Recording a Multi-day Event

I was asked to suggest equipment for recording a 5-day seminar.  It is estimated that about 30 hours of recording will be done in total.  This will be a pretty standard corporate knowledge sharing event - few speakers talking to a small audience while using their laptops to share slides.  I suspect there will be live coding examples, so the resolution of this part will have to be reasonably high.  Working on a whiteboard will be an option, so the camera will have to be manned.

Audio

I rely on Sennheiser G3 for recording the speaker.  Batteries (2xAA) can be swapped during the breaks for continuous recording.

For ambient audio and as a fall-back I use Sony PCM-M10 recorder. Batteries (2xAA) can be swapped during the breaks for continuous recording.  The recorder has space for more than 10 hours of recording, so the daily backup is desired.  I record in PCM16/48kHz.  The built-in 4GB flash is sufficient for 5h 45min of recording so daily backup is required.

Desktop/Slides Recording

My tried and true solution is a hardware recorder with HDMI pass-through.  External power brick is used, so no batteries to worry about.

AverMedia C285 is probably obsolete by now but it certainly does the job - it supports resolution up to 1920x1080 at 30fps.

The recorded stream is stored on the internal 2.5" SATA drive - I have a set of three such 128GB SSDs.  Each can store more than 13 hours of 1080p 30fps video/audio stream in MP4 container.

Speaker/Audience Recording

Use GH5 with 12-35 2.8 zoom lens to record speaker and audience.  4K recording recommended so that a no loss zoom-in on the speaker face can be done in post.  A single battery will comfortably power the camera for about 2 hours.  I have 4 batteries, so daily recharge of those will be required.  Camera has 2 SD card slots. Usually I record 4K 30fps in MOV container at 100 Mbps rate. Two 128GB cards should suffice for 6 hours or live video recording.  Daily backup will be required though.

Post Processing

During post processing the following tasks are performed:

• clips are synchronized;
• dynamic compression for audio is performed;
• video exposure/color adjusted ;
• content is edited to maintain tempo into clips of reasonable length - less than 45min;
• content is rendered to desired resolution (720p?  1080p?) and bitrate - YouTube guidelines recommended;
• Opening/closing credits are added.  Adding corporate branding is an option as well.

Storage Requirements Summary

For a week-long events the following storage is required:

Recorder	Built-in Storage	Storage for a week-long (30hours) event
Audio	4GB, 5 hours	20GB
Screen	120GB, 13 hours	300GB
Video	2x128GB flash, 6 hours	256GB*5 - about 1.4TB

Seems to be totally manageable.  If full time video can be avoided, those become totally trivial.

Multi-Camera Live Switching

Cheesycam has a good overview of a live streaming setup based around BlackMagic Design 4K ATEM.  Nice step up from the minimalist setup I described earlier.
Check it out!

Modded iRig Pre + RØDE NTG1 vs Takstar SGC-598

Today I received and modified iRig Pre ($28) and decided to test it together with RØDE NTG1 ($200) against Takstar SGC-598 ($30).  Now, this is not entirely fair comparison if only because the latter should be always camera-mounted while the former can be mounted on a boom.

Nevertheless, give it a listen...

Both mics were sitting about 2 feet from my mouth.  Recording was done into Panasonic Lumix G7 with audio sensitivity at its lowest: -12dB.  In post I normalized audio and reduced audio channel level by 6dB.  No compression or equalization was added.  During normalization a gain of 9.2dB was applied to a clip with iRig Pre and a gain of 11.8dB was applied to a clip with Takstar.  But the result is a wash in my opinion.  Charming!  And yes, this is not a fair comparison.  But still....

Wired vs Wireless Lav. Which Gives the Best Sound Quality and is Least Likely to Fail?

Client just asked this question.  And now I am thinking.  Where do I even begin...

I will start with a wired option.  No doubt it will give you the best bang for your budget buck.  I have and highly recommend Sony PCM-M10 recorder and use it with JK® MIC-J 044 lavalier.  For under $250 you can have an audio recording which may pass for a professional.

Pros:

• Budget friendly: Relatively affordable, much cheaper than wireless solution.
• Simplicity: you need to set one recording level and press one record button.  That's it!
• Ease of maintenance: ensure that just one set of batteries is fully charged.  Sony recorder is using 2xAA batteries and have a terrific running time.  I stick with Eneloop rechargeables since my photography days.  I have so many spares with me at all times I can switch those in under 10sec.  Practice makes perfect.

