Zoom H4N w/ Camcorder, play & sing

[billder99]

First, a note of thanks. You AV Tech guys here on AGF are amazing... I can't even begin to understand most of what you are talking about. I am learning that AV is a BIG subject, a world unto itself. You have shown me a good place to start.

I always see Tekkies respond to Forum questions with questions of your own, so here is a bit about me: I am an intermediate guitar player and singer, 53 years old, variety of fingerstyles, "flesh" only, no nails or picks. I play only acoustic nylon strings, currently unamplified but I will get an amplified setup when I feel I am "ready". I play by myself or with a few freinds, and will occasionally play for a small group of people I know, especially simple fun songs where people can join (alcohol always gets people singing). I love being able to play at parties and such, no desire to play professionally.

I am a raw beginner in regard to AV, but I want to learn. I am a Civil/Structural Engineer, comfortable with using technology but not expert in any way. I will record both in private (I have a nice acoustic studio setup), and in small group settings, for:
1) Learning Musicianship by recording my practice, to see and hear myself play and sing
2) Track Progress by keeping some tracks as I go, as a measure of my progress in coming months and years.
3) "Gift Cards" by learning a specific song for a friend or relative, and sending to them as a "card", or for recording at a party to send to those who were there

Currently just using my crappy laptop integrated webcam and microphone... results not too bad for myself, but I would not send to anyone else. After about 40 hours of quick-study, I have decided to upgrade to a Zoom H4N for recording audio, video not sure. OK, given my self description, a few noob questions:

• MIC: For playing and singing at the same time, would you use the H4N mics for both, or would you separate, ie. H4N mics for guitar, and an external mic for voice? What is your best suggestion for a starting setup for studio recording with an external mic & H4N? ie; which would you use for voice, and which for guitar, and were would you place them

• MIX: I have a difficult time playing more intricate fingerstyle pieces and singing at the same time, and I would like to be able to record as separate tracks. Is there a good, but relatively simple software package for mixing on my laptop? I will also have to mix audio/video... same mix software, or different? Will I first mix audio tracks and then combine with video, or mix all at the same time? Software recommendations appreciated. (NOTE: I have never mixed anything, and prefer simplicity to "bells and whistles")

• VIDEO: I want a camcorder that can record video well in low light. Is there a particular camcorder that integrates well with the H4N for mixing? When I mix video with audio, for sending "cards" as e-mail attachments, what AV file format is best?

• LEARNING: Is there a good web source I can go to for learning about mixing, especially for the setup I propose; H4N + external mic + video? Also, in terms of my "studio", is there a resource to learning better lighting for video? Regarding audio, I see you guys always looking at graphs and talking about decibel levels and thresholds, but I have only a vague understanding... is there a good web source for learning the fundmentals of sound recording? Even better, is there a mix software maker that has especially good educational resources, so I can learn in a specific rather than general way?

• end

[billder99]

Replying to my own post, for those interested just found this resource and spent about an hour browsing... exact perfect resource for singer-songwriter audio-video using H4N. http://2090.org/zoom/bbs/index.php
As to my other questions, still searching.

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by billder99

...

• MIC: For playing and singing at the same time, would you use the H4N mics for both, or would you separate, ie. H4N mics for guitar, and an external mic for voice? What is your best suggestion for a starting setup for studio recording with an external mic & H4N? ie; which would you use for voice, and which for guitar, and were would you place them

Certainly at the beginning I would simply use the H4n mics. They're very slightly noisier than external mics but they'll get the job done nicely.

• MIX: I have a difficult time playing more intricate fingerstyle pieces and singing at the same time, and I would like to be able to record as separate tracks. Is there a good, but relatively simple software package for mixing on my laptop? I will also have to mix audio/video... same mix software, or different? Will I first mix audio tracks and then combine with video, or mix all at the same time? Software recommendations appreciated. (NOTE: I have never mixed anything, and prefer simplicity to "bells and whistles")

• You can mix in the free Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ , but it doesn't offer latency compensation so you have to align each track by hand. Not a huge hassle, but it bothers some people. Reaper http://www.cockos.com/reaper/index.php allows you to download a fully functional non-expiring demo. It is more capable for mutitracking and mixing but a bit more complex. Both have forums where you can ask for assistance. Reaper has a fair amount of instructional material and a pretty comprehensive manual.
  
