Preparing Your 702 Sound Mixer for Field Audio Recording

Preparing Your 702 Sound Mixer for Field Audio Recording
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Non-Sync Audio

Though HD and digital video in general has taken much of the necessity to record non-sync sound away, for full productions external sound recording devices are still used. For actual film it is still a necessity and for those who want a higher sound quality and more control than using these field recorders are still great options. The 702 sound mixer is a standard amongst video and film production and allows you to record sound onto a separate audio track than the video, which is then combined later during post-production. Here is the basic set up for the 702 recorder and how to put together its workflow for production.

Microphone

First you have to have the microphone put together that you are going to be using. With the 702 sound mixer this is likely going to be a boom microphone so make sure that the microphone is properly placed in the zeppelin holder, on the boom pole correctly, and that the XLR cable is running out from the microphone. Plug in the XLR cable into the XLR In spot on your 702 sound mixer.

Input Settings

You are likely going to want to keep the power internal, which is set as INT on the 702. You will also want to make sure that the input is set at Phantom T-Power 12V. On the front of the 702 you are going to want to adjust the pre-amp gain so it is below 36, that way it is not amplifying and distorting the incoming sound. You are also going to want to make sure that the limiter is off so that it does not cut out peaking sound, even though this sound may distort. Some people will also want to turn off the low-end attenuation for similar reasons.

The 702 sound mixer will create single digital audio files for each recording, and each one will have its own proper name. To make sure that this comes in correctly you need to go in and adjust the menu settings so that the files are correctly labeled for this recorded sound and so that they are properly in accordance with basic film/video editing and production standards. Go into the menu settings and make certain adjustments, starting by setting the sample rate at 48K and the depth of 24. Go in and also set the file type to be ‘.wav mono,’ which will be good for most editing. If you are going to be recording in stereo then you will have to use different external equipment and change the 702 sound mixing preferences. The microphone input must be adjusted to the ‘Mic and Line’ setting for correct sound monitoring. For organization you are going to have to adjust the date and time so that it is correct for your current production day. Go into Meter: Ballistics and set so that the Peak+VU setting is there, which will allow you a better visual interpretation of the VU and if peaks happened so you can mark them on your audio log.

Label settings

Scene Name and Take Name settings are going to be some of the most important last settings to apply because it is here that you will set the names and numbers for exactly what you are filming. For each take it will adjust the take number, but will maintain the overall title. For each new actual set up that has a different name, such as a scene or location change, then you will go back to the Record option and change the titles. These options, which are numbers seven and nine in the 702 menu respectively, will allow you to correctly label theses for recording. For most film and video production you will want to make sure that these will directly match the slate that is being used on set as these will need to be matched in post-production.

Other

There are other settings that can be used specifically upon request or preference, but these are the relatively basic set ups that will get you ready to actually going into audio production on set. From there the rest of the workflow is dependent on the crew choices that are made and the other equipment that is available.