Audio

Exporting Audio Components and Roles in Final Cut Pro X

On this week's MacBreak Studio

By Mark Spencer | February 05, 2013

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Vimeo quietly embraces 48 kHz audio; documents non-integer framerates

Unexpectedly and without any press release, Vimeo has resolved two of my few criticisms.

By Allan Tépper | January 11, 2013

Since I published the article 11 things I love about Vimeo Pro (Pro Video Coalition, November 2012), I have had at least two pending articles about Vimeo’s general service and their upcoming Pay-Per-Vew service, about which I wrote briefly in December. It has taken a while, but... Read More

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Review: iRig Pre XLR mic preamp for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch

Now there is a better way to connect your pro XLR mic to your iPhone.

By Allan Tépper | December 18, 2012

Back in 2009, I published an article called How to connect your pro XLR microphone to your iPhone. At that time, it required a special cable adapter that I had to order from the Netherlands and shipped to the USA, and that was a passive device which depended entirely upon the iPhone’s own internal preamp. At that time, it cost €30.28 (about US$39.74) including freight to Miami. Now a new solution has arrived, and it is called the iRig Pre. For approximately the same price, the iRig Pre pre-amplifies the mic signal for better performance, and also offers optional phantom power in case you want to use a condenser microphone.

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After Effects Apprentice Free Video: Spotting Dialog

...including creating layer markers with duration indicators.

By Chris and Trish Meyer | December 14, 2012

As we mentioned recently, we've been updating our After Effects Apprentice video courses to reflect changes in the third edition of the book. One shortcoming of previous editions of the book that we corrected with this version is to give audio better coverage, including a new exercise on mixing music and dialog together. In this movie, we demonstrate spotting individual phrases in dialog that we might want to highlight or base our animation around, and mark them including noting their duration (in contrast to spotting music, where we tend to mark just percussive instances in time). 

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FiLMiC Pro 2 can finally record correct 48 kHz audio!

After a very long wait, FiLMIC Pro 2 for certain iOS devices can finally record correct 48 kHz audio!

By Allan Tépper | November 23, 2012

After a very long wait and multiple requests of the developer, version 1.2 of FiLMiC Pro 2 for certain iOS devices can finally record correct 48 kHz audio! For those unfamiliar, FiLMiC Pro 2 is the relatively new incarnation of the original iOS app called FiLMiC Pro, and is offered separately for US$4.99 (or a similar amount in your region). Unlike the original version, FiLMiC Pro 2 is only compatible with later iOS devices which feature a faster processor. Ahead in this article you’ll see which exact models iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touches are compatible, and some changes I’d still like made in the audio portion of the app.

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Audio Technica BPHS1 broadcast headset with dynamic mic: review + comparison

In this article I review the BPHS1’s construction, specs, and applications, and include comparative recordings with another microphone.

By Allan Tépper | November 18, 2012

Head mounted microphones have specific virtues, including isolation, consistent distance between mouth and element, elimination of the cost & complexity of mounting gear, and -in some cases- built-in listening devices. I have been anxious to compare the BPHS1 broadcast headset with the AT2005USB hybrid mic, which I’ve already covered in three articles in ProVideo Coalition magazine, and in one ebook which is available in two languages. Thankfully, Audio Technica obliged my request and sent me a review unit of the BPHS1, so ahead you’ll find my comments on its construction, specs, applications, and cost analysis, followed by recordings, subjective analysis, and conclusions.

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Review: Blue Mikey Digital

A $99 digital stereo microphone and line-in adapter for recent-model Apple iDevices.

By Adam Wilt | November 01, 2012

Mikey Digital on an iPhone 4S running Voice Memo.

Blue Microphones recently started shipping the Mikey Digital, an add-on stereo mike for iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad, iPad 2, iPad 3, and iPod touch 4G (iOS 6 only), and Blue offered to lend me one for review. I'd been intrigued by earlier, analog Blue Mikeys at trade shows, so I jumped at the chance to look at—and listen to—this digital descendant. Read More

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You can hear T©pper on NosillaCast episode 384

Allison Sheridan of the NosillaCast asked Allan T©pper to help with a listener's question about microphones and how to isolate background sound from a waterfall.

By Allan Tépper | September 17, 2012

Last week I was happily surprised when Allison Sheridan of the NosillaCast invited me to participate in her episode 384. The tagline of the NosillaCast describes the program as being: “a tech geek podcast with an ever so slight Macintosh bias”. Allison asked me to help her answer a question from one of her listeners about microphones, specifically a situation where it is necessary to isolate from some strong background noise. Allison remembered that this is one of several points I covered in my most recent book, Hybrid USB/XLR microphones: the missing workflow for independent voice talent and podcasters. If you’re not already subscribed to the NosillaCast, listen to episode 384 at the following link.