  

  VIDEO: I want a camcorder that can record video well in low light. Is there a particular camcorder that integrates well with the H4N for mixing? When I mix video with audio, for sending "cards" as e-mail attachments, what AV file format is best?

Real low light performance costs money. Period. I slightly favor the Flip Mino or Ultra HD 120 minute second generation among the low cost cameras I've tried. The Sanyo Xacti HD2000 is the next step up, followed by your favorite HDSLR (Digital SLR form factor with HD video capability). The Panasonic GH1 and Canon T2i seem to have the mindshare currently. The GH1 with 20mm pancake f 1.7 lens gets you some real low light capability. Bring money.

Emailing video is not a very good strategy currently. Video files are much larger than audio files of similar length and quality, so the usual technique is to upload the video file to a hosting site and emailing a link. You can host your own video if you have a web site, or you can use a public hosting service like YouTube or Vimeo.

• LEARNING: Is there a good web source I can go to for learning about mixing, especially for the setup I propose; H4N + external mic + video? Also, in terms of my "studio", is there a resource to learning better lighting for video? Regarding audio, I see you guys always looking at graphs and talking about decibel levels and thresholds, but I have only a vague understanding... is there a good web source for learning the fundmentals of sound recording? Even better, is there a mix software maker that has especially good educational resources, so I can learn in a specific rather than general way?

In digital audio the main requirement is to keep levels below clipping. Mixing two elements is pretty straightforward, although getting the best out of EQ, compression, and other effects takes some learning. There's a ton of info out there, but the quality is highly variable to say the least.

I'm glad you asked about lighting - that's the _real_ key to video quality. If you spend a bit of money and time on lighting you can save a lot of money on your camera.

Similarly, time and money spent on tweaking the acoustics of your recording space is one of the best ways to improve your audio recordings.

Fran

[billder99]

Hey Fran,

Thanks very much for the excellent info, especially your advice to start with XY ZOOM mics only. I saw some of your posts at the ZOOM forum, so I know you are an avid user.

As you are a dedicated slack key player (I have listened to only a few of your UT videos so far... I am humbled... beautiful music) you must run into exactly the kinds of AV decisions facing me, playing folk/classical/acoustic blues/my own interpretations of everything from Green Day to Farouk Mezzah.

Regarding music selections for learning, this is my biggest challenge... I love it all. So much to learn, so little time... sigh.

BD

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by billder99

Hey Fran,

Thanks very much for the excellent info, especially your advice to start with XY ZOOM mics only. I saw some of your posts at the ZOOM forum, so I know you are an avid user.

As you are a dedicated slack key player (I have listened to only a few of your UT videos so far... I am humbled... beautiful music) you must run into exactly the kinds of AV decisions facing me, playing folk/classical/acoustic blues/my own interpretations of everything from Green Day to Farouk Mezzah.

Regarding music selections for learning, this is my biggest challenge... I love it all. So much to learn, so little time... sigh.

BD

I'm glad you enjoyed the tunes, BD. Yes, Hawaiian slack key is all I do, much to my surprise. I came to it late in life but it just swept me along and I've played nothing else for years now. Kind of the opposite of your problem, it seems.

When I started hunting for info on video lighting I learned (with a vigorous self-head-slap) that video is just moving still photography, and the basics of lighting are the same for both.

The conventional approach to "interview" lighting is called 3 point lighting. It's a good way to organize lighting for a solo guitar shot, even if you don't use real pro lights. Here's a tutorial: http://www.videomaker.com/video/watc...oint-lighting/

I do something similar with my collection of old clamp lights. Color temperature is good to know about, I buy high output CFLs with a color temp close to tungsten filament, so I can mix them with incandescents.

Fran