Topic: Radio Serial recording

[ldhasson]

Hello,

A friend pointed me to this forum to hopefully get some help. I need to record an audio-only story, with multiple actors. The busiest scene has 6 actors together, so i was thinking of getting myself 3 iPod Nanos, 3 binaural microphones (such as [url][http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-podcast_stereo.html]) and clip one microphone (mono) to each actor. I tried it with one iPod and one microphone (like the one linked above) and got some OK results: with autogain off, i can barely pick up any sound, but with autogain on, there is too much of a sound variation. I was thinking that there may be another solution to remedy this problem on the iPod. Maybe i need a powered microphone such as [url][/http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-poweredbattery1.htm]? I also get more ambient noise than i would like, so i have been considering cardioid mikes, but i am worried this will limit the actors' range of movement, otherwise, if the mike is misaligned, it won't pick up the voice properly.

I then intend to take each individual channels from each iPod to create a 6-layer audio soundtrack, with added sound effects and music. I have the software to do proper WAV manipulation and i know that part fairly well. It's just the voice recording that i am trying to learn, and doing so on a very small budget.

I have about $500 to do this and looking for some advice.

Ah... and if you ask why i have been looking at iPods... This is a one time project so i am not looking at this as a long-term investment. I'd like to give the iPods to some of the actors after the project is completed.

Thank you,
Laurent

[Roving Sign]

Is this an "audio only" production? - i.e. not theatrical? (assuming not...since you mention radio - but then also "range of movement")

The ipods might be the biggest complication...mics might be the least of your worries...

Sounds like you just need a decent mixer, and a good cue sheet....

[rowjimmy]

Seems like synching and mixing those multiple ipod recordings would be a tremendous hassle (to put it mildly.)

I'd consider a stereophonic technique with some better mics.

Better doesn't have to equal expensive and you clearly have a budget (3 ipods plus the mics you hope to buy...)

I'm not doing the math here but, there's other options for that money. you could throw that money towards a pair of omnis and use a jecklin disc, or get more creative with an array of mics and a mixer.

I can respect the reluctance to over-invest in a 'one-time-project' but, you could always flip your gear back into he used market when done.

[ldhasson]

It's audio only, but i mention range of movement because the actors will "act" and move around. Maybe not the best setup.

What is the issue with mixing together multiple iPod recordings? Are the digital recordings not properly time-synched?

As for your proposal of using a different set of material, any suggestions in terms of mics brands and models? What's a jecklin disc? One of the thing i wanted to do is eventually put drawings on top of the soundtrack, so for instance, it would be nice to be able to flip the actor's voices position (left/right) to match the drawings... It's a future thing, but one thing i'd like to stay open to. Thus my idea of using 3 iPods, 3 stereo binaural mikes so i could record some 6 mono tracks. Again, not sure if this is the best way.

Thanks,
Laurent.