very noob question about echo

P

Pokem0ng

New member
Hi guys, greetings from Europe.

This is the first time I'm involved into recording of anything at all..

the thing that bothers me (other than lightning, the quality etc) is the echo I'm getting.

I have a mic attached to my shirt and the echo is quite bad. The mic is attached to a DSRL cam.

What can I do/tweak to reduce or even remove the echo please?

the echo can be heard here in this short video https://1drv.ms/v/s!AswJMlS2F6hVhfRtR8nxNBVoRleuYg
 
Last edited:
oh yes I forgot to mention, what I'm recording is a presentation/speech and not music :)

the room is rather large, the ceiling is rather high, like 9-10 feet high, the room is also quite empty so it probably all plays some role right?

will post the link for you to see as soon as I have enough posts to be allowed to post links
 
What you need is a smaller room. Wel stuffed with book cases, a couch...

If you can't do that, you could look into room treatment. Just search the forum and you'll find lots of info.

You could also build a vocal booth. But that's even more work.
 
cyrano said:
What you need is a smaller room. Wel stuffed with book cases, a couch...

If you can't do that, you could look into room treatment. Just search the forum and you'll find lots of info.

You could also build a vocal booth. But that's even more work.
Click to expand...

thanks!

so what you are saying is that its not related to the mic itself right? its all about the room and not about the hard/software..
 
Lavalier mics are typically omnidirectional, so pick up sound from all directions. This is usually mitigated by the fact that they are often fastened as close as possible to the source, i.e., the wearer's mouth, so you can take advantage of the much stronger signal/noise ratio.

As suggested, try to find a better space, or do something to reduce echo in that room.

So, besides the room being nothing but hard surfaces, or it sounds like that, I'd first check that the DSLR is set to not do any enhancement of the audio, because by default they often compress the audio tremendously, which will remove a lot of that s/n advantage. (They don't want the camera operator complaining the camera didn't record their baby's quiet first words, so make sure everthing is captured.)

If your camera doesn't have any settings to change the way the microphone audio is recorded, consider using a digital recorder and sync the audio to the video afterwards.

Of course, a "shotgun" mic on a boom that is just out of frame would be another option because its pattern is [modified] cardioid, so will reduce a lot of the room noise, though not all if the room is particularly bad. (Some recorders are designed for use with DSLRs and can feed the signal in through the microphone jack, giving you a better audio recorded with the video.)

I've attached a little snip of the audio from something I recorded (when fooling around on a YT channel). It's fairly unedited with a quick compare of the audio from the camera mic vs. a RØDE shotgun mic recording at the same time. The room is actually reasonably good for this sort of thing, but the camera amplifies everything in the attempt to make sure nothing is missed.
View attachment cam-rsg.mp3
 
Pokem0ng said:
thanks!

so what you are saying is that its not related to the mic itself right? its all about the room and not about the hard/software..
Click to expand...

The cause is the large, empty room.

You could try another mic to see if it picks up less reflections. But it will still pick up some reflections.

What mic are you using now?
 
I can't download your links. It asking me for 'your' password for bthomaso@comcast.net

I suggest you change those links in your posts here... I would like to see and hear the recording in the room before giving any poignant advice.

I am assuming from those that have posted that you do have issue with the large room.

Jimmy
 
Pokem0ng said:
so what you are saying is that its not related to the mic itself right? its all about the room and not about the hard/software..
Click to expand...
This (minus some possible dynamic compression from the recorder) is what the room actually sounds like. Our ears don't notice it as much unless we're really paying attention to it. But once you're listening to that room in another room, or on headphones, there's no hiding it.
 
Another way to reduce the echo is to place something like carpeted office partitions each side of you off camera. A thick cloth backdrop of some kind behind you will also make a difference. You could also place some soft chairs, couch, etc in the room off camera. Is the room carpeted? If not stand on a large rug, again it's out of camera shot.

When you see sets in TV and film, there is often some Gobos (absorbing panels) off camera or even built into the set to reduce the echo problem.

Alan.
 
jimmys69 said:
I am curious to see the room.
Click to expand...

Using the latest in forensic techniques, I have painstakingly recreated the above-mentioned room to the finest detail based on available information:

Code: 
[font=courier new]
+-------------------------------+
|                               |
|                O              |
|               \|/              |
|                |                |
|               /\              |
|              |  |             |
|                               |
+-------------------------------+
[/font]

That should clear some things up.
 
Last edited:
tadpui said:
using the latest in forensic techniques, i have painstakingly recreated the above-mentioned room to the finest detail based on available information:

Code: 
[font=courier new]
+-------------------------------+
|                               |
|                o              |
|               \|/              |
|                |                |
|               /\              |
|              |  |             |
|                               |
+-------------------------------+
[/font]

that should clear some things up.
Click to expand...

lmao!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top