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[ Steve Oakley normally writes on Premiere Pro for the Digital Production BuZZ Tips and Tricks newsletter. Recently, however, I read an on-line posting he wrote on what it takes to record audio live. I was so impressed with his comments, I asked him to write them up so I could publish them. Here's the result. Larry ]

I've done all sorts of live music shows from clubs with 500-1000 people to 25,000 seat arenas MSG, Nassau coliseum, Lincoln Center, Las Vegas show rooms, and live outdoor events with thousands of people.  Somewhere along the line it’s going to happen to you, too. Someone will ask you to shoot their band playing live. Maybe it will be a freebie favor for a friend, maybe it will be a decently paid gig, or maybe it will be a big show at a major venue.

Let me give you some primary tips to getting the job done right.

Pick the right audio format

No matter how good the video, it has to sound good. So let's just jump right in.

No one is using DAT anymore. It’s a totally dead format for production audio work.  All small field recorders (Sound Devices 7xx series, Fostex, Deva’s, Edirol) use hard drives, DVD-R/Ram/RW, or one sort or another of memory card - SD, CF flash, etc. This is how sound is often recorded for smaller music productions, or larger feature film productions.

Another option is using a DV deck to record audio. You can get a 5 hours on a large shell tape, it records at 48K 16bit, and it has timecode. Put it into record at the start and just let it run. I’ve done this a few times when the only thing I could get was a board feed master mix. Some DV decks might need a video input which can be a simple black burst generator, or a locked-off wide camera shot.

Last is to use a USB or FW based audio interface into a laptop. This is a great solution if you own the gear, or budget lets you rent it. Some interfaces cost only about $150 or so for simple stereo input. The simplest way is just a 2-channel input, which takes the audio board feed. Moving up, there is a number of multi-input interfaces like the MOTU 896HD, which gives you eight line, or mic, level direct inputs. I use this unit and really like it. You can augment it with an additional interface via the optical inputs or simply chaining them on the FW bus.

Talk to the on-site sound company

The next thing is to talk to the sound company and get things straight with them. They will often tell you yes to whatever you ask for on the phone. However at the event you'll be lucky to get a clean board feed. If you are in a position to ask for things — you are putting the event on or directly working for the event promoter or band,  put in writing what you want, have them sign it as part of the rental agreement, bring a copy to the show, and be sure to be there early with your request.

Be firm because asking for split feeds is not what they are used to providing. 

Select your audio feeds

What do you want? Well, ideally you want to bring in a 16-32 track hard disc or laptop recorder and get splits from everything (splitter snake is the trade term) if budget permits. Barring that, you want to get these separate feeds

1. Announce mic: if it gets mixed into the main mix it's not the end of the world, but it is better to get it separated.

2. Lead vocalist if there is one. You want a single feed for any additional front vocalists, so there could be several feeds here

3. Band feed minus drums, and maybe bass and guitars if you can get all the splits.

4. Drums only: really drums, cymbals, and other percussion are each separate instruments, but getting a summed mix is ok.

5. Bass only — probably on your wish list

6. Guitar’s, horns, strings, etc. — this will be on your wish list as well

7. You put up your own ambient mics for crowd and mixing in some room. These can be recorded into any stationary camera. I like to hang them from the ceiling or catwalk, but if you must, use stands about 1/3 the depth of the hall back from the stage.

Why do you want all these feeds? Because you can make a better mix in post. The live sound mixer does what sounds best for the live mix, but that may not be best for video. This means vocals can be mixed at a level that works at normal listening levels.  How often have you heard mixes where the vocals where too low or high? Getting splits also offers options to add some reverb, compression, and EQ to vocals separately from the band.

If you can get band-only and vocals-only, you'll be in better shape than the full mix. If you are stuck with full mix, all is not lost, but you will be stuck with whatever comes out. It’s still possible to get OK sound this way. If it’s a freebie project it will be ok, if it’s a paid gig, it depends on what’s expected of the finished product.

Confirm your levels

Be sure about if you are getting MIC or LINE level from the mixer. Line level into mic level doesn't work, it will distort even if the meter says its ok. Many small audio boards claim they can take line level into their mic level inputs by trimming all the way down. This is true as long as the signal doesn't go over 0 dB analog, and we all know it will hotter than this and clip. If you are getting line level feeds get some 50 dB pads to cut the level down to mic level.

Be prepared with audio isolation transformers if you get a buzz from ground loops. These little plug-ins are real job savers when you get bitten by 60hz line buzz, don’t leave home without 2 or more. Usually when I have worked shoots on a truck these have been the most valuable.

Remember, audio is really simple… to mess up!  So be prepared.

Lights

Now that we can hear things OK, on to lighting. The deadly part of stage lighting are the follow spots. They are always way brighter than the rest of the stage lighting. Try to get them bulbed down to 500W, or get some 1 stop ND gel and cut them down that way using one or more layers. Another option is using a dimmer if you have the right ends on the light (20 amp stage pin or Edison) and using that to cut the light a bit. The spots should pick the lead performer out a little, but not be 2-4 stops brighter than the rest of the stage or you have problems. Use a light meter during rehearsal / light / sound check to verify they aren’t too bright.

Maybe you get some control of lighting, maybe you don’t.

Cameras

Finally worry about your cameras. Some quick tips:

• Have earplugs for all your camera operators!
• Most intercoms are pretty much useless when used near the stage.  You can use foam in earplugs with intercoms.
• The more cameras the better. Two center cams shooting wide and one close works well. Stage front and on stage are also good places.
• Be sure to tell everyone once they start rolling tape to NOT STOP. Finding those breaks in the tapes can be a real pain. Ideally you’ll have full 60 minute chunks of your program, all in sync. If you can jam-sync timecode, that’s ideal, but even just eyeballing time of day across cameras will mean you’re always within 1-2 seconds between tapes.
• Another trick is to fire a flash camera near the stage after all cameras are recording to use as a sync point.
• Be sure all cams record the camera mic simply for syncing purposes as backup.
• You can feed the house mix to a camera if you have no other audio recorder around.

Good luck, plan as much as you can, and have a good shoot!

Larry Jordan is a post-production consultant and an Apple-Certified Trainer in Digital Media with over 25 years experience as producer, director and editor with network, local and corporate credits. Based in Los Angeles, he's a member of both the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America.

The information in this article is believed to be accurate at the time of publication. However, the author assumes no liability in case things go wrong. Please use your best judgment in applying these suggestions.

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