Audio/Video: Recording your runs: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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May 17, 2011 10:38 p.m. MrMook New Reader

I'm planning on shooting some AutoX videos this year so I can hone my editing/production skills as well as my driving skills. I'll be borrowing a friends GoPro Hero cam. I bought the suction-cup mount, so I should be able to get a variety of shots, and now I'm trying to figure out the audio.

I've seen enough on-car footage to know that wind noise is a bit of an issue, and I want to focus on the mean sound of my bone-stock 2.0L VW , so I'm looking for some cheap stand-alone mic systems so I can record the engine/exhaust with during the runs.

What sort of recording system do you guys run? VHS camcorder duct-taped to the passenger headrest? Multi-cam rig with remote audio? Girlfriend on the sidelines with a FlipCam?
May 18, 2011 9:06 a.m. e_pie New Reader

Do you have an iPhone? The sound recorder app on that does a pretty good job.

I've never used it for in car videos though.
May 18, 2011 9:06 a.m. scardeal HalfDork

Only a sick sick man would record himself in the bathroom, especially if he has the runs.
May 18, 2011 9:32 a.m. Tom Heath Web Manager

Iphones work pretty well, especially in a closed cabin. The best video systems have an external microphone input. (RaceOptics EvoHD comes to mind- more on that when as the Lincoln project continues.)

If you use separate devices to collect video and audio, get in front of the camera and clap your hands so you have a video and audio cue to sync. If you're fancy, you can use a clapper board like the Hollywood folks. (And J.G.)
May 18, 2011 9:35 a.m. MrMook New Reader

In reply to scardeal: You nasty.

I don't have an iPhone...not sure if I'd want to use that for audio anyway, since I'm thinking of placing some mics under the hood, and under the rear bumper, for exhaust sounds.
May 18, 2011 9:38 a.m. MrMook New Reader

Tom Heath wrote: If you use separate devices to collect video and audio, get in front of the camera and clap your hands so you have a video and audio cue to sync. If you're fancy, you can use a clapper board like the Hollywood folks. (And J.G.)

So that's what the clapper is for. It always seemed like an antiquated system, but it's probably extremely helpful when syncing audio/video in post. the more you know
May 18, 2011 9:42 a.m. Tom Heath Web Manager

MrMook wrote:

In reply to scardeal: You nasty.

I don't have an iPhone...not sure if I'd want to use that for audio anyway, since I'm thinking of placing some mics under the hood, and under the rear bumper, for exhaust sounds.

I've had spotty luck under the hood. I haven't actually tried out the back yet, but usually get decent results in the cabin and after messing with the audio gain in editing.

Of course, if you have a passenger in the car and they start to talk, the audio goes to hell immediately. Maybe dangling a mic off the rear bumper is the hot ticket...
May 18, 2011 10:33 a.m. scardeal HalfDork

MrMook wrote:

In reply to scardeal: You nasty.

I'm a compulsive PUNisher.
May 18, 2011 12:38 p.m. JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director

MrMook wrote:

Tom Heath wrote: If you use separate devices to collect video and audio, get in front of the camera and clap your hands so you have a video and audio cue to sync. If you're fancy, you can use a clapper board like the Hollywood folks. (And J.G.)

So that's what the clapper is for. It always seemed like an antiquated system, but it's probably extremely helpful when syncing audio/video in post. the more you know

Yep. The "clap" gives you a nice big ol' spike on the audio waveform to sync various sound signals to. Modern ones use a digital tone, but any specific sound that generates a recognizeable waveform will do.

jg
May 18, 2011 1:02 p.m. MrMook New Reader

Yep. The "clap" gives you a nice big ol' spike on the audio waveform to sync various sound signals to. Modern ones use a digital tone, but any specific sound that generates a recognizeable waveform will do.

jg

I'm thinking I'll just slap the fender or roof before a run. :)

For those of you running stand-alone audio (JG?), what do you use to record sound? Apparently the GoPro does not have a mic jack, so I'd have to run the lapel mic into some sort of recorder. I guess I could borrow a friends iPhone. Would a digital voice recorder work?
May 18, 2011 2:42 p.m. Armitage Reader

I have had decent luck filtering out some wind noise and picking up exhaust/revs pretty well by putting the mic deep in the recesses of the rear quarter panel. I'm only using a terrible freebie hands-free car phone mic rigged up to a 1/8" jack I wired into an eBay Aiptek A-HD camera (records only in mono). The whole setup cost me like 80$ including the wide lens though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kFSngT7_OY
May 18, 2011 3:15 p.m. MrMook New Reader

Sounds pretty decent. And you passed a Ferrari! I think a wheel-well/quarter-panel placement could be a good spot. Exhaust notes and tire squeal, all without wind interference.
May 18, 2011 5:37 p.m. White_and_Nerdy Reader

I was going to suggest the trunk, because it's close enough to the muffler to get you vroom-vroom noises without overloading the mic with exhaust or wind noise.

For out-of-car shots, you will NEED a good zoom. Optical, preferably, as digital zoom can get really grainy really fast. And a tripod. Otherwise, as soon as your camera person zooms in enough for the car to fill the frame, the image bounces around so much that you can't see it and/or your viewers will get motion sick watching it. Wind noise is an issue there as well, but you can always just lower or mute the volume during editing.

For a few years I've been using a Flip Video Ultra and a couple of RAM mounts - one magnetic, one suction. I've gotten some pretty cool angles from all over the car. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JktpDGgUkj8

At the moment my favorite is in the grill area of my Miata. The engine noise overpowers the wind noise, so you get all the good vroom-vroom sounds, as well as tire squeal and cone hits. The angle is very low, so it looks like I'm going a million miles an hour, even if I'm doing 20.