Cons:

• No realtime feedback.  Is that recording still on?  Is level ok?  You have no idea what's going on until too late.
• Usability: The recorders are not designed to be used while being carried in a pocket.  User can accidentally shift the recording level or even stop the recording completely.  And you will never know until too late.  To somewhat mitigate this, I used cell phone pouch/belt clip.
• Need to synchronize audio. Not a big deal in my opinion.  I learned to do it manually by just looking at waveform.  Also I hear Pluraleyes is really good.  Many NLEs have this capability built-in.  Not Sony Vegas though.

For wireless lavalier setup I use Sennheiser G3.  Check out this Wireless Mic Shootout and this Teardown.  That sealed it for me.

Pros:

• Built like a tank.  Works always.  
• No interference with RF/cellular.  Outstanding range.
• Good quality audio

Cons:

• Professional equipment comes with a high price tag.  
• Usability: You need to set the level of amplification in transceiver, then receiver, then recording equipment.  Workaround: do it once, do not change the components, retain settings.
• Usability: switching a channel is not intuitive.
• Usability: You need to keep an eye on two sets of 2xAA batteries.

Summary: Lack of the real time status for wired into the recorder solution kills it for me.  When on a budget it might be ok.  For payed jobs though a radio lav is a must-have.  It is expensive though.  Plus you need to know your equipment and its settings. And be able to change those if need be.

On-camera Shotgun Mics - AudioTechnica AT8024 vs Takstar SGC-598

What's in My Video Event Bag

Here is an abbreviated summary of my video bag contents:

• I carry my cameras in Pro Photo Studio Padded Bag.  I spray painted over the labels - like to keep it low key. 
  External dimensions: 30" x 10" x 13" (76cm long x 26cm wide  32cm deep).
  Internal dimensions: 70cm long x 23cm wide x 29cm deep.
• Takstar SGC 598 is very much adequate.  Do not expect high quality audio because of the poor (on-camera) microphone placement.
• Sennheiser G3 lavalier microphone.  Expensive but must have!
• Sennheiser HD 280 PRO Headphones.  Very nice!
• Audio-Technica ATR-3350.  Cheap adequate wired lavalier mics
• JK® MIC-J 044.  Marginally better wired lavalier mic.
• Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH4KBODY. Love it!
• Fhugen Honu GH4 Cage. Love it!
• Fotasy FF4B Pro Follow Focus V4.  It works and is priced moderately.
• Panasonic DMC-G7KK.  Color profile compatible with GH4!  But lacks weatherproofing, recording duration limited to 30min.
• PhotoVision 14 Inch Pocket One Shot Digital Calibration Target. Must have!
• X-Rite MSCCPP ColorChecker Passport
• Sony PCM-M10 Recorder. Love it! 
• Tiffen 58mm Variable ND Filter
• Canon Mini Hot to Universal Shoe Adapter
• Case for Small Accessories
• Memory Card Case

Panasonic GH4 and G7 Video Settings

Here are newly-found must-reads for any GH4 shooter:

The three most misunderstood GH4 settings – PART 1: Luminance Levels
The three most misunderstood GH4 settings – PART 2: Master Pedestal
The three most misunderstood GH4 settings – PART 3: Highlight & Shadow
Why Cine-D Sucks

This, especially master pedestal finding, contradicts Andrew Reid, but it does make sense.  Thus here are my new settings for both GH4 and G7:

Profile: Natural
Contrast: -5
Sharpness: 0
Noise Reduction: -5
Saturation: -5

Shadow: +1
Highlight: -1
Master Pedestal: 0

I like it!

Closing Bescor MP-101 Head

This is a follow up to the post where I opened up the Bescor PT head with intent of modifying it for operation with an external DIY controller.  And here is the development of this effort in pictures!
I used the components:  RJ45 breakout board and double-sided prototype PCB to replace the board electronics.  In short, I just connected PAN and TILT motors (see the referenced post on how to identify those) to RJ45 pins 4/5 and 3/6.  With a little encouragement from Mr.Dremmel the RJ45 connector is now protruding through the faceplate.

