Prosound News - April 2008 - (Page 52)

[52] tech@psn Surround to GoMic Holophone H4 SuperMINI Surround T by Bobby Owsinski en years into the “surround revolution,” we’re still only cracking the surface of both acceptance and innovation in television production. That being said, many of the former doubters regarding the use of surround as an audio production tool have now become far more open-minded, thanks to the Hi-Def revolution, and are willing to try anything that might give them the edge over the competition. That’s why Holophone’s newest model, the H4 SuperMINI, is so cool. It finally puts 5.1 surround audio into the hands of news, documentary and field production in a way that’s both easy and seamless to the production team on the ground. Overview The Holopohone H4 SuperMINI surround microphone is a miniature, cameramounted version of the much larger Holophone H3-Pro (the latest model). But it’s so much more than that, as it has been intelligently crafted with broadcast audio production in mind. Just for some background, the original Holophone surround mic is one of the very few dedicated and effective surround sound microphones, giving a 7.1 output (complete with center rear and height outputs) in a dedicated, portable and patented package. The H4 SuperMINI is a much smaller and portable version of the larger model and is a lot more than just a surround mic mounted on a camera. I’d call it a “surround production system,” for want of a better term. There are two major components to the the H4—the SuperMINI head, which is inthefield the primary capture system with five external microphone elements and a sixth internal Low Frequency Effects (LFE) element, and the Control Unit, which carries out all the processing and control during recording and has a camera mount on the bottom to attach to any common cameramounted boot (although you can handhold or stand-mount it, too). The entire package weighs in at less than a pound, which is necessary if you’ve ever had to handhold a camera for a long time during a shoot. The audio captured by the H4 can be output either as a Dolby Prologic II matrixencoded stereo analog output or in discrete, 6-channel analog outputs (Left, Right, Center, LFE, Left Rear, Right Rear). Both the stereo Prologic output and the discrete outputs are available on the side of the control unit on four, stereo mini-jacks. While this may be all well and good, what really sets the H4 apart from being just a camera-mounted surround mic are the well-thought-out production features. First of all, the unit has an XLR input for an external center channel microphone, which is perfect for an announcer lav or even a shotgun. This input is coupled with an in/out switch, LED indicator and a gain control, and also an innovative ZOOM control. The ZOOM control switch (located on the rear, and duplicated on the left side for operator ease) changes the gain coefficients so that the center channel’s gain is increased by 6 dB, the Left and Right channel 3 dB and the rear channels decreased by 3 dB, so that the center channel is emphasized. An LED indicator on the rear of the H4 signals that the ZOOM mode has been engaged. The H4 also has an overall mic gain control with a -12 dB pad and LED, a headphone output with level control, a 2-color LED level monitor for all six capture elements, and even 48V phantom power for the external center mic input. The unit can be powered by either an external 5-volt DC supply via a jack located on the side, or by four AA batteries located in a compartment on the bottom of the control unit. A Power On/Off switch with an LED is located on the rear of the control unit as well. In Use When I first heard about the Holophone H4 SuperMINI, I thought, “Great idea for ambience. But how will it help me in production that has on-camera talent?” But that was before I got a chance to actually use it and see how well thought out the unit really is in this application. The center mic input really works well in conjunction with a wireless (in this case) lav for the talent, with the level easily balanced with the surround ambience, thanks to the separate level control for this input. And the ZOOM control is a simple yet obvious innovation that is extremely useful either with talent or trying to match the audio of a close-up (during a B-roll shot, for instance). All in all, I thought it was a pretty cool addition during production, especially if you need the ambience of the environment for increased realism. While the high profile and the small extra weight of the H4 can be a little disconcerting at first, it’s a small price to pay for the extra return it provides. (continued on page 82) Product information H4 SuperMINI Surround Microphone: $2,495 Holophone www.holophone.com Sony PCM-D50 (continued from page 51) Once in Delhi, I brought the PCM-D50 outdoors to record natural sounds for future use. As a field recorder, the PCM-D50 shines. In the X-Y configuration, I found a wide sweep of birds singing in the trees overhead at the spacious grounds of Qutab Minar, a 239-foot sandstone tower, and even captured the flutter of wings in flight, moving across the stereo field. Recording at 16bit/44.1 kHz (it also records at 24-bit/96 kHz), the PCM-D50 is light years ahead of my previous, mostly futile attempts at field recording with cassette recorders better suited for voice recording and dictation. One of the most impressive and fulfilling uses of the PCM-D50 came in a sitar lesson I took from virtuoso Amitabh Chatterjee. In the small basement of the Biba music shop in Darya Ganj, New Delhi, proprietor Rockey Singh, another student and I sat for one hour as the PCM-D50, positioned approximately four inches off the floor and five feet in front of the instrument, captured Chatterjee’s beautiful playing and, unfortunately, my tragicomic attempts to tame the instrument. Listening to that 50-minute recording through the PCM-D50’s headphone jack while on a train to Rajasthan, I was amazed at the pristine sounds of Chatterjee’s performance, and made a mental note to edit myself out of this track before burning a CD. Later, I traveled to Dharamsala, in Himachal Pradesh, and recorded sounds including Tibetan monks chanting on the morning of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. Back in New York, I handed the PCMD50 to a friend to record a band’s performance at the intimate Rockwood Music Hall. Once again, the recorder performed beautifully, a nearly idiot-proof device that, by virtue of its small size and easy operation, practical- Product information PCM-D50 Portable Field Recorder: $599.95 Sony www.sony.com/professional ly begs to be used in most any situation. Transferring audio to a computer is very easy. Connecting the supplied mini-USB cable to a computer, an icon appears on the desktop as it would with other digital devices such as a camera or external hard drive. On my Mac PowerPC G4 laptop, I simply created a new folder and dragged “Folder 1,” in which approximately 25 recordings were stored, from the PCM-D50 icon to the folder I’d created. Clicking on any of the WAV files launched the iTunes application, which then played the selection. Though I intend to ultimately convert and open the WAV files in Pro Tools to edit and incorporate into multitrack sessions, Sony’s Sound Forge Audio Studio LE software is bundled with the PCM-D50. The PCM-D50 is exactly what a portable recorder should be: rugged and easy to operate. Put to use on two continents and in various applications, it demonstrated a usefulness and reliability that any recordist will appreciate. prosoundnews.com April 2008 http://www.holophone.com http://www.sony.com/professional http://prosoundnews.com

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Prosound News - April 2008 Sound Business Contents Sound Retail Mojo’s Working at NY Noise Studio Showcase: Jungle Room Studios Software Tech Tracks Sessions Nomad Takes Root TCB at NYC’s JSM SoundScreen White Space Turning Gray Audio for Video and Broadcast Field Reports:Sony PCM-D50 Linear PCM Recorder; Holophone H4 SuperMINI Surround Microphone Sound Innovations: Earthworks Audio PianoMic System Frozen Liquid Live Sound Showcase: Jill Scott Centerstage Soundcheck Sound People View From the Top Product Spotlight Advertiser Index Company Index Classifieds Music, Etc.

Prosound News - April 2008

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