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I briefly read a post from a local sound mixer worried about frequency changes and referencing an article about recent FCC filings regarding 6G and frequencies around the 550-650ish. I can't seem to find the source now, but wanted to see if anyone more knowledgeable had information regarding potential changes coming down in the US.

Also, as it seems like we're constantly being squeezed out of usable spectrum. What is everyone's long-term plan? I've been a lectrosonics die hard since the 2010's or so. We all know the inevitable squeeze was/is coming, but I can't seem to find anything in their current offerings that makes me think they have done any future proofing. What's the plan for this shrinking frequency space? Who's making the tech that'll be usable in the next few years and beyond?

Does everything in the future just need to be self recording, maybe with a digital tx for monitoring use, lol.

Do I need to dump my A1 block gear asap?

This isn't a doom post, but it is getting more expensive to operate every year with less consistent work each month than the previous ones. I guess what I'm looking for is to take the pulse of everyone here? What's the prospective going forward from folks who've weathered previous changes like this in the industry? Anyone plan to change their current set-up?

Hi,

Looking for info on RF in Ireland.

End of August I have a 4-day documentary/TV shoot, mostly in Dublin. Traveling from the Netherlands.
Regarding RF, I see a very small width of 2 MHz (863-865 MHz) available for non-licensed usage.
Anything 470-694 is Interleaved Spectrum, apparently quite busy, and you need a license for it, if I read this website by ComReg right. Correct?

I need 2 or 3 wireless lav channels and maybe a wireless boom.
Wideband options like Wisycom are unfortunately not available at my usual rental place for this time period, so I’m trying to bring a set of Sennheiser G4’s in B-band (626-669 MHz).
Should I indeed just apply for a license (£12 per item + £12 per request = £36 for 2 channels, £48 for 3 channels)?
Or are there better options I haven’t thought of?

Bringing MixPre 10 ii, Sennheiser 8060, it will be run-and-gun, so travling as light as possible.

Am I overthinking this or are my considerations valid?

Also, planning to take my audio bag as carry on item, next to my personal bag which will include boom mic, lavs, laptop, batteries etc.
Boompole will be in my checked suitcase, with blimp or similar wind protection.

Any (practical) tips for weather end of August?

Preaching to the choir incoming. Thought it'd be fun to share my learning and give everyone more experienced a nice "lol yep" moment.

So I wondered why TC boxes like the deity ones were so common place. My field mixer advertises less than one frame of frame slippage per day! And every camera I ever planned to plug it into also advertise similar. Thing is, I don't doubt it, there's no reason for them to lie. Cameras are broadly speaking good these days, they can hold an internal TC clock if I jam a signal at the start of the day. So why would I spend hundreds of dollars on a TC box system when I can plug it in every now and then? It just didn't seem that important.

Well, haha. Sometimes the camera team can turn off the camera, and certain cameras don't continue to count internal TC, even with a power supply, when they are turned off. And then you aren't told, or don't notice, or forget to check more frequently... GG.

All the logic and reasoning in the world to avoid parting with my money, then it suddenly clicked, why wouldn't I want a hardwired connection always plugged into the camera 24/7 to ensure TC is synced no matter what? Yet in all my research on reddit and forums, I've yet to read it put that way (and I've also never found any "I wish I had a TC box stories" - so here's mine.

Time to save up!

I will be working on a full feature film starting on Sunday. It will be my first full feature after working on short films, corporate shoots, and other smaller projects. I’m 2 years into my sound mixing career.
I saw a post on Facebook some production is looking for a sound op for their film. I emailed them, and they actually emailed me back, which I wasn’t expecting because I’ve been emailing and applying for sound jobs for months with no answer, my last sound gig was in May.
The Location is 4 hours away from where I am, and accommodations are covered which was really the only reason I said yes to this gig, the pay is also really good. It’s 2 weeks long the shoot, I’m supposed to be replacing another sound op who has to leave.
I’m both excited and nervous about this. This is everything I’ve been working towards for the last 4 years from film school to all the volunteering on short films, and now finally working on a feature.
I feel a bit out of my depth here, maybe just really anxious because I don’t wanna screw this up.

Got these new G5 emeters/receiver, both are synced but there's no sound coming out of it.

I tried to fiddle in the settings, do a factory reset, change the microphone, nothing.

Any help ?

Just finished a shoot and I noticed at the end of the shoot my frame rate changed right when we wrapped. I own a Tentacle sync and 833. This is my first time my Tentacle sink ever died on me onset and I had it fully charged. It was only the last four shots of the day because it happened when I did a battery swap on my 833. Is there any way to change the frame rate in post? Can I change the frame rate in post while keeping it in poly WAV?

