Help needed with audio!!!

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tommyz28
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Help needed with audio!!!

Post by tommyz28 »

Ok me and my cousin are in the early stages for our cartoon and want to lay down the audio before actually starting the animation process. Does any one know what type of recording equipment/software that is decent and needed. Also what are some lip-syncing techniques that can be used???
Thanks for any help
Tommy
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Tel750
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Post by Tel750 »

Hey Tommy, there is a lipsync tutorial in Moho help try that. There is also a audio tutorial which as far as I remember gives you the type of audio format that moho supports for import , I think it is swf but I can't check as I am at work at the moment. Hope this helps get you started.
Cheers
Terry
And now! At Last! Another film completely different from some of the other films which aren't quite the same as this one is.
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jorgy
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ditto that

Post by jorgy »

I'd like to second Tommy's request.

I have been getting pretty good with http://audacity.sourceforge.net/, editing and mixing dialogue and effects. But, I've been simply using a generic microphone that came with the computer, and need to look forward to recording a larger number of people, and also recording people while they listen to a playback track. What do I need from a hardware point of view to do that? Do I need multiple sound cards for something like that?

Also, what kinds of microphones should I be looking at?
hemorrhoid
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Post by hemorrhoid »

I would recomend an external sound card with 1/4 sized mic input (pretty expensive usually though). Theres no need for multiple sound cards, just a good one to get the best sound quality.

The microphone I am currently looking into is the:
MXL MXL 990 Cardioid Condenser Mic with Shockmount

Go to amazon.com and type the above in the search bar.
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jorgy
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Post by jorgy »

Thanks "hem".

Have you used your mic outside? I need to get some sound effects too. How effective are windscreens?

I also noticed on the amazon page some recommended accessories were the "pop filters". When doing my recordings, I have to be very careful with the people I'm recording not to get to close to the mic or there's a burst of static with a hard "s" or a hard "t". Is that what these pop filters prevent?

Finally, so with one soundcard, I can be playing an audiotrack to headphones while recording another track with a mic plugged into the same card?

Thanks!!!!
hemorrhoid
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Post by hemorrhoid »

jorgy wrote:Thanks "hem".

Have you used your mic outside? I need to get some sound effects too. How effective are windscreens?
I never used any mic outside, and I doubt it will sound any good. Its best to record in a closed off room seperate from your computer even. When outside the wind will play a major role in sound quality. Any wind hitting the mic will drastically distort the quality.

Edit: I just noticed I didnt answer your question about windscreens
I have never used windscreens before so I dont know how helpful they are.
jorgy wrote:I also noticed on the amazon page some recommended accessories were the "pop filters". When doing my recordings, I have to be very careful with the people I'm recording not to get to close to the mic or there's a burst of static with a hard "s" or a hard "t". Is that what these pop filters prevent?
I never used pop filters so I cant answere that. But to reduce or even eliminate the hard sound it is best to keep the mic at an angle above your mouth facing down in the general direction of your mouth. It is a good idea to play around with angles to find what sounds best with that particular mic, and the person speaking. But I dont see the need for pop filter... for me anyway.
jorgy wrote:Finally, so with one soundcard, I can be playing an audiotrack to headphones while recording another track with a mic plugged into the same card?
Yup.. In fact you probably can with the the sound card you currently have.
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7feet
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Post by 7feet »

Okay, I probably shoulda chimed in here before since I had a reasonable proper recording sudio and done live recording fo a long time. But I started out using old and salvaged mics, a PA mixer somebody bought at Radio Shack in the 60's, and an ancient 1/4" reel to reel (and still mades decent recordings). So I know both ends. Of course these days digital makes it all a lot easier.

First, it would be helpful to know what you havet to spend. Theres a vast range of options on all fronts. Can't really make specific suggestions on gear without knowing what the budget is.