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JuicedLink takes our dynamic mic challenge even further, to a full range of audio tests

JuicedLink now does dynamic mic test comparisons with equipment from Beachtek, Edirol, Sound Devices, Tascam, and Zoom.

By Allan Tépper | September 07, 2012

Back in July, I published JuicedLink video illustrates audio quality with DSLRs via RiggyAssist versus an H4n recorder. After that, I asked Robert Rozak from JuicedLink to repeat his test using a dynamic microphone, since that way both preamps (the one in the H4n and the one in the Riggy-Assist from JuicedLink would need to work harder, since they’d receive a lower level from their respective mic. Fortunately, he did, and in August I published JuicedLink accepts our dynamic microphone challenge; re-does comparison test. Now Robert has taken our request even further, to a full range of tests, which include comparisons with equipment from Beachtek, Edirol, Sound Devices, Tascam, and Zoom.

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Using Premiere Pro & After Effects CS6 SmartSound Plug-Ins

A quick and easy round-trip workflow for creating and editing your music soundtrack!

By Jeff Foster | August 24, 2012

SmartSound Sonicfire Pro 5 is not only amazing soundtrack scoring software, but also a collection of royalty-free music clips that are fully customizable, with features like Mood Mapping and Timing Control. You can easily pull out select instruments and "write" a complete score of any length you wish. With the Sonicfire Pro 5 software and the Premiere Pro or After Effects plug-ins (CS5 and above), you can streamline this workflow with simple export functions and double-clicking the audio files right inside your timeline. Read More

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JuicedLink video illustrates audio quality with DSLRs via RiggyAssist versus an H4n recorder

By Allan Tépper | July 11, 2012

JuicedLink just released a new video to illustrate the quality of an audio recording to a DSLR camera (the Canon 60D) via JuicedLink’s own Riggy-Assist low-noise preamp versus the same signal recorded on the popular H4n audio recorder. The same microphone was used in both cases. Ahead you’ll see the video, hear the audio, and discover why I am inviting JuicedLink to create a slightly different comparison for us.

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Hybrid USB/XLR microphones: the missing workflow for independent voice talent and podcasters

An ebook inspired by a need among voice talent, and a vision of a workflow using little known tools and techniques

By Allan Tépper | June 21, 2012

Several times a month, I am inspired to write and publish an article about one of my varied interests. This happens less frequently with books that I write and publish, but it does happen. In this case, it has to do with a need I’ve seen for quite a while among independent voice talent and podcasters who generally work from home or an office (not from a recording studio). Often many professional voice talent just need to record audio (not to edit it), and are confused about what microphone to get, what non-editing audio recording app to use to record uncompressed AIFF or WAVE, and when (and how) to record either 44.1 or 48 kHz. So I wrote an ebook in two languages, with photos and appropriate screen shots for each language.

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Record audio at 48 kHz on an iPad from a digital source? Yes!

FiRe 2 - Field Recorder is an almost perfect app for iOS

By Allan Tépper | June 15, 2012

As of the publication date of this article, unfortunately none of the video apps I’ve tested on an iPad records at the proper audio-for-video standard of 48 kHz (kiloHertz). Apple still needs to get its act in gear with iMovie for iPad. Avid Studio for iPad and FiLMIC PRO, you too! It really “Hertz” me that all three of you are inappropriately recording audio-for-video at 44.1 kHz. But I am happy to report that we have found and tested an iOS audio app that records perfectly on an iPad from a digital source at 48 kHz, either AIFF or WAVE. Our tests have been with the Audio Technica AT2005USB, a hybrid mic covered in two other articles in ProVideo Coalition magazine and in a recent ebook I published. In this article, I’ll tell you everything I like, and the only thing I’d like added to this <US$6 app.

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Adobe CS6 Announce Date Revealed

The Adobe CS6 Public Announce Date is April 23, 2012.

By Richard Harrington | April 22, 2012

Want to know what's up with Adobe Creative Suite 6 and the Creative Cloud? Read More

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1st handheld dynamic microphones with hybrid XLR/USB/iPad connectivity from Audio Technica

Part 1: Background, why we needed such a microphone, comparative performance tests

By Allan Tépper | April 10, 2012

Over the past few years, the market has become flooded with USB microphones, but most have been condenser models, and only a couple have been dynamic. Those dynamic models have been USB-only. There has been a need for dynamic USB microphones that were also hybrid (XLR balanced analog + USB digital, together with onboard zero-latency monitoring), especially since the external converters are both costly and bulky, and USB-only microphones are -by nature- more limited in terms of applications. In this part 1, I’ll clarify when dynamic microphones are preferred over condenser models, where USB-connected microphones “fit”, cover Audio Technica’s first hybrid dynamic models, and offer three comparative recordings between our reference Heil PR–40, the legendary Shure SM58, and the new ATR2100-USB, which is one of two handheld hybrid dynamic models from Audio Technica.

