I have an upcoming project that will require several interviews. I have a Canon XL1S and a Sennheiser lapel mike for sound. When plugged into the MA100 adaptor, the sound records on only 1 channel.
Does anyone have any suggestions for pre- and/or post production? Do I duplicate the track so that I have both L and R channels in the finished product? Do I absolutely need to have a second mic on the other channel for quality sound? If I do this latter option, do I mix both channels?
In short, looking for specific advise for recording quality audio.
Um... is your lapel mic stereo? I suspect not. That is why it is only coming through on one channel.
Anyway, it probably isn't necessary to record stereo for the purposes of an interview. You can record it one one channel, then spread it across two in your sound mix.
Ben C.
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Benjamin Craig
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Thanks, Ben.
No, the lapel mic is not a stero mic.
So, in post, I'll just duplicate the single channel onto the 2nd audio track, and it'll sound just fine? There won't be a weird, "two talking heads" kind of sound going on? Is there some audio filter this is typically run through in such situations, or is it as simple as duplicating the track?
Thanks again.
- Jay -
Some calcification and some advice.
Regardless if the mic is stereo or mono the MA100 records from each of it's two XLR inputs to a separate channel. Left input to left channel, right input to right channel. This is advantageous as it allows you to discriminate between two audio sources. Additionally, mono recording is best for interview/voice recording. In post you can simply duplicate the audio from one channel to another as you mentioned.
As long as you maintain sync (both channels start and end at the same spot) you will not have any "talking head" problems and the result will be clear crisp audio.
I have not used the MA100 but I do use a MA200 with allows for 4 inputs on 2 or 4 channels. Most often I use all 4 channels (1 for each of two speakers, 1 plant mic, 1 shotgun mic). I find that it gives me the most options for good audio in post. I can also use one channel as an ambient or background recording. In post I use this to cancel out any erroneous noise and sharpen the desired sounds. (Subtract ambient sound from desired sound to get really clean flat desired sound)
Hope this helps.
