13
Aug
An Evening with the Deva
by Glen Trew
/ 7 Comments
One way I keep my hands and ears in sound mixing for film and video production is to fill in for Trew Audio customers who, for one reason or another, need someone to fill in for them. So, when Kevin Smith’s usual sound mixer, Atlanta-based Whit Norris, found himself booked in San Juan, Puerto Rico for “Fast and Furious, 5” during the same week he was asked to work on the television production of “An Evening with Kevin Smith; Kevin’s 40th Birthday Party”, Whit handed it over to me. Since the only celebrity I’ve worked with over the last thirty-five years that earned me street cred with my kids is Kevin Smith, and because I became a big fan of Kevin while being the sound mixer for his film “Jersey Girl”, I was happy to take the job. The six camera video production was shot with a live audience at the Count Bassie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey (Kevin’s hometown), and recorded for television broadcast, DVD’s, and podcasts.
The outline for the Kevin Smith show is simple enough: Kevin talks to an auditorium filled with his fans. But as everyone in this line of work knows, making it look and sound simple is anything but simple. Here’s the setup:
Kevin’s primary microphone was a wireless handheld. We had a spare wireless handheld for Kevin that was also used for the MC to warm up the crowd. In addition to his hand mic, Kevin wore a wireless lavelier for whatever might come up unexpectedly. I placed four microphones (two Sanken CUB-1’s and two Shure SM-81’s) in the auditorium for audience reaction (applause, laughter, etc.) and general auditorium ambience so that the program would sound as big as it looked. A popular element of Kevin’s shows is the “Q&A” (questions and answers) between Kevin and the fans in the audience, so we had four microphones on the sides of the auditorium for people to ask questions and have a conversation with Kevin.
Except for the audience applause mics and Kevin’s lav mic, all of the microphones also went to the house sound reinforcement system (PA speakers and stage monitors). Since levels and dynamic range requirements are very different for PA systems and video recording, I didn’t want to rely on a house board feed as my source for any of the microphones. So the first order of business was to arrange for a proper splitter. The six microphone signals that needed to go to the PA system were first split with a transformer isolated splitter, with one split going to the PA mixer and the other split coming to me for the video production.
Each camera recorded to its own recorder, and, even though these video recorders could also record audio, it was, thankfully, agreed that the sound should also be recorded on a dedicated multitrack audio recorder. The show required twelve inputs–five outputs with different mixes, private communication between my assistant and me, and ten recording tracks, as outlined below:
Inputs:
1 Kevin Hand
2 Kevin LAV
3 Kevin Hand Spare
4 Q&A lower Left
5 Q&A lower Right
6 Q&A upper Right
7 Q&A upper Right
8 Audience CUB L
9 Audience CUB R
10 Audience SM-81 L
11 Audience SM-81 R
12 House PA board feed (music track)
Recording Tracks
1 Mono Mix
2 Kevin Hand Mic
3 Kevin Lav Mic
4 Q&A lower Left
5 Q&A lower Right
6 Q&A upper Left
7 Q&A upper Right
8 Audience SM-81 L and CUB-1 L
9 Audience SM-81 R and CUB-1 R
10 Kevin Spare
Camera Recorders (each camera recorded two audio channels)
1 Mono Mix
2 Kevin Hand Mic
Outputs
1 Mono mix to camera audio DA (distribution amplifier)
2 Kevin’s hand mic to camera audio DA
3 Mono mix to Comtek wireless transmitter (to audio scratch track to SteadiCam) and general wireless monitoring
4 Program mix and private communications mic to audio assistant’s Comteks
5 Mono mix to backup audio recorder
6 Unused
7 Unused
8 Unused
The Deva series of recorders (including the Fusion) has been around for a number of years now. But its reputation as a very capable recorder still unfairly overshadows the fact that it is equally capable – if not even more capable – as a mixer. In support of that statement, I’ll say that over my career I’ve done countless live productions like this one, and they usually required a huge production truck with large audio mixing console and racks of processing gear for distribution, compressor/limiters, communications, etc. The amazing thing to me this time (and it still amazes me) is that all of these inputs and outputs and primary recording channels were mixed, EQ’d, processed, distributed, and multi-tracked by a single battery-powered box, compact enough for me to carry into the show under one arm (while carrying my coffee with the same hand)–the Zaxcom Deva 16. (The even smaller, less expensive Zaxcom Fusion could have done this show equally as well.) Skeptics will often come up with questions, so I’ve anticipated some of these and responded with, fittingly, a Kevin Smith style Q&A…
Q: “Hey, like, how do you control 12 inputs with just 8 knobs”.