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Want To Fly In First Class On Your Next Gig?  Here’s How!

...and it is actually CHEAPER than coach!

By Bruce A Johnson | December 09, 2011

I just got back from a whirlwind cross-country trip for a freelance gig I'm working on. Between me, my field producer and my audio operator, we managed to boil down our equipment complement to six checked bags and three carry-ons. Now prices vary on different airlines, but the way it worked for me was this:We flew USAirways from Cleveland to Phoenix, changing planes in Charlotte. When I got online to check us in the night before, I was resigned to paying $60 in checked bag fees for each of us ($25 for the first bag and $35 for the second, all meticulously packed and weighed to be less than 50 pounds.) However, in the middle of the check-in procedure, a pop-up box asked me if I would like to upgrade my entire party to first class - for $50 each. On USAirways, this upgrade includes TWO FREE CHECKED BAGS. (Bonus: They can then weigh up to 70 pounds.) In the time it took me to click the "yes" box, I had saved $30 overall and managed to get prime seating for the crew, and moved to the head of the boarding queue to guarantee overhead-compartment space for the two cameras and backpack-full-of-computers-and-iPad we were carrying onboard. I call that a bargain at twice the price! Coming home at the end of the shoot from Tucson to Madison, I played the same game on United. Since both of those flights were on regional jets, first class was not offered, but once again the cost of checking two bags and first-call boarding was less than the cost of checking the bags alone. While it is easy to imagine scenarios where this technique may not work (e.g., first class is booked full) it is a trick that I will be trying every time I need to check bags from this day forward.Got any travel tricks of your own you'd like to share? Let's hear them! Read More

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Sharing Assets: Adobe CS Production Premium’s Unique Workflow

A case where the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.

By Jeff Sengstack | October 22, 2011

When you look at Adobe CS Production Premium's video production tools - Premiere Pro, After Effects, Encore, Audition, and Photoshop - many if not all could be considered industry leaders in their own right. But it's how they share assets that makes the suite such a powerful performer.Applications in Adobe CS Production Premium share assets in several ways. The goal? To save you time, reduce your work load, and ensure your assets retain their original quality throughout the video production process. Read More

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Redrock Micro Brings Order To Unruly Cables

Innovative microTies Promise To Tie Up Loose Ends

By Clint Milby | September 15, 2011

Your cat may like them. If you have a touch of OCD you might enjoy unraveling a nice ball of wires to calm your nerves.   However, disconnect a power cable on a light or your HDMI cable during a shoot and it could cost you a shot, which could cost you a job. Especially for the HDSLR shooters, the myriad of wired accessories continues to grow, and so do the chances of you getting tied up knots. Electric tape or grip tape work, but they aren't very dependable, and they make your cables and rig sticky. There's the velcro ties, but they're like socks that some how vanish without a trace. So what's the solution? Enter Redrock Micro's microTies.

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The One Collaboration I Need Adobe To Make

I don't think I'm really asking much...am I?

By Bruce A Johnson | September 07, 2011

Hey folks, been gone a while, but it's fall and time to get back in the swing of things. One of the interesting side-effects of writing for PVC is that I am on just about every PR person's mail list. Usually these missives are easy to toss to the side, but the other day I got one from Adobe, talking up their presence at IBC 2011 in Amsterdam (for the record, IBC is the international version of NAB, held in early September every year.) As a long-time Premiere Pro and CS-suite convert, I paid a little bit more attention to this one than average. Unfortunately, I neglected to save the URL, but the gist of it was this: Read More

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The Fourth Annual Amsterdam FCPUG SuperMeet

FCPUG Converges on Amsterdam With HDSLR Shooters including Philip Bloom

By Clint Milby | August 31, 2011

IBC is almost here, and that means it's SuperMeet Time, and this one is shaping up to THE event of IBC. Beyond the opportunity to meet and visit with your fellow filmmakers from around the world, you'll also get to interact with Philip Bloom and Jason Levine of Adobe Systems, Editor Eddie Hamilton (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS) for Avid, Michael Wohl on FCPX, Autodesk & others. Read More

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