Here are some very close train passes recorded with a matched stereo pair of MKH-8040 microphones set in XY at 110 degrees. The microphones were placed less than 2 meters from the fast moving freight train. Five 24-Bit 96K train takes were shortened and edited together... each train takes 3 minutes to completely pass by. The location was in front of the Sandpoint Idaho train station. There is a new freeway opening soon right behind the station … [Read more...]
Canada Geese Migrating Nov 5 2011
I was having my first cup of morning coffee on a cold, quiet Saturday morning and the light of day was beginning and I noticed a strange V shaped pattern in the distant sky over the lake. At first, I flashed back to the day when I recorded a B-2 Stealth bomber in Seattle because thats what it looked like. I knew what was approaching and I stepped outside and had a listen. They were geese flying in formation over the lake and heading directly … [Read more...]
M60 Machine Gun Microphone Comparisons
M60 Machine Gun Microphone Comparisons M60 Machine Gun Microphone Comparison 1 This video cycles through the microphones used during the first recording session for this gun. This first session was for capturing the medium close and distant perspectives and the second session was primarily for the close up sound. Recorded at 24-Bit 96kHz/192kHz to 2 Sound Devices SD-702 recorders, Fostex FR-2, Sony PCM-D1 with XLR-1 Microphone Preamp and a … [Read more...]
The Wall Comes Crashing Down
As a sound recordist, one of the best things about living in a small town in the middle of nowhere besides fresh air, clean water and quiet is sometimes you get to record things that would be very difficult or impossible to record anywhere else. Some of those things are recording a M-60 machine gun in someones back yard or getting the powerful sounds of a building being ripped apart by an excavator. Well, that has been my life experience for the … [Read more...]
Explosion Recording October 2011
I've always wanted to record explosions and while I was recording a few guns recently I had my chance. Explosions are not something you can record everyday. I takes some planning, a good location that allows this kind of loud stuff and a very good shot. Since I have the gear all I needed was the above. It all came together after months of planning with the local gun shop. After recording a bunch of guns it was time to set off the Tannerite. If … [Read more...]
Gun Recording October 21 2011
Here is a quick blog post about my experience recording some big guns. There is a lot more to tell but I wanted to share some of my initial thoughts, video and pictures from the session. The shoot was arranged very quickly because the weather here in North Idaho was about to turn nasty and I wanted to get some gun sounds before the end of the year. Rain was forecast for the days after the shoot but the day of the shoot there was only a 30% … [Read more...]
The Adventure of a Leaftime
You Are Recording What? I've been asked a few times, "You're recording leaves? Why?" My short answer was because they are there. The long answer is because I've always needed some leaf-type sounds in my video game work. Whether it was for a fantasy forest ambient track sweetener, a tree monster, or a spaceship roaring low over trees, leaves come in very handy. So now the question is: What do I record and where do I record it? In this article I … [Read more...]
Deer Snorts and Squirrel Talk
Snort... Snot... danger signal... Call it what you want One of the sounds a deer makes when it senses danger is snorting. I have been trying to get a decent recording of this nose blow for years. Sometimes when I'm out recording in the yard I will startle one of them out in the forest and they blow snot out their nose. Sometimes it's very loud and startles me. If there are a few of them hanging out in the woods they all go running when the boss … [Read more...]
2AM Thunderstorm September 18th 2011
This is a recording of a thunderstorm that passed through in the middle of the night and completely caught me off guard. This is the time of year that the weather here in the North Idaho panhandle brings surprises. Cold, heat, wind, rain and lightning are the norm on any given day. The weekend was much cooler than the last two months and I should have known a storm would zip on though and I almost missed it. I checked the weather before heading … [Read more...]
Midnight Shotgun Shooting
A few nights ago I was trying to record the thunderstorm that was rolling in from the south and some dogs were barking about a hundred yards away. They bark every night for hours trying to scare off the deer. One of the things I tried to do is scare them off with my shotgun. It was around midnight and very quiet outside. My Sennheiser MKH-8040ST rig was set up outside the front door and I was able to get some rumbles but the storm fizzled out … [Read more...]
