So I mentioned yesterday that I was eager to share the stories produced by the 12 delegates on our European Mojo Course in Santiago De Compostella. Ive embedded 5 of the stories on the blog – click here to go to the Circom YOUTUBE channel to view all the others also. I have to say I am quite blown away by some of these stories. You have to remember that many of the journalists involved were not working in their native tongue, they were in unfamiliar surroundings and using new equipment, that in some cases they had never tried before and in a few cases they had never shot or edited video content before. I have to give credit to the team of trainers, John Inge Johansen from NRK Norway, Darko Flajpan from HRT Croatia and Karol Cioma – training project manager for Circom Regional – we have worked together for several years now to deliver dynamic VJ and MoJo training and I think the effort of the students are proof of what can be achieved with only a few days training. As Karol said of the stories this year ” They make us look good” – not without the hard work and dedication of the participants who truly were exceptional.
This package was shot by Barbora Telferova from Czech Television on an iPhone using FilmicPro and edited on iPad using Pinnacle Studio. This was the final piece produced at the end of the 5 day course
This package was shot by Benedek Mohay from MTVA Hungary on an iPhone using FilmicPro and edited on a MacBook Pro using FCP. This was the final piece produced at the end of the 5 day course
This package was shot by Nadejda Uzunova from BNT Bulgaria on an iPhone using FilmicPro and edited on iPad using Pinnacle Studio. This was the final piece produced at the end of the 5 day course. Nadejda had never previously shot or edited a package
This package was shot by Janneke Niland from RTV Oost in the Netherlands on an iPhone using FilmicPro and edited on a MacBook Pro using Final Cut. This was the final piece produced at the end of the 5 day course
This package was shot by Patrik Samuelsson from SVT Sweden on an iPhone using FilmicPro and edited on iPad using Pinnacle Studio. This was the final piece produced at the end of the 5 day course
RØDE Microphones – smartLav. Im just back from a week long Mobile Journalism training course in the beautiful Santiago De Compostella, Galicia, Spain. This is the second Circom Regional Mobile Journalism course Ive led with my colleagues Karol Cioma from Circom, John Inge Johansen from NRK Norway and Darko Flajpan from HRT Croatia. Im really looking forward to sharing some of the stories that the participants shot. As soon as Circom posts them to their YouTube channel Ill embed them here also.
Anyway that preamble brings me to the purpose of this post. I was really excited to try out my theory of a budget MoJo kit consisting of just a Glif+ and a Rode Smartlav while on the course. There was a substantial array of different holders and audio accessories ranging from Owle Bubos, Phocus Accents, Makayama iPad holders, Glifs and Fostex AR4i. During the interview excercises I asked a number of the students to try out the SmartLav with the simple holder. The results were very disappointing. I had tested the Smartlav in one of our radio soundbooths and under those controlled conditions it performed pretty well, but when in a moderatley noisy environment – a shop for instance, the audio quality was abysmal. The audio was distorting on several of the interviews and no matter where we positioned the mic the level was always too loud or too much ambient sound. (We were using FilMicPro as our camera app and the SmartLavs were plugged directly into the iPhones (4s/5) ) I will email Rode to ask if we were doing something wrong but Im already anticipating their response. On the website the SmartLav is shown in use with the Rode Rec App which has an integral gain control for the mic. When used with FilMicPro no such audio gain is possible though of course you can see the audio level on the screen you cannot hear it as A. A split adapter would be required and B. FilMicPro currently doesnt support realtime audio monitoring while recording. (Though I am reliably informed that this is something Cinegenix are working on for a future update) Anyway the up shot of all this is that the students themselves refused to use the SmartLav for their actual stories preferring instead to use the IK Multimedia iRig Pre with pro-grade lavalier mics like the AKG C417.
One other surprise was with the iPhone 4s using the Fostex Ar4i . If you are using the Ar4i as your audio interface via the Apple 30pin dock connector you will know that it can support two separate audio inputs. We were using the latest version of FilMicPro (V.3.2.1) which will show two separate audio meters / audio channels when connected to the Fostex -However, every time we clicked into the media review button to check back a clip and then closed it to go back to the FilMic Camera the App would loose its connection to the Fostex, showing only one audio track and in some cases defaulting back to the iPhone mic. This issue caused some problems for some of our interviews which was quite annoying. I need to investigate the issue further to identify if its a particular version of iOS, a version of FilMic or a firmware update with the Fostex Ar4i – but watch out for it! ALWAYS CHECK BACK YOUR AUDIO BEFORE LEAVING THE INTERVIEW!!
If you have even just a vague interest in iPhoneography or iPhone Video then you will undoubtedly have heard of the Olloclip – a clever 3-in-1 lens system that features a Wide Angle Lens, Macro lens and Fisheye lens. I wrote about it previously when I discovered that it could be used with the Fostex AR4i.