A: By using our brains, Dude, and the brain of the Deva.
Since the Deva system is a digital mixer, any combination of inputs can be assigned to a single knob, all knobs, or none at all, as you like. In the case of the Kevin Smith show, I assigned all four applause mics to a single fader on the Deva. So, if more or less applause or laughter was desired, I could bring up or down all four mics with one fader (I premixed the four applause mics to get the balance I wanted with the input trims, and it was easy enough to fine tune them after the show started). Putting four inputs on a single knob freed up three knobs. Since the music track from the PA board feed was to warm up the crowd, and never intended for the video production, I decided it was not likely to be be needed for my mono mix, so I did not assign it to one of the knobs, but did assign it to one of the four virtual touchscreen faders. This eliminated the need for the fourth knob, allowing the mono mix to be done with only 8 knobs.
Q: “But those faders on the Deva are just little round knobs. To really mix and stuff like that you need cool lookin’ slide faders.”
A: Thanks for your question [laughter]. Actually, mixing with the Deva’s little round knobs was just fine. Keep in mind that, even though setting up the Deva for the show was fairly complex, the setup was done in such a way that operating and mixing during the show was very simple. The audience applause/laughter mics generally stayed at about the same level throughout the show, with only occasional minor adjustment with a single knob (all four mics were assigned to a single knob, remember?). During the audience Q&A portion of the show, only one question mic was used at any one time. So, even though I was using twelve inputs, mixing the show generally consisted of one finger on Kevin’s mic, one on the applause/laughter mics, and a couple on the Q&A mics (bringing one up while bringing another down).
Q: “What about EQ and limiters and stuff like that man? I mean, that’s why I like boards with a lot of knobs and stuff.”
A: Remember, the Deva has a brain (and remember, we do too), which gives us a lot more capability than the 8 knobs on the front suggests. I’m very careful with limiters and I avoid the audible “pumping” sound from overusing them, but good limiters can make live mixing much easier and sound better. The Deva input limiters have adjustable everything… threshold, attack time, release time, and soft knee adjustments. So the Deva limiters can be properly set to work in the background, controlling dynamics of multiple mics more smoothly than I could do manually, leaving only minimal level adjustments required by me.
Q: “What about back up recorders”
A: My philosophy is normally to roll only one recorder. But since this was very much a live show that was not going to be interrupted under any circumstances, a backup recorder made sense. Though each camera was recording a mono mix (so there were essentially 6 backup recorders already rolling), these cameras were being fed by the Deva. So, hypothetically, if a big light fell on the Deva and destroyed it, the Deva recording and the camera recordings would stop. For this reason I rolled second recorder (a Sound Devices 744T), with my mix on channel 1 and a feed from the PA board on channel 2. This way, even if the Deva failed, Kevin’s mic and the Q&A mics would still be recorded. But, as is usually the case, since I had a fail-safe in place, it was never needed.
Working on the Kevin Smith show was a good reminder of many of the reasons we choose this line of work. For me, it still all starts with the magic of turning a knob and, in this case, hearing Kevin Smith in my headphones, then pressing a button and hearing it again. I hope I never get used to that. Then, it’s the satisfaction of turning challenges into elegant solutions, like controlling 4 mics with 1 knob. As if those reasons aren’t enough, another thing that addicts us to this profession is the very reason it exists in the first place: to record interesting things for others to enjoy. We are constantly being placed in a position to witness amazing things and incredible talents while being paid for the privilege. And it happened to me again that night in Red Bank, New Jersey.
The day after the show, while driving my rental car back from Red Bank to the Newark Airport to catch a flight back to LA, and realized I would be going right past Zaxcom’s Pompton Plains, New Jersey factory. So I made the call. Hanging out with Deva inventor Glenn Sanders and his staff was a fitting surprise ending to yet another cool experience in my world of film and video production. I know there will be more. I wonder what they’ll be.