GoPro Hero4 Black as an Event Camera

My latest toy tool is GoPro Hero4 Black.  I plan to use it for capturing ambiance and the event audience.  Unfortunately out of the box the camera is not particularly suitable for this task.  Main culprit is a short battery life.  I need at least 2 hours of uninterruptible operation.  I think by now I have a package which should deliver on my requirements:

• Regular battery - no changes.
• Border frame housing.  Better yet the one with a hood!
• Tripod mount.
• Power supply cable.  This pretty much precludes use of waterproof housing.  Even some open frame housings may require modification.  Here is why you would want to pay $20 for this cable instead of using the miniUSB charge cable you already have..... When fully charged the camera will stop drawing power from the power supply.  If an external battery is used (like I do) this will force the external battery to electronically disconnect.  Hence charge cable is not good enough.
• 4x Sanyo 3.7V 2600MAH UR18650ZY 18650 rechargeable batteries.
• 18650 Battery Case with charger circuitry. 
• 64GB Micro SDXC card.  UHS-1.  I will try this one. 

With the above setup I expect to be able to perform 2 hours uninterrupted video recording!
Not to forget!  This gadget proved to be a must-have while troubleshooting the setup. It just shows USB power voltage and current.  And, finally, do not forget to set your camera with a Protune flat color profile. I use it in 4K 24fps mode.

PS: To remove barrel distortion so prominent in 4K I successfully used Sony Vegas deform filter.  Does the job!

Opening up Bescor MP-101 Head

MP-101 Pan/Tilt Head patent makes for an interesting read.  Schematics in the patent depicts two H-bridges built from bipolar transistors.  And RF500T motors!  Are these Mabuchi RF-500TB?  Looks about right.  I now seriously think about opening the head and see whether I can discard all the electronics except the motors and have them wired to an existing DIN7 connector.  So that I could drive them both using a single TB6612FNG driver controlled by Arduino.  Hope to get more predictable results - love simplicity.

So, here is a perfectly working MP-101 head which I am about to disembowel...

After removing 6 screws you gain access to the electronics compartment.

The very first thing I noticed are those two ICs which look like LB1930 motor drivers.  This is fantastic because I now know which wires lead to the motors. It appears that yellow/orange wires lead to tilt motor and green/blue to pan motor.  Should I power the head up and see what voltage is used?  Never bothered to do that!

Here is a closer view with motor wires already unsoldered.


Few more screws and the PCB is released. I can see ST LM317T voltage regulator.

And the rest is just discreet elements.  Now, should I do something about those 45°, 90° and 340° end-switches?  Well, I tried.  But failed.

First note that there are no wires leading to +60 and +30 contacts.  Here are my notes on endswitch wire colors (note that in the photo colors are shifted because of the blue microscope light):
+60 - n/a
+90 - bluish-white
+30 - n/a
+0  - yellow
-0  - orange
-30 - green
-60 - brown ?
-90 - red

All these are neatly routed through a white tube:

Not only the +60 and +30 wires are missing, but I failed to discover how endswitches work.  It does look like my Bescor head was tampered - note other contacts missing - there are soldered points with no wires coming.  Despite being frustrated with time lost I do not mind it too much - I have now dirrect access to pan/tilt motors.  And after selling the remote with cable for $20 my cost is just $50 - I do not think I could remotely approach it with a DIY solution.

So my plan of action is to expose motors contacts via an RJ45 jack and to use regular CAT3 cable to connect the head to the controller!  Piece of cake!

Automated Video Slider with Pan/Tilt Head - Hardware Design

In my approach to hardware design I will rely on the affordable off-the-shelf components.  Some of those components (slider or head) I already own.
Disclaimer 1: I am neither electrical nor mechanical engineer and I learn as I go.  And I love it!  I make mistakes and some of my statements could be wrong.  Feel free to correct me!
Disclaimer 2: This is a work in progress.  I think it should work.  But it might be proven to be otherwise.

Pan/Tilt Head

Instead of building a pant/tilt head from scratch (which is totally an option, given that I do not need tilt that much! well, maybe later), I will use Bescor MP-101.  It is almost affordable (I've got a used one for $80), adequately silent, and can be controlled externally, using Arduino's PWM outputs.  The head can be powered by 4xAA batteries, but external power connector is also available.  I intend to use the latter.
Parts:

• Connect head to the controller using 7-pin DIN cable.
• Power connector?? 5.5mm x 2.1mm?

