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Movi Complete Except for Audio Monitoring

Discussion in 'Movi Technical' started by John Woody, Jun 8, 2018.

  1. John Woody

    John Woody Member

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    404EF6B1-8949-4C41-8C94-60960ACDCD40.jpeg Received all my Movi accessories and really enjoying getting used to the unit as a whole.
    All set up. Movi CR with iPhone X, Moment wide angle lens, Moment case, Freefly Counter Balance Kit, Freefly Hoodie for accessories (Mic), Rode SC4 TRS to TRRS adaptor for mic input, Sennheiser MKE 400 shotgun mic. Awesome shooting unit for iPhoneography! Just need to figure a way to monitor my audio while recording. Bluetooth, lightning to dual audio headsets? Some of the dual adaptors are fairly bulky. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    John M. Woody
    Professor Emeritus
    https://vimeo.com/channels/iedithd/179049011
     
  2. Steve Huether

    Steve Huether Member

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    Looks good! Thats nearly identical to what my setup will be when the MCR arrives. I have the Rode Videomicro instead of the MKE400. Do you find the cable to mic a bit short when the gimbal turns to the extremes? Does it seem to cause any issue with movement?
     
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  3. Darrin Altman

    Darrin Altman Member

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    I have the same setup that you will have. The only difference maybe is I have the SC7 cable which is coiled. I haven’t had any trouble with the cable messing up my shot. Except I have to be aware of it, as it has slightly caught on my finger or thumb by the grip and I have had to position the cable orientation coming out of the Rode videomicro so it doesn’t hit against the motor. Minor things to just be aware of. The main issue I had was the dead cat wouldn’t remain on the mic properly in place. It kept sliding forward and drooping and when panning to the far right the iPhone X camera would see it. I found on eBay a possible solution, https://www.ebay.com/itm/Windscreen...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649. I have it and it seems perfect. I shot with it on but was using the Moment tele lens. I have to test the iPhone X by itself and with the Moment wide. If it’s still visible then it will just be something I’ll have to plan for and avoid.
     
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  4. Steve Huether

    Steve Huether Member

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    Awesome to hear!! Can't wait for mine to arrive. I have the SC7 cable as well, sounds like I shouldn't have any problems.

    The mic drooping issue was something my sister mentioned when she borrowed mine and had it mounted on the top of her DSLR. After playing with it I discovered that the cable coming off the back of the mic can be pressed into one of the notches on the little ring that tightens the mic into the cold shoe and it made the whole setup much less floppy. I'll take a pic when I get home if its not clear what I mean.
     
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  5. Rorick Edge

    Rorick Edge Active Member

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    Hi Darrin,

    Are you mounting the mike on a Movi Hoodie? If so, getting the mike higher may solve the problem, at least when the phone is level (i.e. not tilted up). You could accomplish this by mounting a long 1/4” 20 female to 1/4” 20 male spacer or stud, or a miniature ball head, between the Hoodie and the mike. I’ve mounted this small Novoflex ball head on the Hoodie and they work well together: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/258778-REG As you probably know, Manfrotto also makes small ball heads.
     
    #5 Rorick Edge, Jun 8, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2018
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  6. Rorick Edge

    Rorick Edge Active Member

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    Hi John,

    Sorry, I don’t know what “lightning to dual audio headsets” refers to, but...

    Have you got Bluetooth earbuds or headphones? If so, you could try them and see if the iPhone will send the processed audio to them, which it should. This would help you to set initial levels and provide initial confidence that sounds you don’t want aren’t being picked up.

    At that point, the issue is what happens if you try to use the Bluetooth earbuds/headphones for active monitoring, given that the Movi app uses Bluetooth to control the gimbal. If you have a spare iPhone, you could try using one for the iPhone recording the image and sound and one to control the gimbal.

    Note that there will be a noticeable delay in the sound if you use Bluetooth to set levels or actively monitor, although you may not care unless you are doing something like recording music that you are making yourself.

    A splitter cable might also be a possibility.
     
    #6 Rorick Edge, Jun 8, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2018
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  7. Darrin Altman

    Darrin Altman Member

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    Great idea. I have a tiny ball head from Joby that will work.
     
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  8. John Woody

    John Woody Member

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    Interesting but works... I purchased a simple wireless bluetooth headset for $24 off Amazon. Just finished testing.
    With the Movi: I'm not able to monitor sound while I'm shooting. But, I can playback the clip from the Movi controls and hear sound just perfect. This makes it very easy to confirm audio / confidence through immediate playback... especially since I don't have to unplug the iPhone X dongle to attach a wired headset. (This could be considered a bummer... but this works for me just fine... confirm immediately after recording.)

    With Mavis camera app in Majestic Mode... I can see VU readings and I can monitor the sound just fine during the recording, with a slight delay. I can immediately replay my shot in Mavis and it sounds great!

    I guess the next option would be switch for the SC4 to SC6 adaptor (with my Sennheiser MKE400)and use a cheap wired headset. I guess that would work. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
    John M. Woody
     
  9. Darrin Altman

    Darrin Altman Member

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    Nothing important, but with the sc4 how do you attach that to your iPhone X? Or say the sc6? The male plug goes into the microphone and what do you connect to the female side? A little male to male extension and plug that to the Apple lightning to headphone adapter? Just curious.
     
  10. John Woody

    John Woody Member

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    Hi Darrin. I take the cable (TRS) from Sennheiser MKE400 and plug it into the Rode SC4 (TRS to TRSS) adaptor. I take the male end of the SC4 and attach it to iPhone X supplied headset adaptor dongle. The lightning end of the dongle goes into the phone. Does that make sense? Hope so.
    John
     
  11. Darrin Altman

    Darrin Altman Member

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    Thanks John. I just couldn’t figure out the connection.
     
  12. Rorick Edge

    Rorick Edge Active Member

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    Further to John Woody's latest post (#8 above)...

    It's also possible to use Bluetooth earphones with Filmic Pro, within which you can select input source (including an external mike), file format, bit rate and sample rate, and set gain/level. One can use Bluetooth earphones to monitor recording and listen to playback.

    When you open the Movi app, there are no audio controls, at least that I can find. Nevertheless, it does record sound and there is a volume control slider when you play back footage, and the sound will play back to Bluetooth earphones. Also, I'm finding that when recording, the Movi app automatically selects the microphone source that I've got plugged into the Lightning port. However, Bluetooth earphones (don't know about wired headphones) cannot be used to monitor recording. You can do a brief test recording and play it back to check for problems like inadequate wind protection.

    There are a couple of things to be aware of when recording sound via the Movi app. At the moment, there doesn't seem to be a way to control gain, and therefore there's no apparent way to prevent clipping. We just don't know how gain is being set or whether there is a limiter at work. Also, it records in AAC lossy format at a sample rate of 44.1kHz. This is a problem if you want to use Movi audio in a standard WAV 48kHz workflow.

    Audio controls may be on the list of things to address in the Movi app, but personally I'd like to see Freefly focus on the Movi's image stabilisation capabilities. That's what I purchased it for. There's a good deal to be said for farming out a lot of this stuff via an API, which is apparently in the works.
     
    #12 Rorick Edge, Jun 9, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2018
  13. Lyle Almond

    Lyle Almond New Member

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    How do you mount a Rode VideoMicro mic onto the MCR with the Movi Hoodie? None of the three mounting screws that came with the Hoodie I got fits the VideoMicro. Fine print says that some mics that have a 3/8" 16 thread that require a reducer bushing to mount on the Movi Hoodie? If this is the case, where can I find a reducer bushing?
     
  14. Rorick Edge

    Rorick Edge Active Member

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