# Video recording your band live



## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

Anybody ever did this with a pretty good result.. my concern is controlling the microphone volume level..My video camera has a external mic jack, input jack.
I am trying to have a mixer between the PA and Camera, in order to control the level of the microphone, my camera has no way to control the level of miking... so far i have not been able to , but probably am not hooking it up right.. i am using a mackie 1202 mixer..


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Tough to know without knowing the specs of the camera. 

Is it one of the 1202s that has the output switchable between line level and mic level? If not, you will almost certainly want to use a DI with an attenuator built in to lower the signal level to mic level.

Assuming that the camera has a 1/8" mic jack, you will want to know if it is a stereo or mono mic jack and wire up the mixer accordingly.

The camera probably has built in level control, so all of this will be more or less moot, though if you can keep the signal level lower going into the camera, you will be less likely to trigger the camera's compression circuitry.

You will almost certainly get better results if you can record audio separately from the video and then use a video editor to insert the better soundtrack - this is a bit more complicated but, depending on what the video is to be used for, would probably be worth the effort.


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

I think the Mixer has that , its a 1202-VLZ pro.... I thought about recording audio and video separate, but to sync them together sounds like it may be hard to do.. I have a great digital recorder that would record a live band , my video camera is a canon FS-200.. it has the 1/8 jack for mic, and another output jack for audio/ video.


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## bluesguitar1972 (Jul 16, 2011)

Depends on your setup and where you place the mic in relation to amps, monitors, etc. I've had decent success using my Hero camera.


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

The place is very small....so just using the internal mic with no way to control it will not be good... if only they made a stereo condenser mic, with a volume control...


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

As near as I can tell, the vlz pro doesn't have mic level outputs so you will need a couple of DIs to lower the signal level about 20dB. From the DIs, you will need to get a Y cable that connects to the outputs of the DIs (probably XLR) and has a 1/8" TRS connector for the mic jack. Be careful about the wiring - you only want the signal from pin 2 of each DI output. Pin 1 of each DI should be wired to the sleeve of the 1/8 inch connector; pin 2 on the first DI would connect to the tip; and the second DI would connect to the ring.

Make any sense?

I haven't actually done it myself, but apparently syncing audio and video isn't that hard as long as you clap your hands in front of the camera when you start recording. Just line up the audio peak from the camera track with the peak from the digital recorder track in your video editor and Bob's-your-uncle. 

Sounds easy... 

(YMMV.)


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

iPhone mic has a surprisingly good limited on it. Try it if you have one!

Otherwise, as suggested, I would record audio separately and comp the audio and video together in post-production. The handheld recorders from Zoom are excellent.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

Get a high decibel recording camera. 

Zoom makes about 3 models. Even has auto gain for loud environments

tascam makes an iPad /iPod compatible high dec. recoding mic. 

I've used both to record my band. The latest was a highlight type video from an outdoor show that was recorded by the Zoom camera only. The only editing I did was select the clips and select the transitions. 
Some of my older videos are done with the IPad and Tascam mic. 
The only reason I got the Zoom camera was to be able to record an entire show. It can use up 32gig sd card.

set it, forget it, watch your show and hear all your good spots and klunker notes.

look over in member videos forum to see/watch the videos recorded with the Zoom camera


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

I dont have an ipad or phone, but the small zoom camera sounds like just what i need...i will check around and see if i can find one available.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

Rick31797 said:


> I dont have an ipad or phone, but the small zoom camera sounds like just what i need...i will check around and see if i can find one available.


L&M sell them.


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## Lord-Humongous (Jun 5, 2014)

If you have a smart phone - my experience is that they almost all have surprisingly great video/sound performance. Your limitation will be with space if you want to record an entire set. I've used both my Blackberry and Iphone to record individual songs with good results. Once you get a few on there, you'll be chewing up a good chunk of memory though.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Have you actually tried using the external microphone with your camera? Maybe the volume will be good enough. I believe you can also adjust the volume with a video editing software. I record all our gigs with a Canon HF-200 using an Audio Technica AT822, the HF-200 though has a audio volume control.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Rick31797 said:


> Anybody ever did this with a pretty good result.. my concern is controlling the microphone volume level..My video camera has a external mic jack, input jack.
> I am trying to have a mixer between the PA and Camera, in order to control the level of the microphone, my camera has no way to control the level of miking... so far i have not been able to , but probably am not hooking it up right.. i am using a mackie 1202 mixer..


http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CYX-402F...lTBjQ-L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160,160_

I bought something similar to this that I can connect two microphones to if I want microphone separation. I also have an inexpensive stereo shotgun mic that I can use if I don't want to set up the microphones (Trakstar). Both work better than the internal mics in the Canon.

You can control the signal going into your Canon. Check the manual.


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