Audio Interface, Microphones, & Sound

About Audio in the pesonal Studio

• Audio is at least equally impretant if not more so compared to video. We will watch bad video longer than bad audio. 

• All the microphones in the room are connected to the Focusrite 18i20 Audio interface, located in the rack, under the main desk. 

Microphones:

• Shotgun Microphone

  • The shotgun mic sits on the main desk. It is a very nice microphone that picks up a narrow focus of sound in the front of it. 

  • Designed to pick up sound from 4-8' away

  • Point it towards your mouth, when using as the main microphone (no matter where you may be in the room. 

• Wireless Lavalier (lav mics)

  • There are two wireless lavalier mics (lav) located in their charging cradle on a stand, in the corner of the Personal Studio. 

    1. These mics must be powered on

    2. After pressing the power button on the mic they will be recognized by the Capture Computer

    3. Pull mics out of the cradle by the body of the mic, please do not lift by the handle.

• Ceiling mic

  • The last mic in the room is our ceiling mic.

    1. This mic is on and leveled upon entering the room

    2. It is a good backup, if you forgot to pay attention to the sound, as it will pick up audio in the studio

    3. This mic is closest to the air handlers in the room. It is the noisiest mic in the room.

    4. Feel free to turn down the levels on the ceiling mic if you are not using it as your primary mic

Focusrite Audio interface and Focusrite Control 2 app:

• The Focusrite Scarlett hardware device and the Focusrite Control 2 app that lives on the computer both do the same thing. They adjust the levels of the microphones and send that info to Wirecast to record it. Either device will do the same job, it is a matter of preference. 

Focusrite 18i20 hardware device:

• The hardware device that lives in the rack is where the microphones are plugged in.

  • On the left are 8 buttons, each for controlling microphones 1-8 (The Personal Studio has 4 microphones)

  • Inputs 1-2 are empty because they are on the front of the rack, and you are welcoem to bring in your own mics to plug into the Scarlett

    • • • Press the button of the microphone in which you would like to adjust the levels (mics in the room are connected to mic numbers 3-6)

        • Turn the knob that says "input"

        • This will raise and lower the audio gain for the specific microphone

Focusrite Control 2:

• This is how to adjust the settings on the hardware device without having to reach under the desk. The hardware device and this are connected

  • Analogue 1-2 are open, available if you wish to use your own mics

  • Inputs 3-6 are labeled "Shotgun," "Lav Mic 01," "Lav Mic 02," and "Ceiling mic"

  • Use the mouse to click and drag the levels up and down to adjust the sound of the mics

• Output knob on right

  • The "Output" knob is where you can adjust the levels of the connected headphones. You have to click on the pull down arrow to select either "Headphone 1 or 2" and you can adjust headphone levels from the control 2 app. Using the knobs on the hardware device is also an easy way of doing this.

Sending Audio to Wirecast:

• By default the Focusrite will send the audio you have adjusted in the interface or application to Wirecast (image above)

  • This indicates that Wirecast is recording what the Focusrite is sending (audio from the room)