Recording interviews

[Hades]

Greetings Folks,

I am a history student looking to conduct interviews of veterans for a research project, which may evolve into publication and a video documentary (think Ken Burns' "The War" or "Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose; both are books and movies). With that in mind, I need a portable pre-production rig to capture professional level audio and video recordings.

With respect to the audio part, I will have control over the location of the interviews for the most part (ie: in a quiet location, not at the local Denny's on a Sunday after church is over), so background noise wont be too big of a concern, save the possible dump truck or whatever passing outside the vet's home.

I do have to take into account multiple individuals being present for the interview, such as may occur during a unit reunion or when the interviewee's spouse and kids are there to give their stories too. Thus, it may not be unusual to have 4 mics or more out, so I'm currently planning on 8 channels of input to be safe, with the option of daisy chaining in another pre or two in case expansion is necessary someday.

I have access to a relatively decent budget, though I can't go nuts of course; a guy still has to eat after all. At the moment, I'm looking at using a PreSonus DigiMax D8 mic pre into an Alesis HD24. I know an HD24 might seem like overkill, but I'm not aware of any 8-16 channel digital recorders. I'm aware that I could use a computer and an interface, but I'd just like to set the road case down, set out the mics and hit record, just as if it were a field recorder. Besides, I'm a musician anyway so I'm having studio fantasies. I may not be doing this interview and research thing forever, so this is dual-use gear for me. I'd just assume save the computer and Cubase for the home production rig.

Anyway, the issue I'm running into is monitoring what's getting recorded. To my knowledge, there's no way to hear what's going on in the HD24, so I need a way to do so. Since the D8 and HD24 will be in a road case for portability, the obvious answer seems to be an 8 channel rack mount mixer. My questions are this:

1) First of all, is a mixer the answer to begin with? If not, what is? But if so:

2) Which one? The ones I'm aware of are the Alesis MultiMix 12R and MultiMix 8 LINE, and the Behringer RX1602. I know Behringer gear may have its place and I don't want to rankle anyone, but the idea of putting it with a D8 and HD24 kinda gives me the willies, haha. Please advise on which or what others are an option. Fair warning though: some $1,000+ unit will be out of the question. All I want to do is hear what's coming down the pipe so I can adjust levels, nothing more. There will be no manipulation of the sound at this point. I just want clear, nice sounding recordings to work with later.

3) Where in the signal path do I stick it? I don't want to put a mixer between the pre and the HD24 because I don't want to color the sound. The HD24's analog outs to the ins of the mixer is the obvious answer, but I don't want the mixer to be the end of the chain either since I'll be plugging those same outs into an interface for a computer or an outboard mixer during the production phase. I'd like to not have to hassle with plugging and unplugging a bunch of 1/4" cables each time I take the rig out or bring it back. Maybe I'm dreaming here, but is there an elegant solution? Inserts and patch panel magic perhaps (school me; inserts are fuzzy math to me)? Or maybe I just solved the problem thinking about it just now...What if I sent the D8's ADAT out to the ADAT in on the HD24, then sent the D8's analog outputs to the mixer where they'd just terminate harmlessly there? Would that work?

And lastly:

4) Sanity check time...Is my proposed rig even viable? Is a PreSonus D8, Alesis HD24 and a mixer to monitor not a good quality field recorder? Any other suggestions if not?

With that out of the way, some last questions regarding cables and the microphones themselves (and I apologize for this not being in the mic forum; I just don't want to spam across the forum)...I'll probably make my own cables. Something decent like Mogami W2549 Neglex and Neutrik connectors for the XLR stuff (I'm open to other suggestions of course). But:

5) What cable and connectors are good for 1/4" TRS and not a bunch of money per foot?

Then:

6) What mics would be good for this purpose? I've been looking at the venerable SM58, the EV 635A and RE50. Or would perhaps a shotgun mic like the Rode NTG1 be better? Since I'll have to buy three or four of these to start out with, I'd really prefer to stay in the $100+/- per mic ballpark.

I'll cut it off here for now. Sorry for a long-ish thread, but I hope I have given enough information about what I'm doing to allow for good answers. I genuinely and humbly appreciate your assistance in this matter, so thank you all very much in advance.

 

[John Willett]

For basic interviews I think all you will need is an HHB FlashMic.

Do the interview with the FlashMic and then download to the computer by USB and edit there.

The BBC use loads of these.

Simple and easy to use - you have a choice of Omni or Cardioid mic. head (the BBC prefer omni) and there is also an option for a line-in socket as well for versatility.

For several mics, I would use the Edirol R-44.

This is a 4-channel location recorder - so you can record up to four microphones at once on four channels and can sort the mix out later.

Personally I don't like recording to a PC or Mac on location and always use a location recorder (8-channel Nagra VI in my case).

I hope this helps.

 

[Hades]

John, thanks for the reply.

Unless there's a reason it wont work that I'm not aware of, I still feel that I'm way ahead by going with a PreSonus DigiMax D8, an Alesis HD24 and a rack mixer of some sort. Right there I'm looking at a $2,000 investment which is capable of recording 8 channels of professional quality audio, with room to expand later, fairly inexpensively. I'm not saying your suggestions are bad or wrong--I do appreciate them after all--however to get the same overall capabilities, I'm looking at spending two or four times that, depending on if I got the Eridol R-44 or HHB FlashMics, respectively. And of course, I'll use this for music stuff later on, so I'll have the dual use thing going on too.

I don't need super extreme "in your pocket" portability since I'll be making the recordings in a controlled environment. I can set the rig on the floor or a table, and only have to carry it in from the car...Which wont be a big deal since it'll weigh half of what the bags of food I lug in from the store to feed my two furry four-legged poop machines, haha.