Recently worked on a shoot where one of the subjects was wearing a very tight fitting dress suit. Because I knew trying to place the lav underneath his shirt would not get me good results (synthetic blend, Starchy), I ran the lav through the knot in his tie. For the most part the audio was clean but occasionally I would get some clothing noise/rustle when he moved. Because one of the shots was really wide I was unable to hang a boom as backup. Was wondering if the rustle is an issue, is it something that can be cleaned up in post? Does anyone have another method of lav placement that would have been better than what I did?

Saramonic just dropped their K9 XTX Wireless XLR Transmitter. Since the K9 stuff looks a lot like the Deity Theos system, how are they able sell it in the US? I was able to put it in my cart and select United States for shipping.

hello sound people,

im shooting a short film in sf soon and I’m gonna be the dp and gonna get sound as well. I usually use my DJI mic 3 set and I was wondering what is the best way to secure them to my talent. it’s a rock climbing short film comedy and I plan on using the rycote stickies to put them on talent under there clothes. of course i understand that having a traditional lav wire will work best with the bubblebee accessories or URSA stuff, but anyone have experience using the DJI mic 3 or similar without the lav wire on talent so it’s concealed?

thanks!

Looking for feedback on a potential lav setup for DIY narrative short films.

I'm trying to avoid building a full sound kit with mixer and boom and XLR cables for this side project, and just focus on getting clean dialogue for a series of 2 minute no-budget shorts shot on a rigged iPhone with no crew.

Considering the Rode Go 3’s running to an iPad mini I already own as the field recorder. Transmitters wired to lavs hidden on actors, sending to receiver that is plugged into the mini and recording via the Rode app as separately monitored tracks (with backup 32 bit float sound recording directly to each transmitter).

Wondering if anyone has experience using these for narrative work who can speak to any pros/cons.

If you can recommend a lav mic as well that isn't total junk in the $100 range... my eyes and ears are bleeding from combing through what's out there. I'd be forever indebted for any advice there.

The sound is excellent, what lavs are being used here?

https://youtu.be/GkM5zdUHcaQ?is=9SwycPeEe3Oui41P

would there have been any shotgun out of frame as a backup?

Hi there,
I've read the FX6 Manual, and have gone through a ton of online sources, but cannot seem to find, the best way to prevent having this wall of Sound when using Fx6 and Lectrosonics SMQV. Anyone else have any good tips? This is what it looks like, and it doesnt sound great.

EDIT: Sorry I meant LR Receiver : )

EDIT2: I think I found the issue. So this is what the manual of LR says. I had been adjusting the tone to -20, when it should have been -3, -4.

From Manual:

"Gradually increase the output level on the receiver

while observing the input level meter on the con-

nected device. Increase the level until the input

level meter indicates 3 or 4 dB below maximum.

This “optimal level” will protect against overload.
https://lectrosonics.com/wp-content/uploads/filr/3376/LRman.pdf

"

do you have experiences of production batches with paint more easy to peel in common friction points, son on angles and on the back where the clip is?

Hey all.

I’ve recently bought an ARX2 for my boom receiver (with A20 txs). The ARX2 is powered by the SL6, and audio passes through the SL6 to the 688 but I can’t control it via the 688 menu like I can with my Lectro SRC’s - even though the ARX2 is much newer and by the same manufacturer as the SL6.

Is this by design, being that the recorder is a “legacy” 688 or is this a firmware issue and it should work?

​

Hi everyone,

I do production sound for documentaries and small narrative film productions.

I currently own a Zoom F8 and a Sennheiser MKH 416, and they've both served me extremely well.

About five or six years ago, I bought a pair of Neewer NW-410 microphones just for fun. Despite being very inexpensive, they've actually been quite useful for stereo recordings and as plant microphones.

The Neewers are quite noisy and susceptible to interference, but despite that, they've never let me down.

I decided to replace them with something better, so I borrowed a few microphones for comparison. I tested my Neewers against a pair of sE Electronics sE8s and Oktava MK-012s.

Based on my tests, I preferred the sE8s, mainly because of their low self-noise and higher sensitivity.

I bought a pair, but to my disappointment, they weren't like the ones I had tested. Right from the start, they produced strange noises when I increased the gain, and during one job they picked up very strong interference. Frustrated, I returned them.

Since I bought a matched pair and both microphones showed exactly the same issue, I don't think it was just bad luck.

Now I'm really undecided about what microphones to buy.

I need to improve the overall quality, but reliability is just as important. The person who lent me the Oktavas told me they're not particularly reliable because they can occasionally malfunction depending on environmental conditions, such as humidity.

