Rode Releases New VideoMic Pro for DSLR’s

The Rode VideoMic is the workhorse of the video DSLR world. I have used the VideoMic on several shoots and feel that it’s a really good product for the price but I have found myself wishing it wasn’t quite so large. I’ve also seen the rubber bands shock mounts fail and fall apart. The Rode VideoMic Pro solves the size issue as well as adding some improvements along the way:

The RØDE VideoMic Pro raises the bar set by the original RØDE VideoMic, by combining broadcast quality audio with an ultra compact and lightweight ergonomic design. … Continue Reading

iPhone Audio Recorder as Zoom Alternative

You may not realize this but a lot of you are walking around with a high quality solid state recorder in your pocket (insert your own obligatory happy to see me joke here). The iPhone is capable of capturing 44.1 kHz audio and when you add an external microphone and the $9.99 field recording app FiRe from Audiofile Engineering, you have a very capable dual audio system. … Continue Reading

Que Audio ENG Kit Makes North American Debut at PhotoCine Expo

Hosa Technology will be showing Que Audio ENG kits for the first time on North American shores in their booth at PhotoCine Expo.


The incredible new all-in-one Que Audio ENG Pack offered by Hosa Technology comes directly from Australia from the media-minded development team Da-Cappo. The Que Audio ENG Pack is a huge value on a small-scale, including everything you need to capture pristine sound for video production: a micro shotgun microphone, pop filter, shock mount, telescoping boom, and even a headset for field monitoring. The package also contains all necessary cabling (including the adaptor needed to directly feed video cameras) and comes in a convenient carrying case, making the Que Audio ENG Pack perfect for academic institutions and anyone who needs an ultra-portable, compact recording rig.

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XLR vrs 3.5mm Mini Jack for HDSLR Audio

My friend Bill Smith from the LA Film School has decades of experience as an audio recording engineer with street cred from his humble beginnings in an 80′s hair band. I recently asked him about the difference in using microphones with 3.5mm mini jacks instead of XLR cables. I realize that if you already own XLR equipment, then you will want to use them for HDSLR audio but if you don’t, then wouldn’t you be better off using less expensive microphones designed to work with mini jacks on prosumer DV video cameras and by extension HDSLRs? This is keeping in mind that I’m not aspiring to be a sound recording engineer and that the majority of the work I’ll be shooting will be on modern HDSLR’s and the forthcoming large chip video cameras based on HDSLR systems. … Continue Reading

Beware the coming of the Daily Digital Beast

Colin Mulvany, multimedia producer at The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, writes a sobering and thought-provoking article outlining his vision of photojournalism in the age of the internet.

His view is simple: photojournalists can cling to their still cameras and remain “purists” – or they can embrace audio and video devices, adding them to what he calls their “storytelling toolboxes”. He’s pretty sure he knows which of the two strategies is going to be most successful in the coming years.

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Sound Advice from a Pro Audio Engineer

Shane Hurlbut ASC has a great article on his Hurlbut Visuals blog written by Gene Martin a professional sound mixer that he works with. His take is to avoid recording sound into the camera altogether.

Zoom recorder image from Hurlbut Visuals blog

Double system is the only true solution for the Canon 5D. Treat it like film. Just like the Red One camera, both can record sound, but any sound recorded on the camera should only be used for reference in post. It will add a little more time in post, but the result is well worth the time. The most important step in doing double system is a slate. Whether it be a actual slate, the clap sticks from a slate or even the clap of your hands you just need to ensure the clap is heard by both the onboard camera mic and whatever mic you may be using for your external audio recorder. In post if you look at the audio waveforms of the camera and your external audio recorder you’ll see a spike in the audio when you clapped your slate/hands. Once the two audio clips are lined up via the spike in audio you’re now synced.