Now the clever team behind Olloclip have previewed a new product: the Olloclip Quick-Flip™ Case. Its a case that protects your iPhone (4/4s and 5 versions available) and yet allows you to use your olloclip without removing the case. You can add the Pro-Photo Adapter to give your case horizontal and vertical tripod mounts as well as a cold shoe slot for a light or microphone. One feature I think looks quite clever is that when you flip the lens cover open it then acts as a shutter release button (for apps that use the volume + button as a trigger. I haven’t tried the case as its not actually shipping yet – its only available for preorder but it certinainly looks the part. Expected retail $49.99 ex shipping etc. Click here to visit the Olloclip webstore
Sorry about the product shot from their website but there are no PR shots online as yet.
UPDATE: So today I took the Rode iXY and the Tascam iM2 and iM2X into one of our radio voiceover booths to record some samples. This is not a scientific experiment by any means but if you can excuse the occasional audio pop ( I had no pop-shields for the Tascam devices so didnt use the one that comes with the iXY either) it is as fair a comparison as I can make under relatively controlled circumstances.
Here are the details: I used the Rode Rec App for ALL RECORDINGS and the sample rate was a constant 44000Hz with the exception of the last (as stated at 96KHz)
I tried to keep the phone in the same position and the same distance from my mouth for all these recordings- as shown. The iPhone was switched to Airplane mode to avoid any interference. Gain (within the Rode App was constant accross all mics except for the iPhone internal which I state in the recording, however both Tascams have an audio dial on the device itself, I tried to set these both around 75%- 80%.)
What do you think? Comments welcome.
Final point the Rode iXY retails for around €179 which includes a protective case, and windscreen. The Tascam Im2 retails at around €75 and the iM2X at around €77 with no additional accessories included.
I previously blogged about the Rode iXY after it was announced at CES and have been waiting to get my hands on one since. Last week I was at the #roodagen conference in the Netherlands delivering a presentation on Mobile Journalism with Karol Cioma from Circom Regional. I had included the iXY in the presentation and mentioned that I was waiting to get one and a member of the audience said he had ordered one direct from Rode and had it with him if I wanted to see it.
So at the end of the presentation, as is now customary, I invited the audience up to see and play with all the accessories I have amassed for use with the iPhone and iPad, and I finally got my hands on the iXY.
First impressions:
To begin with can I say I have several Rode Mics and have always been impressed with the build quality (with the sole exception being the fidgety battery cover on the VideoMicPro). Anyway the initial product images certainly made it look impressive but until I held it in my hand I really couldn’t appreciate the absolutely beautiful build quality.
I have tested lots, and I mean LOTS, of iPhone audio accessories, Tascam, IKMultimedia, Fostex, etc etc but I have never picked up a product and immediatley went – Oh Damn this feels good – not until the iXY. The brushed aluminium is beautifully finished, the weight suggests a quality product and the clever accessories (Windshield and Pocketpack) are all of really great quality.
I downloaded the Rode Rec App (€5.49 on the App store) only to realise it is in fact a customised version of the Fire2 App from Audiofile (which by the way is the same price on the App Store).
I should point out that there is also a free version of the Rode Rec App (which has some limitations imposed that can be removed via an in-App purchase). Im familiar with FiRe 2 because Audifile had previously licensed a limited version of the App to Blue Microphones under the App name BlueFire which was Free. We had used this in RTE in the early stages of our MoJo project to record simple audio clips and FTP them back to base. This was before we opted for LuciLive as our Radio solution for iOS.
Ive ordered a RODE iXY from Thomann (€179) as they are showing in stock. The price tag is steep by comparison to some other plug-in audio accessories like the Tascam iM2x ( RRP €77) but again you simply cannot compare the two devices as the plastic build of the Tascam simply cannot compete.
Once the iXY arrives Ill take it in to one of our audio booths and do a test recording with the App which very cleverly will allow me to post directly to SoundCloud, Dropbox, FTP, iTunes sharing or Email. Ill update the post then. For more info click the image or link at the top of the post or visit
http://www.ixymic.com
RØDE Microphones – smartLav. Ive just picked this story up on Twitter, thanks to @callapro for the heads up. Following on from their recent announcement of the iXY Microphone for iOS, RODE have now taken another substantial step with the announcement of the SmartLav – a Lavalier mic which has the 4pole TRRS connector for use with the iPhone and iPad. MicW were first to the market with a lav mic for iOS devices -
What really interests me is that RODE are pitching their SmartLav well below the cost of the MicW equivalents. The i825 and i855 retail for around £175 and £205 respectively but according to a tweet from RODE they expect the SmartLav to retail for about $60 (€45) which makes it a very competitive price. If the build quality is anything like the rest of the RODE range then this will be a MUST HAVE accessory for Mobile Journalism. I havent found a UK / Ireland supplier yet but really cant wait to get my hands on one to try out. I still have the MicW i855 and will do an audio booth test with both and post to soundcloud once the SmartLav arrives.