I doubt there is a soundcard manufactured today that won't allow you to playback and record at the same time. As long as the card is "Full Duplex" capable, that's not an issue. It's more how the software you are using (or the particular card's driver's) allow you to route the sound. One of the first things to know is are you using a desktop or a laptop? And, for that matter, Mac or PC, not all soundcards are cross compatible (mostly due to software).So you shouldn't have any problems monitoring. One of the problems you can run across with monitoring is "latency". Which means that the sound you are recording has to go into the computer and be processed before it comes back out the headphones. This can introduce a little bit of a delay that the person speaking can find a little disorienting. Many decent sound cards now have "zero latency" (or very low) monitoring built into them, and that is a very good thing.

There are a few different pickup patterns for mics. Omni picks up sound from every direction, so really isn't the thing fro this kind of work. Cardioid's are more directional, picking up more directly in front of the mic (but also some directly behind the mic) and tending to reject sound that comes from the side. Hyper-cardioid reject more from the side, but also pick up more from the rear. Shotguns are the rather long mics that you would typically see on a boom on a film shoot (and sometimes sticking down into the shot). They reject most anything that os not right in front of them, very nice if you are trying to record specific sound effects out in the world.

The MXL 990 looks to be a pretty nice mic, and the price is damned nice. One of the things to consider, though, is that it requires a 48 volt phantom power supply, which basically means you would have to plug it into an additional mic pre-amp or mixer that provides that power before it'll do anything. Might get a little unwieldy and expensive for location recording. If you need to go out in the world, and don't want to haul around more than a laptop, a cardiod condenser that is powered by a battery would be more convenient. I bought a beutiful old Sennheiser mic (with separate shotgun, cardiod and omni heads) at a local music store for 40 bucks. I've used mic's from CAD (good company) that I bought on special at Sam Ash, 3 for 60 bucks (cardiod dynamics, no power needed) for much of my live recording (band-style, but sometime general). Sound amazingly good for the price, and were expendable of one was smashed or stolen. Or the old radio announcer mics, made in the Netherlands, that I got at a garage sale for next to nothing. Basically anything except for one of the crappy micro-diaphram (or piezo) mics that might come with your computer. You'd get just as good result plugging a really cheap telephone handset into you're soundcard. Aside - I have gotten some good stuff patching in a 1940's Bell Telephone handset, but that's a whole 'nother thing.

Foam (or sometimes for shotgun mics sleeves of fake fur) windscreens do work, and I generally put them on every mic I use, inside or out, as a matter of course. Not always necessary but they don't hurt at all. The pop filter you are talking about can be bout, but are just as easy to make. They are basically a ring with some open weave fabric that is placed between the performer and the mic. You can get a 2 piece metal ring that is meant to hold a circle of the fabric taut while doing needlepoint at any craft store. Stretch 2 layers of garden variety pantyhose material in the frame, and you are set. You just need to get it into position. I've used 1/4" aluminum armature wire for sculpting (againg the craft, or better an art supply store) in a pinch, but I prefer to mount the on goosenecks (with a clamp on one end), you can find them at music stores but I usually get ''em cheaper at lamp supply places.

Those are the things to keep put the pops from P's and Tt's. It should also help on the sibilance ( those S's). Just keeping the performer away from the mic helps. I once made a quick rig out of a wire coathanger that prevented a performer who could just not keep from eating the mic at least 4 inches away from the front of it, and even that helpe a lot. Additionally, you really need to set you're recording levels properly. Especially when working with digital recording. The crackling and static you get on those sounds is because the actual sound level is momentarily going over what the soundcard is set to handle and driving it into digital distortion, which always sounds ugly. When setting your recording levels, have the person you are recording make the ugliest sounds thay can of this type, and adjust your recording levels (down) until it doesn't fuzz out anymore. That should leave you in a safer spot.

I could sit here tying all day, but a budget would help.

--Brian
tommyz28
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Post by tommyz28 »

Ok i don't want to really spend more than about a hundred bucks on a mic. I'm running windows on a desktop computer. Any links you can provide or suggetions would be appreciated.
Tommy
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jorgy
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Post by jorgy »

I have a similar budget to Tommy - my tax refund should be coming soon! I would like to spend maybe $200 (including pre-amps) if necessary, and I'd also like to be aboe to do recording of people inside, as well as ambient sounds outdoors.
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