Ok, so I've got my cruisecam all set up, and it's really fun! I do have a few questions for you all though...

1. The picture seems to be holding pretty stable, and I'm happy with it overall, the only thing is that it's rattling somewhere, because I can hear it rattling when I watch the video.

2. Second thing is, would you guys recommend hooking up a secondary mic to the camera? I was hoping that it would record more engine noise than it does. It barely picks up any at all actually.

Thanks for the help, and any other tips would be great actually!

Miles

 

Hey Miles,

Check out this thread for tips on getting better audio. Unfortunately the Pre Amp that I recommend has been discontinued. You might find it on clearance at your local Radio Shack though.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hlight=lav+mic

re: Rattling
Could it be the lens cap? Or maybe the headrest itself? When I experiemented with headrest mounts, I found that the headrest itself wasn't a rigid mount. Although maybe putting a several pound camcorder on it helped weigh things down, but when I put a VacuCam that weighed several ounces, it just bounced around a lot.

 

Thanks Richard... After reading your post, I think it very well could be the actual headrest. I'm gonna play with it some more :smile:

 

As mentioned in that link using an external mic will give you the best audio right at the source. And not to bash these kind of mounts, but there's another reason why the VacuCams are superior over shooting with a camcorder. It's an all or nothing thing with the audio. You can't choose to use the camcorder mic and an external mic at the same time.

With the VacuCams, there is a built in mic, and through the video switcher or even just an audio adaptor, you can patch the intake or exhaust audio into the other free audio channel--thus getting 2 channels of audio.

So you get to record both the cabin audio and the exhaust note on separate channels so you can manipulate the levels in post pretty easily. Kinda cool if you got an FRS radio squawking in the background or people talking cause you record it all.

Richard

 

Yeah, I am realizing all that now. That vacucam is a really handy thing, mainly because I'm only going to want to record exhaust pretty much. I don't want to really record anything going on in the cabin, which is all the camcorder can do without an external mic.

 

The thing is that you'll want SOME ambient sound--whether it's from the cabin or elsewhere. I've done some experiementing with mic placement, and while you can get some very accurate sounds with an external mic, it's pretty funky watching MINI footage when you hear belts and compressors and things clinking and clanging that you never hear when inside the car. But even when you get the placement right, it still may not sound like what you are used to if you can't "mask" the audio with some familiar sounds.

I just bought a Remus exhaust so it'll be interesting to see how that changes my sound, since I've only focused on recording the Moss Intake.

Really it comes down to flexibility and how much you need.

 

Sweet!! Yeah, I'll just have to keep experimenting with it and see what works.

Thanks again!

Once I get the VacuCam it'll be easier to play :smile:

 

Ok, here's a short video clip from a 13 minute movie I made from our last c3 run. It's only 3MB and available in both WM9 or QT. It shows off a couple things. One the audio on the intake on the left. The cabin audio during windshield shots--you can hear the FRS radio. Also when switching camera angles, the intake audio follows--continuous not broken. The only processing that was done was a 16:9 cropping look and adjusting the gamma for a more "film" like look. Of course there is a duotone colorizing scene in there as well for effect.

While I had 4 cameras setup, I only used 3, since the 4th one was experiemental and died--it was mounted on my rally bar in the front for a cool, but not very shake free shot.

Primary camera was mounted on the windshield--behind the rear view mirror, 2nd was on driver door looking forward and 3rd was on rear boot window--you can see the defroster line.

Take your pick.

http://store.northamericanmotoring.c...ranch_demo.wmv

http://store.northamericanmotoring.c...ranch_demo.mov

 

Sweet... I'll check that vid out as soon as I get home from work tonight...

Thanks for all your help Richard

 

NP, you're welcome!