which I assume will be just inside his house. Then collect that *150+* dollars and buy a flash. (Majority of my work in this area is photography for prints, then I use my money from selling prints to try and build up my film equipment.)

So say if I bought the XM-55... would it do good indoors just for recording people messing around? Or should I just cancel the job because I can't afford a decent mic? Would putting the XM-55 on a boom make it sound better?

(Thanks for the thread, I bookmarked it after looking through that nice expensive equipment.)
 
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Instead of buying such a cheap mic why not rent a quality mic just for the day? Trew Audio rents an entire package - mic, boom-pole, blimp/dead-cat, and cable for $50/day. And they ship anywhere North America. Oh, if you do rent you'll need an impedance matcher.

Buying cheap gear means replacing it, sometimes frequently, and getting cheap results. Buying quality gear is an investment in your career. If you absolutely must buy something dirt cheap get either the Azden SMX-10 or the Audio-Technica ATR6550; both are passable consumer grade mics. I'm sure that you're planning on camera-mounting the mic - big mistake! At the very least get the mic onto a mic stand close to the subject. GET THE MIC IN CLOSE!!!!


You "want to make a career" in what part of the industry? If you want to be a DP Cinematographer that's one thing. If you want to be a director then you really need to understand sound. Films are equally sound and visuals. As one of me peers says, "No one notices sound, until it's not there." Poor sound is the first technical aspect that gets films turned away by festivals. Bad sound is also the prime offender when something pulls an audience out of a film



Again, I recommend that you read posts by AudioPostExpert and myself; it's not just the "nice, expensive" equipment, there's lots of practical information and needed technical knowledge. I've got well over 5,500 posts, more than half on the subject of production sound; start digging! You can get it all and a lot more in "The Location Sound Bible."
 
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Alcove Audio said:
Instead of buying such a cheap mic why not rent a quality mic just for the day? Trew Audio rents an entire package - mic, boom-pole, blimp/dead-cat, and cable for $50/day. And they ship anywhere North America. Oh, if you do rent you'll need an impedance matcher.

Buying cheap gear means replacing it, sometimes frequently, and getting cheap results. Buying quality gear is an investment in your career. If you absolutely must buy something dirt cheap get either the Azden SMX-10 or the Audio-Technica ATR6550; both are passable consumer grade mics. I'm sure that you're planning on camera-mounting the mic - big mistake! At the very least get the mic onto a mic stand close to the subject. GET THE MIC IN CLOSE!!!!


You "want to make a career" in what part of the industry? If you want to be a DP Cinematographer that's one thing. If you want to be a director then you really need to understand sound. Films are equally sound and visuals. As one of me peers says, "No one notices sound, until it's not there." Poor sound is the first technical aspect that gets films turned away by festivals. Bad sound is also the prime offender when something pulls an audience out of a film



Again, I recommend that you read posts by AudioPostExpert and myself; it's not just the "nice, expensive" equipment, there's lots of practical information and needed technical knowledge. I've got well over 5,500 posts, more than half on the subject of production sound; start digging! You can get it all and a lot more in "The Location Sound Bible."
Click to expand...

I'll make sure to read your and APE's posts ^_^

So do you think the Audio-Technica ATR 6550 is better than the XM-55? (Also yea, I'll make sure to get whatever mic i have onto a stand for sure.)
 
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Alcove Audio said:
Audio Technica has been around a long time and makes very good budget gear. A few folks here on IndieTalk have the ATR 6550 or its older equivalent. At the very least you'll get a little resale value out of it if/when you upgrade to a better mic.

This is a passable mic stand:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/400079-REG/On_Stage_MS7701B_MS7701B_Euro_Boom_Mic_Stand.html
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I was actually looking at that mic stand when you suggested the mic haha.

So this is slightly out of topic... but if I shoot the music video (which is before I buy my mic) with just the built-in mic it should give PluralEyes3 enough to go off of to sync his song to the video, correct? Or will I still for the most part to have to manually sync it?

