Record 6 voices... 2 hour sessions... setup recomendations?
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Posted on May 19, 2009 11:06 pm
ganast
Member Since: May 19, 2009
I need to record a panel of 4 to 6 people for longish sessions on a regular basis.
Some of the people will need to use a laptop while live... others will have lots of papers, books, and will be taking notes as the session progresses.
I have almost no studio experience.
I will be recording through a mixer to something like Audacity or Pro Tools or Garage Band.
It would be ideal if each person had headset feedback... but some won't want it.
I know that headsets are not ideal, but the fact of the matter is that these people will not be professional voice talent... they will be academics... and as such will need the mics on their heads.
Audio quality is not of primary importance, but I do want to be able to re-mix the recordings later to make sure that information content is high.
The first thing that comes to mind is a gamers setup with a mixer, but I know that is probably not ideal ;)
Recommendations on a setup?
Please, simple first... then you can help me add complexity.
--gabe
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BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
May 19, 2009 11:50 pm It is hard to tell from your post exactly what you are needing to do. Is this like a roundtable type discussion in a boardroom? If so a PZM mic right in the center of the table will pick up their voices.
If they are spread out in a room then you could use a spaced pair of condensor mics. Even a single condensor could work. Not sure why you would need headsets?? Lav mics is another option. It really depends on the presentation setup.
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
May 20, 2009 08:15 am It sounds like ur doing some kind of reading? like beerhunter said a roundtable discussion?
anyhow, if sound quality is not a big deal at all then sure headsets, or just mics propped up on mic stands for each is fine. I recommend those coz if u do want some flexibility after capturing the voices then atleast u will have the speakers on different tracks, that is presuming u have a soundcard for ur computer with enough tracks.
if not, then beerhunters suggestion of a good condensor should work, but i just fear for room sounds that might muddy up the voices.
ganastMember
Since: May 19, 2009
May 20, 2009 02:40 pm It will be more of a discussion / study group.
The trick (as I see it) is getting the voices and not all the clicking on the keyboards, mouse noises, papers shuffling, etc. There will be a lot of this type of background noise.
Also, it would be nice if the participants could mute themselves for private / off air comments to eachother... eg: "Where did he say he was quoting from?" etc...
The trick with boom mounted mics is that the participants will by nature of the setup want to look at eachother while talking... and it will be too difficult (not worth the time) to train them to speak into the mics at the same time.
Many will speak very softly, and need to be individually mixed into the live broadcast.
Oh, and as this is live discussion, there will be many times where the speakers cut over eachother or simply speak at the same time.
I guess the bottom line is that this is a group of non-professional voice talent. The objective is to capture what is in their minds even if they have little or no stage presence / broadcast talent.
--gabe
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
May 20, 2009 03:59 pm Just some thoughts off the top of my head
what type of budget? because the mics they use for shooting movies (the boom mics) seem to be ideal. set one or two of those overhead, and it should do well.
if there's background noise, then there's background noise. you can't get away from that, with the setting your in. also, if they're going to talk over each other, there's not much you can do with that either. also, if they're going to want mute capabilities, then they'll be having to do it, and they'll forget, so don't even worry about it.
I'd look at this, as recording whatever happens, and live with it, because the alternatives probably won't work, or will kill their mojo.
Good mics should pick up quiet speech, along with loud. you may have to boost up the content later, but it should be picked up. unless someone is talking over the quiet person. that'd be a real problem to overcome, if you have to have each person's speech.
if you can, set up a fake group, with a laptop / interface / 2 mics and see how it sounds. Test and adjust till you feel confident. It will really help you get more of a grasp of what you're up against =).
A LINE6 UX2 would work for an interface, as would a US122 or 144. EMU has a few options, USB and Firewire. There's others as well.
You probably would do good to use SDC mics, like the Studio projects C4, or Rode NT5, or samson C02. They're more sensitive, so you can pick up more of what you want, then tame it down later.
ganastMember
Since: May 19, 2009
May 20, 2009 06:10 pm Quote:
then tame it down later
So, presuming that this involves removing all the typing / clicking / paper shuffling... do you also have a software recommendation for this? It would be great if I could filter most of this live.
I am happy to buy the UX2 with two condenser mics. I was originally looking at the m-audio NRV10 ($700ish) with a number of cheap VHF wireless headset setups ($100 each).
--gabe
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
May 21, 2009 08:40 am actually, i meant that if one person talks quiet, then the next person talks loud, then you'll have to automate volume (after tracking), or use compression to turn down the volume on the loud person, while leaving the quiet person intact. Or, increase the quiet person's speech later.
You can use a compressor before you track, but someone else will have to jump in for that, as I don't have a hardware compressor. You'd need a compressor for each channel, or a multi-channel compressor, which I believe are available (live sound guys can jump in here).
Thinking again on this, I'm betting that 6 lavalier mics may be the way to go. Snap them on, and then people are free to do whatever. You get good voice, can control each persons gain, and then use the mixer to track to a PC. That NRV10 is a nice looking bit o kit.
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
May 21, 2009 07:46 pm
I think if ur working on a limited budget and are foreseeing all these problems, sometimes its best not to try to get on top of everything and control it i.e. getting tons of mics and noise gates and such.
If ur going to be a noisy environment without fail, and ur gonna have ppl talking over eachother. I say, get a good one or two good condensors and before ur session broadcasting live just use mic placement to not eliminate these problems, but instead make them sound natural. Distance the mics and the speakers as well as their seating arrangement so that if ur listening to the broadcast, it will sound like people speaking in a natural room with background noise at a "background" level. If ur using one mic with a set gain, then when ppl talk over eachother the person speaking louder will obviously be heard and i doubt they will all continue to debate for long so i wouldnt fear muddiness.
anyhow that would be my approach, if u cant fight it u have to use it.
ganastMember
Since: May 19, 2009
May 22, 2009 11:54 am OK... I am going to try two different approaches.
1) Buy 6 of these:
www.plantronics.com/north...dsets/audio-995
and use a multi-track recorder like Pro Tools or possibly Garage Band to record all the USB tracks simultaneously.
2) What crux said... trying the UX2 (which just looks cool) and pair of the NT5's
I have to admit that the comment, "sometimes its best not to try to get on top of everything and control it" sounds right.
We'll see what happens... I'll try to remember to give some feedback here.