Here are few sources related to use of this PT-head as a platform for application development:

• Chocolate Factory Pan Tilt USB Hack
• Bescor MP-101 Hack
• Bescor MP-101 Wireless Bluetooth Controller
• CamRanger PT Hub
• StackShot and CamRanger
• USB Pan Tilt Controller with Sony LANC (S-Link) interface

Slider

I already own a cheapo slider from Craigslist, which looks something like this.  EDIT: Found it!  This is Glide Gear DEV 1000.  For now this should do it.  I intend to motorize it.  I suspect a (cheap) stepper motor will be too jerky and/or loud which is not good for video shooting.  Therefore I decided to go with a DC motor. This also means that the position of the carriage will be unknown and its movement speed will be hard(er) to control.
Parts:

• 12V DC gearmotor 12RPM. Shaft 4mm
• Motor mount - to be designed.
• GT2 timing belt (6mm wide) with pulleys (20-tooth, 5mm bore).
• 15-tooth, 5mm bore pulley for GT2 timing belt
• TB6612FNG motor driver, datasheet, sample.
• 2x Endstop Switch.

Controller With Display and Keyboard

Parts:

• Arduino Mega2560 R3.  I decided to go with Mega as opposed to Uno because price difference is negligible and I do not mind extra size.  Room for growth is always nice!  However if all you want is to control the Bescor head alone, Arduino Uno should suffice.
• Proto Shield.  I plan to use this space for slider motor driver.  Maybe other parts.
• I strongly believe in the need for appliances to have GUI. This seem like a no-brainier:  Keypad LCD 1602 shield.  I wish the keys were arranged better and the reset button was less prominent.  Alternatively maybe 20x4 LCD display paired with Nunchuck with WiiChuck adapter would be a better option?  For now I will stick with the 16x2 LCD/keypad shield and will just rip the reset button and the power LED - it is way too distracting for my comfort.
• Connect to WiFi via ESP8266.  For now let's just leave it at that.

Power

I need 12V to drive slider motor - adjust the voltage to make sure sliding is slow enough.  6V to drive the Bescor PT head - adjust the voltage to make sure the panning is slow enough.  7V to drive Arduino and 3.3V to drive WiFi board.  I think 12V, 5A DC should be more than adequate and 5.5mm x 2.5mm power connector will do the job.  This remains to be proven though.
Parts:

• 12V 5A AC power supply connected to controller via
• 5.5mm X 2.5mm DC power supply socket.
• For powering the PT head or even Arduino I might use this DC-DC step-down module.
• Battery power.  I can go with a cheap 12V battery pack.  Alternatively Sony NP-Fxxx compatible batteries are readily available and, most importantly, I already own a few to power LED lights.  In this case I will also need a plate and DC-DC voltage booster.

That's it folks!

Automated Video Slider with Pan/Tilt Head - Requirements

Being a one-man shop I often wish I had an extra pair of hands to control the second camera.  Usually I set such a camera with a wide-angle lens trained at the event audience.  To add life into the footage some panning and sliding are highly desirable.  I am thinking most of the time this task can be fully automated!
Let's call this automated slider with pan/tilt (possibly zoom) head a camera control system.  Or the system for short.

High Level Requirements

• Once setup, the system should be capable of operating fully autonomously, with no operator involvement for at least 2 hours.
• Operator will be able to program the system. The program/script will reside in a separate file which can loaded/saved or created on the fly.
• The script will contain instructions like these:
• Rest 5 secs
• Pan left 20°
• Rest 15 secs
• Slowly pan left and slide left for 5 secs
• Camera control script requirements will be spelled out separately. Including:
• Operations supported include pan/tilt/slide/zoom/rest.  
• It should be possible to run operations in parallel or in sequence or in a loop.
• Operation arguments will be in time units or angle or distance units.  
• Operation with no argument may have qualifier, e.g. fast or slowly.
• Exceptions such as a slider reaching a limit or boundary should be supported.
• System should be scalable in terms of its capabilities.  E.g. it should be possible to use automated slider without automated Pan/Tilt/Zoom head.  And it should be possible to use the automated PTZ head without the slider.  Similarly the script created for a long slider should be usable on a smaller slider.
• System should tolerate power interrupts.  Ideally, once the power is restored, system should continue execution of the script where it was interrupted.
• Power supply should be modular, so that both battery and AC power are supported.

Constraints

• System power supply should be modular, so that both battery and AC power are supported.
• System will be built from the readily available of-the-shelf components.  Integration level of such components should be as high as possible.