I plan to have them singing the song as it's played from a cd off set.
 
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SkyCopeland said:
So this is slightly out of topic... but if I shoot the music video (which is before I buy my mic) with just the built-in mic it should give PluralEyes3 enough to go off of to sync his song to the video, correct?
Click to expand...

I'll jump in. Did you know that if you buy a Rode VideoMic Pro prior to 09/30/13 you can claim a free license for PluralEyes 3. I just wanted PluralEyes 3 but used this offer to basically get a Rode VideoMic Pro too - sweet deal.

Offer details are here:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/Rebates_Promos/093013_RODE_VideoMi.pdf
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/997376-REG/rode_videomic_pro_compact_shotgun.html

Back to your question, I actually asked the makers of PluralEyes that very question 2-3 months ago. They said my Canon 6D's inbuilt mic's recorded audio should be good enough for PluralEyes to sync with. Obviously using a Rode VideoMic Pro would be better and minimize the possibility of sync issues.
 
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You should have a really powerful music playback system. The music really needs to pump, even for a "simple" song so the artist(s) can feel the energy, and even though they are lip and finger syncing they should play and sing as if it were a live performance. On the couple of music videos I was in - they were demos so the band could get gigs - we did it exactly that way. We turned the PA inward, cranked up the amps & the monitors and all-out performed.

The cameras got a direct feed from the playback unit - a DAT machine back then. For one video there were three cameras - one on a member of the band, one side view, and one full stage wide shot. We did 8 or 9 takes, with a different member of the band shot by camera one (there were five of us, but mostly the lead singer), the side shots changing angles and also changing sides halfway through. We played each take all the way through.

For example:

Take one - cam 1 keyboards (me); cam 2 bass, singer & guitar in profile singing at the mics; cam 3 full stage straight on.
Take two - cam 1 bass; cam 2 45 degrees from left side catching keys, bass & drums; cam 3 full stage low.
Take three - cam 1 drums; cam 2 30 degrees from left side catching, bass, drums & guitar; cam 3 full stage med high (on a ladder).
Take four - cam 1 guitar; cam 2 45 degrees from right side catching, guitar, drums & bass; cam 3 full stage very high (on a ladder).
Take five - cam 1 lead vox; cam 2 30 degrees from right side catching, drums, bass & keys; cam 3 full stage very high.

The rest of the takes all three cameras were doing "fun" shot - close-ups, etc.

Another video was well over a dozen takes, but with a single camera having to do all of the various shots one at a time. The final cut of this one was interspersed with actual video from live shows and audience interviews.

For sync I guess that you'll have to put in the original audio recording and then find each corresponding section of the shot that you want and sync it up. I'm an audio editor, not a visual editor, so others will have to give you better instructions.


The other question you need to answer is is this a "concert" stage performance or just the band in a fun location or are you doing something artistic or a story type of video? The fun location scenario will give you more leeway in terms of shots, but you will still need the same type of coverage. You should probably story board it out, even if it's rough, so you can economize your time.

Here's a moldy oldie from early MTV days:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lx2vH2Q5yo

Here's one where the shoot got little out of hand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDeHAM93fuc

Here's a REALLY "simple" one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgcc5V9Hu3g



(Yeah, I know they're from the 80's. That's my era and I'm more familiar with them.)
 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3cKgg0fiRI

When the client approached me this was the video he gave me as reference. He said he basically wanted to replicate that but with his own music and group. (This is rap by the way, so there are no instruments on set.)

I'll jump in. Did you know that if you buy a Rode VideoMic Pro prior to 09/30/13 you can claim a free license for PluralEyes 3. I just wanted PluralEyes 3 but used this offer to basically get a Rode VideoMic Pro too - sweet deal.
Click to expand...

Oh, that's an AMAZING deal! Sadly though I don't have that budget D: Unless i could somehow convince the artist to pay me in advance for both videos + extra lol (which I wouldn't do).
 
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