So anyway, summing up my questions from above:

1) Will a PreSonus DigiMax D8 + an Alesis HD24 + a rack mixer work as an great field recorder for my purposes?

2) What's an adequate 8 channel rackmount line mixer? Will something like the Alesis MultiMix 12R do the trick? I've considered the MultiMix 8 LINE and the Behringer RX1602, however the 12R has XLR inputs and a couple other things for not much more money, which may come in handy for some other purpose someday.

2) Can I monitor what's going to the Alesis HD24 by sending the ADAT out of the HD24 to the ADAT in of a mixer? Or vice versa, the analog outs of the HD24 to the analog ins of a mixer--either while still allowing me to send my tracks from the HD24 to a DAW without having to move a bunch of cables around (ie: HD24 analog outs -> mixer analog ins + HD24 ADAT out -> DAW ADAT in)?

3) What's good 1/4" cable and TRS connectors to make cables from?

4) What mics would be good for this purpose? I've been looking at the venerable SM58, the EV 635A and the RE50. Since I'll have to buy three or four of these to start out with, I'd really prefer to stay in the $100+/- per mic ballpark.

Thanks again, Folks!

 

[wheelema]

Though probably outside of your budget you might consider this:



$7K as configured out the door. Click on image for review.

 

[Jeff_D]

4) Sanity check time...Is my proposed rig even viable? Is a PreSonus D8, Alesis HD24 and a mixer to monitor not a good quality field recorder? Any other suggestions if not?

Sounds like what you're proposing would work... it just seems a bit heavy for a portable rig. The D8 and HD24 are fine- the HD24s been around forever. And if you go that route, sounds like you have it worked out as far as the config.

BUT, If I were setting this up today *(as a guy that doesn't do this sort of recording), I'd maybe look at a a Zoom R16. That'll get you 8 simultaneous ins and it operates as a stand alone recorded or an interface for a computer. **I'm a computer kinda a guy, so if I was looking for a field rig, I'd probably do that or even the D8's cousin the FireStudio into a laptop. If you're the person doing the interviews, it'll probably be difficult to audibly monitor anyway since you'll probably want to be focused on conducting the interview. With a computer setup, you can just watch the waveform/meters to make sure its not clipping or anything. Pair that with a few lapel mics and maybe a good condenser in the middle of everyone and go from there. So, thats just another option...

 

[moresound]

One could always use a Zoom r16 to record interviews.

 

[BEATS4U]

I would record in 24 bit and at 44kHz on a ZoomR16.

It has all you need to get the job done efficiently and nothing you dont need. Has its own individual meters yet also doubles as an interface.

Record the signals with a rumble filter otherwise flat. If you dick around too much in the recording phase you will have trouble matching the tones on the same voices in future recording sessions.

I would save money on something that is over engineered and invest it in some mics instead. You may find you work better with the SM58's you mentioned ( especially for their off axis rejection ) and some boundary and or shotgun mics.

 

[Hades]

Okay, I've had a change of heart regarding the Edirol R-44. I'm also considering the Tascam DR-680.

Assuming I go with one of those, what mics would be good for this purpose? The general consensus seems to be to put lavs on everyone, plus a boom mic or two. If that's the case, then what would be good?

I know good mics cost money, but let's say my budget is $100-$150 per mic. I do have to buy several of them to start with after all.

What about headphones for monitoring?

Thanks again everyone. I assure you, I'm appreciating your input.

 

[Hades]

Okay, I've had a change of heart regarding the Edirol R-44. I'm also considering the Tascam DR-680.

Assuming I go with one of those, what mics would be good for this purpose? The general consensus seems to be to put lavs on everyone, plus a boom mic or two. If that's the case, then what would be good?

I know good mics cost money, but let's say my budget is $100-$150 per mic. I do have to buy several of them to start with after all.

What about headphones for monitoring?

Thanks again everyone. I assure you, I'm appreciating your input.

Anyone please?

 

[Claus H]

Hi,

I have shot broadcast interviews for 20 years, so that's the background I answer from.

If there is something that requires human interaction, it is interviews. You talking/listening/eye contact, the whole thing. You cannot wear headphones and look at faders and make people feel you care about their stories at the same time. There is a reason I shoot, my soundman mixes and the journalist interviews when we do it.

If these were interviews in a studio environment, people would expect to be surrounded by gear, but if you want to get a more casual flow with folks opening up, table mics plus a boom dangling over them is not the way. 58s would be terrible in such an environment as they drop off very fast unless people are right on top of them.

You need lavaliers, period. Sony ECM-series mics are solid; get them used if need be. It doesn't have to be the very latest model to sound good. They are the standard for these situations for a reason.
If one rustles a bit, you reposition it. If you really want a boom, get an operator who is both quick and discrete, as in: someone who knows how to sneak it in without distracting the subject.

Keep in mind, you're only going to get so 'audiophile' in these situations. Clean, solid voices with a minimum of "room" is where it's at. Don't forget to record room tone for editing purposes.

The 8-track 680 with 6 mic inputs is enough for lavs plus a shotgun.

If you don't have anyone to assist you:
With the Tascam you can set levels conservatively, check each channel with a headset beforehand, put the cans down, and start doing the real work: the interviews.

If all else fails, 2 Zoom H4s with 2 lavs per unit will give you perfectly good sound (24-bit 44.1) with a very small footprint and weight.

Good luck with it.
Claus.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

I know good mics cost money, but let's say my budget is $100-$150 per mic. I do have to buy several of them to start with after all.

You don't necessarily have to buy anything. I don't know where you live, but if you are anywhere near a decent-sized metropolitan area, yuo can usually fine a local stage, theatrical and/or broadcast supply place that will rent out the mics you need pretty cheaply. And if you can't find them locally, there are one or two places on the Internet that will rent and ship them to you also, pretty easily found via search engine.

G.