YouTube Live Streaming Proposal - Minimalistic Scenario

Here is a proposal on how a non-profit can start putting their events on YouTube with no recurring costs.  I start with a simple talking slide show, which can be rolled out by a single volunteer producer.  When and if the production team grows, production values can be improved upon dramatically.  Consult this post for introduction and terminology.

TheaterYou production of Pamela

Fantastic performance!  Huge challenge from technical perspective - light color and amount change constantly and unpredictably.  I was lucky enough to work with a director who cares a lot about video production of his play - Val Konovich was directly involved in multi-track edit of the entire recording.  Theater crew was extremely helpful and patient with me, for which I am deeply grateful.  Overall I think this was the best performance I have seen in this theater.

What worked:

• I set in advance white balance and exposure using a calibration target.
• Central camera (GH4) was attached to a column using superclamp and was shooting in 4K which allowed for a clean zoom-in in post.
• I tested new workflow.  Instead of MainConcept MP4 codec I used x264 via DNxHD.  These instructions helped. Almost forgot to correct levels.  x264 seems to be superior for low bitrates (under 10MBps).  I looked into YouTube recommendations and decided on a 2-pass encoding.
• Sony PCM-M10 did the job.  I considered use of Tascam 60DmarkII but found no extra microphones.

What did not work

• GH4 ran out of juice!  This was somewhat unexpected because GH3 runs on a single battery for hours.  I should have turned of LCD, but the camera was positioned so that I could not see the controls.  Note to self: change GH4 battery during the intermission!
• I was shooting GH3 on a tripod set at the top of the bleachers.  Those proved to be noticeably shaky.
• Color matching cameras is still a challenge for me.  Vegas Color Match plugin helps but I am still looking for a better way to accomplish this.  Surely with color-checker and I could expect some magic, the way Davinci does things.  Not Sony Vegas though.
• Canon HF G10 was left unattended.  It was hard for me to guess the direction and as a result majority of the footage was of little use.  Extra operator would help!

Getting Ready for Screen Capture

I plan to record a couple of tutorials.  So here is the setup that I think will work:

• Capture screen and audio using BB FlashBack Express.  The free version can export into flash FLV or AVI file.  The former can not be imported into Sony Vegas.  For the latter to work you need a good codec...
• This is where Huffyuv loss-less codec comes in.  Installation instructions work on Windows 8.
  EDIT: It appears AVI file with this codec can not be imported into Sony Vegas.  No idea why.  Instead I used Blackmagic 8 bit MJPEG codec - worked well. 
• As to audio - I plan to reuse the hardware I already own: Rode NTG-1 (about 1 foot from my mouth pointed at my chest) plugged into Tascam DR-60DmkII (Gain: MID, knob at 2 o'clock). Line out of the latter plugged into line in of the PC.

Today I tested the setup and I think I am ready!  Can't wait to start recording!

PANLIGHT Promis

What a great idea!  Can't wait to see it in action!

More Audio Recording Options

Today I will be looking again into my audio recording options.  Since I looked into it last time I've got some new equipment.  So here are the options:

1. Panasonic GH3 with Audio Technica ATR-3350 lavalier microphone.
2. Sony ICD-AX412 Stereo Digital Voice Recorder with Audio Technica ATR-3350 Lavalier microphone
3. Sony PCM-M10 recorder with built-in microphones
4. TASCAM DR-100mkII with built-in Uni Microphones
5. PC with Behringer Xenyx 1204USB mixer  with Rode NTG1 Condenser Shotgun Microphone

GH3 Audio Recording Levels for Internal and External Mics

.
I used a source of pink noise (my iPhone with Ambiance app)  positioned within 2 feet from GH3 to normalize the recording levels for all the options.  Here are the settings leading to the same perceived recording levels:

Microphone Option	GH3 mic level
GH3 built-in	6
Takstar SG-598, +0dB	6
Takstar SG-598, +10dB	1

TIP: Apple Duckhead Power Adapter

Just a quick tip video.

Audio Recording Options

Here I evaluate my options for audio recording with my Canon Vixia HF G10 camcorder:

• built-in microphone
• Canon HF G10 with TAKSTAR SGC-598 microphone
• Sony PCM-M10 with
• its own built-in microphone
• Audio-Technica ATR-3350 lavalier microphone