19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you are involved with digital video, you need this book!, February 8, 2006
This review is from: Sound for Digital Video (Paperback)
Target audience: Anyone involved in audio for video, from the rank amateur to the
experienced professional.
As a video shooter, you are most concerned with your picture. But as we move from SD to
HD, the quality of your soundtracks should follow suit. Video has never been more capable
of delivering high quality sound and picture, yet today's soundtracks are getting worse
instead of better. Why? Partly because DV equipment has made video accessible to more
people at lower cost. While there's nothing wrong with low cost gear, unless you really know
how to handle your audio with the equipment you have, you'll end up with some truly awful
sound. But even expensive top of the line Pro gear can record bad audio, and does so often,
and with great precision! So what can you do to ensure the best quality sound for your
video?
Enter "Sound for Digital Video" by Tomlinson Holman. Simply put, every question about
sound for DV, from microphones through recording, to editing and release audio formats is
covered. Yet, surprisingly, the principles are highly approachable by even the most non-
technical reader. In fact, Mr. Holman has adopted a unique "Director's Cut" section within
chapters, intended to serve those, like Directors, who have limited time but need to digest
the key points quickly and with complete lucidity. The book is, in fact, quite easy to
assimilate by someone who picks it up, but is in the middle of a production! Mr. Holman
directs those readers to what chapter to read FIRST, to glean the critical essentials, as well as
how to use the "Director's Cut" sections.
But don't think it's only for the beginner or the time-limited. There is enough detail and
scientific information contained that even a seasoned pro will find it an essential reference
work. There is enough contained in each chapter to merit several readings, even by those
with careers in audio. The beauty of the book is that it can serve such a wide audience with
useful information, without alienating the extremes.
For those with more time, or more need to create a highly polished and effective soundtrack,
the book delves into the real nuts and bolts of audio as it applies to digital video. For
example, if you had to record dialog from a shout to a whisper, what do you need to know to
accomplish it? What microphone would be best (the answer might surprise you!), should you
plug the mic into your camera directly, or use a mixer? What can you do in post production
to make your dynamic range sound larger than it is? Would using a compressor help you or
hurt you, and when should it be used or avoided?
The basics are completely explored: What type of mic should you use for a given type of
recording circumstance? How can you use both channels of your camera to best advantage?
Avoiding overload is covered more thoroughly than I've ever seen it before, and yet in a
highly understandable way.
In today's competitive market, everyone needs some kind of "edge". After reading only a
portion of this book (for example, on avoiding overload) you become equipped to produce
soundtracks that can sound better than many very high profile producers. For example, we
recently heard a track on a PBS TV show that, if the recordist had understood "avoiding
overload" in this book, the track would have contained clean and understandable dialog. As
it was, it was so overloaded as to be barely intelligible. So simply reading this book can give
you the understanding to record better audio than National Geographic! How's that for
Return on Investment?
Then there's the included CD. It's a collection of demo and illustration tracks to be used as
examples for material in the book, but is also a collection of audio tools that can be used for
calibration and testing. The demo material illustrates sonic characteristics not easily
described in words, like good and bad bump edits, and how to solve editing problems.
There a group of Sound Process Demo tracks that demonstrate filers, limiting and
compression and numerous other audio processes. The demo tracks have descriptive
narration. There's also a standard leader track (30 seconds of tone plus "2-pop") that you
can use on the head of your project. All together, there are 23 tracks.
"Sound for Digital Video" is as enlightening as it is pleasurable to read. No one involved in
DV production, pro or amateur, should be without this book. Recommended without
hesitation or reservation!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