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Thank you.
I assume this event was shot in HD. How did you handle timecode for the Deva and the cameras?
Hi Steve,
The timecode was handled fairly simply by the DIT (Digital Image Technician)...
A single sync box was jammed to the Deva, and then that sync box was used to jam the timecode on each camera.
The timecode frame rate requested was 23.976.
Glen
Glen Trew
Thanks for that. I am curious about microphone selection as I do alot of the same sort of production in the corporate world as well as live to tape for television here in Austin. What did you use for the audience Q and A mics and what lav did you put on Kevin? Did you have any feedback issues with the audience mics? Thanks again for the article. Its always interesting to read how others approach our craft.
Best, Steve Osmon
Kevin's handheld and the Q&A mics were Sennheiser SKM-500s, provided by the sound reinforcement company.
Kevin's lav was a Sanken COS-11 in a Lectrosonics SMVQ transmitter provided by me as it was not sent to the speaker system. I put the mic on Kevin to pick up any off-the-cuff dialog that may not have been picked up by his hand mic. Since it was a bit of an unknown exactly what was going to happen, and since I had the extra input, the reasoning made sense at the time. But as it turned out, with hind-sight I regret using it because it managed to work it's way loose from the hockey jersey and could be seen hanging down. Fortunately Kevin noticed it soon after it fell and put it in his pocket without missing a beat, and, fortunately, it wss not needed anyway.
Regarding feedback: There is often a battle between getting enough volume before feedback when sending microphones to a speaker system, especially when dealing with low-volume conversation levels. This is particularly true when, in addition to feeding the speaker system, the mics are also being recorded for film/video. This is because even low levels of ringing (feedback) are objectionable in a recording when they might be acceptable in a speaker system where the room ambiance is quiet high.
So, there were a few moments at the beginning of the show when the FOH (Front Of House) mixer had to fine tune the EQ of Kevin's mic to minimize the feedback. The same was true when the Q&A section started. But after a very short time, the microphones, EQ, and levels were optimized and sounded great. The sound reinforcement company and FHO mixer, Jim (whose last name escapes me) were very professional and did a great job.
Glen
Great Article Glen.
I love my Fusion, which I bought from you guys out of Vancouver.
Before I bought it I had used Sound Devices recorders and was very happy with them. But I always liked what I had read and heard about the Zaxcom stuff.
I took a risk and bought it with out ever using one. I live in Calgary, I think there is one other sound guy who has a Deva here. Not many sound guys here.
I loved it. It is so much easier to use then a 744 or 788. The touch screen is amazing, so easy to route tracks to whatever you want. The big reason I went with it was cause of the outputting. My fusion has six outputs. Its been so handy.
Now, I don't have an analog mixer. I just used the Fusion to mix and record my first feature. I had no probems or issues using it or its knobs.
I can say enough good things about it. I only have two complaints. NO PAUSE BUTTON! Really Zaxcom? My 300 dollar Zoom recorder has a pause button.
And I can't load a BWF and play it back on it. Where that comes handy for me is when I do playback for music videos. Being able to playback a file that is timecode embedded would be very handy. A 744 or 788 can do it.
Just wanted to add my two cents.
Hey Glen,
Very nice article. I was impressed with the detail and mixing choices (4 knobs controlling audience mics... I didn't even think of that) My question to you is why go with the cubs and the shure sm -81's. I'm not familiar at all with these mics. Could you tell me why?
Thanks for a very informative article.
Brian Hanish
Toronto, Ontario
Hi Brian,
The Sanken CUB is a directional boundary-layer mic. I brought two for audience response. The Shure SM-81's are a general purpose directional condenser mic, popular for stage use. They were available from the sound reinforcement company.
I used all four mics, if for no other reason than to have backup if there was a failure. As it turned out, there were no failures and the combination of the four mics (two left, two right) gave a more full and spacious feel to the auditorium and audience response than a simple mic pair. If a single stereo pair could have been properly place in front of the stage pointing toward the entire audience, that would be my choice. However, we were limited to placing the audience mics on the side walls of the auditorium. Mixing the combination of the four mics worked very well.
Glen Trew