Blackmagic Forum

As a video guy and not a film guy, I find the BMCC to offer gorgeous colors in our studio. The green screen has been a little bit of a challenge, but EVERYTHING else is great...

We are trying to get used to the different settings for our florescent lights and started actual production tests for videos and noticed that the audio has a hiss, a bad hiss.

We are using our standard Azden SGM 2X shotguns, http://www.amazon.com/AZDEN-SGM-2X-Professional-Shotgun-Microphone/dp/B000CMU0S8, with standard XLR to 1/4" cables...

I've tried an audio board, with built in preamp, an audio board with no preamp, an external preamp only and have the same result. A hiss...

Does anyone have any suggestions for best practices for recording audio in the BMCC?

Thanks!
Ted

Hi Ted: The BMCC's audio performance has been discussed here previously. BMCC audio currently isn't the best (hopefully will be improved someday via a firmware update), but in the meantime can be fairly good depending on what mics are used and how they are connected.

For example, I've gotten good results using my old SD MixPre & Sennheiser ME64 mic, and others have gotten good results using JuicedLink Riggy preamps with various mics.

There's related information in threads such as these:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6747
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7207
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7124

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tedmoore wrote:As a video guy and not a film guy, I find the BMCC to offer gorgeous colors in our studio. The green screen has been a little bit of a challenge, but EVERYTHING else is great...

We are trying to get used to the different settings for our florescent lights and started actual production tests for videos and noticed that the audio has a hiss, a bad hiss.

We are using our standard Azden SGM 2X shotguns, http://www.amazon.com/AZDEN-SGM-2X-Professional-Shotgun-Microphone/dp/B000CMU0S8, with standard XLR to 1/4" cables...

I've tried an audio board, with built in preamp, an audio board with no preamp, an external preamp only and have the same result. A hiss...

Does anyone have any suggestions for best practices for recording audio in the BMCC?

Thanks!
Ted

Can you give a little bit more info on the green screen issues?

Milen Mladenov wrote:Can you give a little bit more info on the green screen issues?

Milen: We've had to get used to not being able to Auto White Balance on the camera instead of using the same temperature lights in the correct positions... As opposed to our Panasonic P2 point, WB, record.

The green comes out to cool at 800ASA, 90*, at 5000K - too orange at 800ASA, 90*, 5500K and most importantly, the color of the individual is much more "Oompah Loompah" at 5500k...

For our light setup we use 3 front 55w Dulux L CFL, one 110W double front, 2 55w Dulux L CFL for back lighting and a bunch of 300w regular bulbs for the green screen lights...

We had set up our lowell kit and added pure tungsten bulbs with umbrellas. We ended up putting on blue gels to mellow out the orange in the lights, worked a little, but not as we'd hoped...

I'm not sure if we're mixing the wrong color temperature light bulbs with the wrong settings...

Any insight anyone has would be great!

Peter J. DeCrescenzo wrote:I've gotten good results using my old SD MixPre & Sennheiser ME64 mic, and others have gotten good results using JuicedLink Riggy preamps with various mics.

Peter: I've read through most of the audio forum posts yesterday and today, however, I've read nothing about a hissing coming from anyone. The chances all of our cables, both mixers AND the fresh batteries are dead at the same time is pretty slim.

I've looked at the JuicedLink boxes and they look perfect for our needs.

Thanks for your help, we truly appreciate it!

Ted

tedmoore wrote:

Milen Mladenov wrote:Can you give a little bit more info on the green screen issues?

Milen: We've had to get used to not being able to Auto White Balance on the camera instead of using the same temperature lights in the correct positions... As opposed to our Panasonic P2 point, WB, record.

The green comes out to cool at 800ASA, 90*, at 5000K - too orange at 800ASA, 90*, 5500K and most importantly, the color of the individual is much more "Oompah Loompah" at 5500k...

For our light setup we use 3 front 55w Dulux L CFL, one 110W double front, 2 55w Dulux L CFL for back lighting and a bunch of 300w regular bulbs for the green screen lights...

We had set up our lowell kit and added pure tungsten bulbs with umbrellas. We ended up putting on blue gels to mellow out the orange in the lights, worked a little, but not as we'd hoped...

I'm not sure if we're mixing the wrong color temperature light bulbs with the wrong settings...

Any insight anyone has would be great!

I take it you're shooting ProRes?

If you can shoot raw, just start your clip with a gray card and bring your footage into Resolve, click white balance, done. As long as the lighting on your backdrop is the same temp as the light on your talent, should be dead simple.

If you're using different lighting...then yeah, you'll have to gel one of them to match the other.

The Dulux bulbs you speak of come in daylight balanced 5400K Are those the lights you're using? 100K shouldn't be enough to throw your matte off...

sean