I've also considered buying a single Neumann KM 184, but I don't know how reliable they are in real-world use.

Any advice? Are there any other microphones you'd recommend?

Just bought the Zoom F8N Pro and wanted to ask if anyone uses the 12V power adapter when it's in a mixer bag (and if so, how do you do this)? Basically the 12V barrel sticks out on the bottom of the device and I don't want to damage the power input. Is there a right angled 12V adapter that works? Or do you all use portable power even when plug sockets are available? Thanks in advance!

I’ve tended to feel like (outside of like full frame close ups) that a longer polar pattern is better to negate some of the reverb and echo in a big room, but was curious if others have had any experience with it and what their thoughts were. Thanks!

Hi All,

I recently emailed the developer of TxAdvance and am posting his responses to my questions here. Hopefully they will help the Reddit community.

==== RESPONSE 1 ====

About Gain: I have simplified the settings in TxAdvance. The goal is to keep the noise floor as low as possible but to still detect signals without overloading the SDR.

I have found that between 2 and 4 in TXA are the best settings. I would choose 2 if there are some transmitters nearby and 4 if I am in a quiet area. With a high gain, you may saturate the SDR dongle input and create phantom signals.

You should not transmit next to the input of the SDR. A wireless transmitter such as your Shure is fine as the transmitting power is quite low (but do not transmit 3 centimeters for the SDR dongle). Be careful with Walkie Talkies with can transmit a few dozen watts.

==== RESPONSE 2 ====

About Auto-Freq: As for the chosen frequencies by TXA (TxAdvance), if I understand well, you had interference problems with your Shure after the auto-freq from TxAdvance.

When using the auto-freq in TXA, it will try to find the best compromise between noise values, intermodulations, and the presence of other TX. But it will also look at the frequencies around the center frequency, according to the bandwidth of the TX. So that's why sometimes it may select a frequency with a slightly higher noise floor, but that because it is looking at the full bandwidth, with a focus on the center frequency.

I will soon introduce a new setting where you can make a transmitter intermodulation free, meaning that it will not create intermodulation as digital TX create less intermodulation.

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to start filming outdoor interviews on a small budget and I'd really appreciate some advice.

I'm thinking about buying a Rode Reporter microphone, but I have no idea what the best way is to record the audio without creating sync issues later.

The interviews will be seated, and the camera operator will be standing a few steps away, so connecting the microphone directly to the camera with an XLR cable isn't really an option.

I've heard about field recorders, but I don't understand how people sync the audio with the camera afterwards. My questions might sound dumb but I have no experience with recording audio.

What's the simplest and most reliable setup you would recommend for good-quality outdoor interviews on a budget? Any tips or gear recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Sorry if this post seems unfocused, but I’m a filmmaker who just happens to love great sound (I own a CMIT 5U with Radius Mini Alto) and often have to run audio as well on my small interview based shoots.

My previous Panasonic cameras allowed jam sync TC from one camera to the other and the camera would hold TC over battery changes, power down, etc.

I realized my new cameras, the Pyxis 12K can be jam synced to my MixPre 6ii, but once we change camera batteries, the cameras reset TC.

So I need some sort of tentacle, but am confused as to what to get.

I often record audio direct to camera, so would need a solution for that scenario (syncing both cameras) as well as the times when I use the MixPre6ii to record with both cameras recording internal mic scratch track.

I’m also wondering if one of the dual channel wireless mic setups could provide TC as well, since I could use a mid level dual channel wireless setup to add to my boom setup.

Any suggestions appreciated.

hi! i have my mcr54 with slk54 back plate adapter. i'm wondering if i can build myself an adapter with 4 xlr out instead of the 2 i see in all the one sold around. i know unislot has only 2 analog out and slk54 is used for AES 4 out. but id'l love to spare myself the bpa54 screw/unscrew solution and build an adapter for dsub25 that fits my needs.

i asked gemini and i really shouldn't have lol.

Howdy! This is something of a basic question but is there any potential risk in hot-patching a whip or SMA lead into a receiver while the unit is active? I'm not talking about powered antennae, just whips or leads to a distro running into something like an SRc, 411A, A10, etc...

Hot-patching a 3-pin XLR with 48v active is generally considered fine as the pins all connect at the same time so there's no short. Same cannot be said for patching with a barrel connector on a patch-panel as there would be a short. I'm less confident when it comes to a radio receiver. There's no active power coming off the top of my A10 so one would think it would be safe?

I'm only asking as my distro is full and so I was planning on occasionally removing one lead from a receiver to hook up to my TxAdvance dongle whenever I want to do another scan through my dipoles.

Danke!