Matching Audio

OK, I have some concert footage that was mic'ed rather improperly. Only certain portions of the band were properly mic'ed and the other mics were set up as solo mics only. Of course, certain musicians did not use the solo mics when they were supposed to.

So now i am stuck having to mix the audio from the shotgun mic on the camera and the line feed from the board. The quality of these two is very obviously different and not being overly experienced with audio, I am wondering how i can go about matching them closer together. Can the audio filters in FCP handle the task or maybe something in Soundtrack?

Thanks so much...

> So now i am stuck having to mix the audio from the shotgun mic on the
> camera and the line feed from the board. The quality of these two is very
> obviously different and not being overly experienced with audio, I am
> wondering how i can go about matching them closer together. Can the audio > filters in FCP handle the task or maybe something in Soundtrack?

This depends on what exactly the quality is like on the mikes. If one of the audio sources is too trashed, you're better off using the cleaner take and then using EQ to try to bring out some more of the "lost" band members. Another method is to mix the two throughout the entire concert. I once cut a live music video where the band was using a click track (YESSSSS!), but using just the CD recording didn't sound "live" enough, so I mixed in some sound from the in-camera mike on the GL-1 the director was using, just enough to give it an edgier, rougher live sound. Even the producer who recorded the band's first album liked the approach.

As for what filters to use, that's an impossible question to answer without knowing what exactly is wrong with the audio. Too much drums? Not enough vocals? The top end of the lead guitar is killing the ears? Overmodulation throughout?

You may have passed the magic point where it would cost more in time, manpower, and money to fix it than to get the band together and do it again.

What happens if you use the camera-mounted mic for the whole show? Is it dreadful? if it's a choice between bad custom mic job on the set and a generic camera-mounted mic, I'd pick the camera microphone every time. If it's flat and slightly echoey, the audience can get used to that, but if the track explodes with mistakes every so often, that will kill you.

Did anybody else record the performance? How much chocolate do they want to give you the tapes?

Koz

I think Derek's approach of mixing the two sources together (favoring the board feed for the most part) throughout the concert will be the best solution. This way when you have to favor the camera mic for the solo's it wont be such an obvious shift. One other "cheat" is to consider gettting a cd of the tracks in question, if they have one, and subtley mixing in a little of the solos that were lacking from the board. This would probably require a lot of finessing and may require some tempo changing of the cd track to match the live track. As for the filters there i nothing in the world that will get the two sources to match but you may be able to add a little reverb to the board track to get it sounding a bit more "live".

<<<This would probably require a lot of finessing and may require some tempo changing of the cd track to match the live track. >>>

<<<not being overly experienced with audio>>>

Frank, meet Scott.

I could probably do this given enough weeks with SoundTrack, and I know how to drive an audio program (just not this one).

How many weeks do you have?

Koz

OK, thanks for everything so far, here's more details:

It's a jazz band that played with special guests so no master cd tracks to pull from. Plus the guest trumpet player is the one who particularly did not use any mic.

Certain instruments were mic'ed that do not come across on the camera mic, i.e. stand-up bass and piano, so i can't pick one track over the other.

I'd like to just pump the shotgun feed when necessary but its very hollow and tinny sounding compared to the board feed. I just need some more robustness and strength to make the difference not so noticable.

I tried the EQ filter and bumped the gain on the low end and it didn;t cut it. I don;t know the next step from here. Hope this helps provide you guys with enough direction to give me direction on this.

And this is a local band and a low-paying job for me so i don;t have lots of time or hours to throw at it. I still don;t want to give them a crappy sounding product tho, even tho we had no responsibility for the audio

>It's a jazz band that played with special guests so no master cd tracks to pull > from. Plus the guest trumpet player is the one who particularly did not use > any mic.
> Certain instruments were mic'ed that do not come across on the camera
> mic, i.e. stand-up bass and piano, so i can't pick one track over the other.
> I'd like to just pump the shotgun feed when necessary but its very hollow
> and tinny sounding compared to the board feed. I just need some more
> robustness and strength to make the difference not so noticable.

I think I'm agreeing with Koz here -- it sounds like a lost cause. You're looking for "robustness and strength" where none exists, a shoot that was not put together properly on the audio front, crappy equipment and unprofessional performers and technicians who aren't giving you the tools to get what you need. When you try to use EQ to put a bottom end onto a track that's "tinny and hollow", what you get is mud and noise. There's a draconian term for that -- it's called "fix it in post", and it never works.

If the trumpet player complains you can't hear him on the track, just tell him that's the price you pay for not using his mike.

Who the hell was the sound mixer? Why isn't the sound-board feed usable on its own?

OK well then it sounds like I'm just going to make do with what i got. I guess i was just hoping for that magic filter that makes audio sound great. Maybe in the next version...

We picked up the job maybe 3 days before the shoot and they assured us sound and lighting were taking care of since its a semi-large theater. We talked to theater manager afterwards and he said they only used a couple solo mics because a choir sang between the band's sets and they didn't want to move all the mics. Guess they will have to live with that quality now, unless they want to pay more and i can get a fellow like Koz involved but they've been nickel and diming me the entire time so im not holding my breath

So, do you have an uninterrupted line feed from the board? Can't you just use this under the whole project?

<<<If the trumpet player complains>>>

Good Night. These people are always tooting their own horns.

<<<So, do you have an uninterrupted line feed from the board?>>>

I [raising bloody hand] have run into this. They didn't mic the trumpet player because they didn't need to. Any instument that can wake people up over an entire army base patently doesn't need micing...unless, of course, you're trying to record it....

Two different jobs performed by two different groups of people with two different goals in mind.

Also, tangential to the problem, have you ever *tried* to mic a trumpet? Microphone survival in a 124 dBSPL sound field is not good. It's like trying to mic a small, personal thermonuclear device.

<<<unless they want to pay more and i can get a fellow like Koz>>>

We need to remember I'm an engineer, not an operator. I put the tools in and repair them when they break. Every time I think I can actualy use them, a 12-year old comes in with a project and mops the floor with me.

I'll see if I can get you that 12-year old.

Koz