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Double-System Production Sound Setup Checklist

• Check to make sure you have all the equipment. Not uncommonly missing or
mismatched items include:
o ¼-inch headphone adapter
o Wireless transmitters/receivers (pairs must be in the same frequency range to
work: A or B)
o Headphone extension cable (for boom op) – not a standard part of the NYFA
Sound Kit, but if you request this the equipment room will give you one if there is
one available
o Don’t forget the boom pole!
• Connect the XLR outputs on the Wendt X3 mixer to the XLR inputs on the Fostex FR-
2LE field recorder using the breakaway cable – red = right channel; white/beige = left
channel
• Set mixer OUTPUTS to line level.
• With CompactFlash card inserted, turn the FR-2LE on and check to make sure that it
loads and recognizes the card.
• Push the Enter/Menu button to access the menus and continue setting up the recorder.
o Go to Disk menu: select “Format” to format your card.
 WARNING: ALL FILES ON THE CARD WILL BE DELETED. DO
NOT SELECT THIS OPTION UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY
SURE THERE IS NO INFORMATION ON THE CARD/DISK YOU
NEED.
 Select “Reel No” to name the card with the day’s date for logging
purposes/organizational purposes.
 Change FS/Bit Mode to reflect the sampling frequency and bit depth you
will use to record to the card (typically BWF 48/24 or BWF 48/16).
 Select “[EXECUTE]” twice to complete formatting of the card.
o Return to the Main menu, then go to the Setup menu:
 Scroll down to select “Initial Setup” to initialize settings (sets all settings
to the machine’s defaults, and clears the Default File Name menu’s scene
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name list).
 Scroll back up to change the following settings:
• “Battery Type” should match the type of batteries you are using.
(Most often this will be Alkaline, but DON’T ASSUME this is the
case. Always double-check to make sure the batteries you are
using are alkaline batteries. This information will be written on the
battery itself.)
• Change “Level LED Mode” from “Peak” to “Level.”
• “Def. FS/Bit Mode” should be changed from 44/16 to either 48/24
or 48/16 – depending on whether you are recording at 16 bits or
24 bits. (24 bits is recommended, but will use up more space on
your card. If you only have a 1 GB card for the day, you may want
to consider recording at 16 bits. However, you need to be
consistent in your bit depth throughout the life of the production.)
• Change “FileNameMode” from “Date” to “Take.”
• On the Setup Menu: select “DefaultFileName” and rename the first
scene (“Scene01”) to “REF” (or “Reference”). After renaming,
return to this scene’s menu and press enter on the “Select” option.
• On the main/home screen of the FR-2LE, double-check the settings shown to the right of
the level meters.
o ALC: Off
o HPF: Off
o P48: Off
o SRC: Input
o BWF 48-24 (or 48-16) – this can only be adjusted in the Setup Menu, not through
the Quick Setup option (see below)
o If you need to make any changes, you can do so either by returning to the Setup
Menu, or by using the Quick Setup mode, which is accessed by pressing the Shift
Key and simultaneously pressing the Menu/Enter/Quick Set key, then navigating
and making changes using the “+”, “-“ and Menu/Enter keys, then pressing the
Stop/Cancel key when finished making changes.
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• Callibrate the FR-2LE recorder with the X3 mixer:


o Turn the X3’s power to INT (for internal power – i.e. batteries)
o Turn all three of the channel faders all the way down
o Push the TONE button in. The blue LEDs should light up to a constant 0dB on
both the left and right channel meters.
o Turn the Trim L & R faders on the FR-2LE (located just below the CF card slot)
all the way down.
o Put the FR-2LE into Standby Mode by pressing the REC STBY button.
o Use the FR-2LE Master Level Control dials to set the tone levels to -12dB on
both the left and right channel meters. The bar should rest in the middle of the
“12” in the black box, right where the dotted line passes through.
o Once you have these levels calibrated cover the Trim and Level Control dials with
pieces of tape to protect against accidental nudging of the levels. All future level
changes will be done using the faders on the mixer.
o Press REC button and record 30 seconds of this reference tone to the REF file
(previously named and selected – see above).
o Press REC STBY to stop recording. Press the TONE button on the mixer to turn
off the tone.
o Return to the Setup menu, and go to the “DefaultFileName” menu. Scroll down to
the next scene on the list (i.e. “Scene02”) and rename it for the first scene/shot
you will be shooting. Don’t forget to SELECT the file after you’ve renamed it.
 NOTE: Each subsequent new SHOT (not each take) throughout the day
will require you to follow this same procedure: return to the
“DefaultFileName” menu, scroll down to the next scene on the list,
rename it, select it, then exit to the Home screen (using the
“STOP/CANCEL” button for convenience) and prepare to record the next
shot/take.
• Prepare your microphone(s):
o Using an XLR cable, connect the shotgun mic to Ch. 1 and check its settings:
 48P/DYN: 48P
 MIC/LINE: MIC
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 Pre-amp attenuator (aka: “pad”): 0, 10 or 20 depending on the needs of


each shot/scene
 Low-cut filter: 20, 100 or 140 Hz (100 is recommended)
 Output panning: for boom only – center (i.e. “PAN”); for recording with
wireless lavalieres simultaneously – left
o If used, connect wireless lavaliere receivers to Ch. 2/3 and check their settings:
 48P/DYN: DYN
 MIC/LINE: MIC
 Pre-amp attenuator (aka: “pad”): 0, 10 or 20 depending on the needs of
each shot/scene
 Low-cut filter: 20, 100 or 140 Hz (20 is recommended for lavs)
 Output panning: for use with boom mic – pan both right; for recording
with 2 wireless lavalieres and no boom – Ch. 2 left & Ch. 3 right
• Wireless lavaliere setup:
o Confirm that each transmitter/receiver pair matches, i.e. A or B frequency range.
The designation of transmitter or receiver, as well as the frequency range are
printed on the back of each unit.
o Enter Setup menu:
 Set transmitter and receiver to same Bank (grouping four preset channels)
 Set transmitter and receiver to same Channel
 On transmitter:
• Set Sensit (i.e. mic sensitivity; -10dB or -20dB are most commonly
recommended)
• Set Pilot to Off
 On receiver:
• Set AF Out (-12 or -18 are most commonly recommended)
• Set Squelch to Lo
• Set Pilot to Off
• APPROPRIATE RECORDING LEVELS/SETTINGS
o Dialog should typically read at around -12dB on the FR-2LE meters, hopefully
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well above background ambient levels. Remember: 0dB will “peak” – very
possibly resulting in distortion of varying degrees.
o “Unity gain” (ideal, cleanest signal) on the X3 channels is roughly between the
12:00 and 3:00 positions on the faders. Try to achieve good levels on the FR-2
meters (see above) while having the X3 faders set in this unity range.
o Utilize the pad (0, 10 or 20 dB attenuation) for each channel to raise or lower the
levels in order to achieve both optimum dialog recording levels on the FR-2
meters and unity gain on the X3 fader. If there is a choice, optimum recording
levels (ie, the -12dB reading on the FR-2LE meters) should always take
precedence!

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