Making Waves: Sound Technology in the Field

With a wealth of new toys comes a host of technical variables to consider.

by Phillip Williams | Published April 3, 2003

According to Steve Joachim, sales manager at Location Sound in Los Angeles: "This business moves relatively slowly. For example, the main microphone for recording dialogue for motion pictures and television is th­e Sennheiser 416; it’s been the microphone of choice for many years and it’s still the biggest seller." Neumanns, Schoeps and Sanken mics are also familiar staples in a realm that has often been too good to change. And while digital wireless mics—the Lectrosonics UCR411 and the UM400 in particular—are now enriching the sound crew’s classic arsenal, they represent exciting additions rather than replacements. So far, at least.

"The thing that is really big news in our industry," offers Joachim, "is the Fostex PD-6 DVD recorder. "The advent of this technology represents a real sea change in our industry." The PD-6, slated for release in March of 2003, is a six-track recorder with built-in mixer that takes six inputs and six outputs; in other words, the mixer can record on six different mics at once, keeping each recording separate and distinct. This allows the operator to control multiple mics and create separate sound mixes for dailies, the boom operator and post. The PD-6 also carries a drive for double-sided, mini DVD-RAM discs. Though it’s about twice the cost of a DAT tape, it has far greater storage capacity—and can record on either two or four tracks, letting directors have characters overlap while retaining the ability to sort them out in post.

Rich Topham, president of New York’s Professional Sound Services, goes into a couple of the PD-6’s advantages. "All the DAT out there is only two-channel. What post-production people want is four- or six-channel recording mediums [because] it gives them more control in the studio later, and because you can separate out each microphone. You can put each actor on a separate track so that later on, if you have to loop one actor, you don’t have to pull everybody else in. It also has the capacity to isolate lav mics from boom mics—and boom mics from each other." In a word, the PD-6 offers much more flexibility for moviemakers.

Nagra, on the other hand, has recently shipped a new recorder with a removable hard drive: the Nagra V. Perhaps somewhat disadvantaged for only being able to record on two channels, the Nagra V is nonetheless an impressive machine. After a day’s work, mixers can remove the hard drive, send it to post and put another one in the machine. And its memory capacity is enormous. Still a bit of a rare bird—with only 25 sold so far in the U.S. and approximately 100 circulating in Europe—the Nagra V is winning praise. "It’s an incredible machine," exclaims Pawel Wdowczak. "It has between 20 and 60 gigabytes [of storage], and the quality is much superior to what you get with a DAT. Files can also be transferred to the PC via FireWire. The new Mac PowerBooks—for example, the 17-inch [G4]—has a additional FireWire connection, which is double the speed of the regular FireWire connection. You can download a couple of gigabytes in a matter of 20 seconds."

Also coming out with a new generation of recorders is Zaxcom. The Deva III, IV and V—all hard disk recorders—will range from a six-track model designed for basic recording to a 10-track model designed for multi-track, high bit rate applications (such as music performances that are being captured both for film and DVD release). They will be available with an optional internal DVD/CD writer and a removable hard drive. The drive bay will be setup for a standard slim 5.25-inch computer DVD drive. They will record to the internal hard disk, internal DVD and external FireWire drive at the same time. A full day of recording will easily fit onto a single 4.7 gig per side DVD disk, simplifying the workflow and cutting time in post: the sound mixer can hand in a DVD at the end of a day, and the editor can load it directly into their non-linear editor with no transfer time.

While most of these machines will soon be on the racks at rental houses, they’re not cheap to own. However, Jay Rose points out that there are low-budget alternatives for Mini DV moviemakers. "Bringing the budget back to earth, there are some music-oriented, digital multi-tracks in the sub-$700 range that can be effective on a shoot (if not exactly field-oriented). Some Mini DV producers are recording directly into their laptops, with high-quality USB stereo and FireWire input boxes which let them record traditional two-track, or multiple channels for separate microphones, at relatively low cost. And the new Marantz CDR-300 portable audio CD recorder can put a day’s shooting on a 50c disc, with perfect quality, which can then be ripped into any NLE."

Jason George suggests Steinberg’s Nuendo Media Production System as a good, low-cost solution. "It’s not as widely used as [Avid’s] Pro Tools, but it’s generally cheaper. It has a full set of the audio processing features that Pro Tools or Sonic Solutions offers, but is far less expensive."

Says production sound mixer Gary Gossett (Runt), "I have a titanium laptop computer that I put a Pro Tools system in which I use sometimes. Pro Tools has different types of software—the Pro Tools LE program—that you can buy which creates [unique] sessions. Whenever you put the software in your computer, it comes up on your screen as a mixing console. You have to have an interface so that you can bring the audio into it, and from there you can record just like you are standing in front of a mixing console—with up to 24 channels."

Moviemakers who are cutting sound and picture at home with programs like Final Cut Pro and Avid DV Express still need to think the process through. With a wealth of new toys comes a host of technical variables to consider. "Be careful if conforming a negative at the end of your cut; you may want to finalize on an Avid for that," cautions Alan Gus. "These editing systems allow filmmakers to edit professionally at very low costs, [but] they’re not the greatest boxes for sound editing. Many editors don’t have a clue when it comes to audio, and they feel it’s best left to someone who understands that end of the creative process. For independent filmmakers who want to take a stab at audio post, there’s always Pro Tools Free and Pro Tools LE—but both versions limit locking to tape and timecode. A Pro Tools Mix or Pro Tools HD system is the way to go for audio post, but you still need the audio background to know how to best use these tools."

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