Another sound test!

After the first successful sound test with the correct equipment I decided to test multiple radio mics to see if I could achieve the same results but just doubled. Although this time I did not have access to the DPA's and Puretone earpieces, I was able to book out the Sennheiser Radio mics and Sound Devices 633.

Overall it was a success. Below is a video of the results. One with, and one without music.

Puretone IR3

Battery type: 10A

Colours: Biege
Frequency Range: 200-5600Hz
Battery Drain: 0.7 mA
Typical Battery Life: 200 Hours
Weight: 1.5g approx. (including battery)
Operating Temperature Range:-10C to 40C.

DPA 4071

Transducer         Pre-polarized condenser element with vertical diaphragm

Polar Pattern     Omnidirectional

Frequency Response      100Hz - 15kHz with 5dB soft boost at 4-6 kHz ± 2dB

Dynamic Range (Typical)              97dB (typical)

Signal-to-Noise Ratio     re. 1 kHz at 1 Pa (94 dB SPL): 68dB A-weighted (typical)

Maximum Input Sound Level     144dB

Power Requirements    Min 5V - max 50V through DPA adapter

Output Impedance         30-40 Ohm

Output Connectors         MicroDot - XLR out from DAD6024 power supply (included)

Dimensions        .67 x .21" (17 x 5.4mm) (Length x Diameter) Cable: 5.9' (1.8 m) (Length)

Weight 0.32 oz (9g) (incl. cable and MicroDot connector)

Additional Equipment Behringer HA400 Microamp

During our sound pre-vis we noticed a problem to do with pianists feedback of the piano being that it was uncomfortably loud. As we were using just a regular splitter from the piano to both the pianist and the actor there was no way of controlling the volume. I have found a cheap and cheerful piece of equipment that can fix this. Behringer HA400 Microamp 4 Channel Stereo Headphone Amplifier has 4 headphone outputs which allow me to plug the Sennheiser radio mics in for both the actors. 

Amy's Sound Test / Pre-vis

Success

It was a success! The equipment worked very well and to a very high quality. The DPA went above and beyond my expectations. My only concern is that of the PureTone earpiece. It was very quiet, even when all the setting were at their highest. However it did the job, the actress managed to follow the pianist (Urmas). Urmas made our Actress feel very comfortable on set. They had a very close relationship and flowed together.

UPDATE: At the weekend we decided to have another test with it but in a less controlled environment, a living room. We wanted to test the DPA in a location similar to what we will be using in the film. Once again, it worked very well, we had our Producer, Davide and Director, Lexy sing a duet and share the DPA  microphone. I managed to capture them both very clearly, although I would of preferred 2 DPA's we had to make do with the equipment we had. Now that the technicalities have been established I can finally start on the creative side of things.

Welcome

This blog will be updated daily with information on what the sound department has been up to. As you may know, this project has been in motion for the last few weeks and so this post will be an overall brief of what has been achieved by the sound department.

Many meetings have taken place. We discussed very early on that the style of sound/music would be that similar to the feature film Les Misérables (2012). The concept of recording live vocals on set is a style, we believe, would aid the film in what we aim to achieve. The Director, Producer, PM and Sound department had a meeting in which we watched a documentary on how the crew of Les Miz achieved it's technical approach.  It is has been decided that we will be replicating this technical approach which entails hiring from external companies.

Charis Coke mentioned during one of our meetings that a company called Richmond Film Services gave us UCA members a 10% discount on all equipment. Luckily they had all the equipment I needed! With this in mind we decided to schedule a sound pre-vis for Friday 30th November. Below is a list of equipment, from UCA Equipment Hire and Richmond Film Services.

For the pre-vis on Friday I created a brief to inform the crew what we were going to achieve during the day. Below is a copy of that brief. 

Friday 30^th October Jailbird sound pre-vis brief.

Aims for the previz:

·      Test the concept of recording vocals live

·      Effectively set up and discover best recording technique (see diagram)

·      Rehearse with live pianist/ guitarist 

·      Edit together the footage and sound for practice and logistic purposes

The pre-vis will be the first test for our sound department to complete a technical arrangement of their chosen recording technique. It is essential that after this technical rehearsal that the sound department are confident and satisfied with their tests which will then be carried onto future pre-vis’s and the actual shoot. Being that it will also be the first time a few members of crew will be working together, it will be a good opportunity to develop a successful working relationship between all participating crewmembers. Our very talented editor will then complete an edit and prep it for the sound design and music.

(Very rough) Plan for the day (subject to change)

09:30 – Arrive at University

10:00 – Set up equipment

12:00 – Pianist arrival (if available)

12:30 – Break

13:30 – SHOOT

16:30 (at the latest) – Pack up and return equipment

Sound Department equipment List

•       Sennhesier 416t
•       Shure sm58
•       4m Rode fish pole x 2
•       Puretone Induction Loop Earpieces (EXT hire)
•       DPA 4071 (EXT hire)
•       Sennheiser EW100 G3 Ch.38 pocket transmitter (EXT hire)
•       Sennheiser EW300 IEM G3 RX Ch.38 504674 (EXT hire)
•       Fostex
•       Sound Devices 633
•       XLR cables, headphones, splitters

We are now all set for the pre-vis tomorrow and so I will be updated this blog with the outcomes of the day.