Sample rates for Film(48khz)

Manfred-Klose

i see there is not a topic for this one yet.

Here is a link if you wanna understand why sample rate is important:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/16_vs_24_bit_audio.htm

I'm looking for some advise on what is the best way to use them for film(48khz)

1.Can i record my session in 44.1khz 32bit and export the final mixdown to 48khz 16bit so it would fit for video? , or should i record at 48khz and export at 48khz?
I tried recording at 48khz and exporting at 48khz, but doesnt sound nice at all.

The type of of recording i'm doing is pre-production for a student film, so basically they want the music before they start editing the film, so it can be synced with the music.(that should be at 48khz)

Gearhead

If 48 does not sound nice it cannot be the sample rate, right? Does 44.1 in and out sound nice on the same gear? Methinks there's something wrong here.
You could go either of two ways: trust the input side of the gear (mike-pre-D/A etc) and record everything 96. Dort out the output later. Or, set up an experiment and try all combinations, stick with what works for you.
Imho the audiophile way of thinking only applies to audiophile equipment: if you don't have that sorta gear then anything over 16/44 makes no sense. The equipment this film is going to get played over is probably limiting.

Neps

Manfred.. mmm.. sounding bad at 48kHz.. There could be some other issues.. The interface has a bad jitter on it's internal clock. If you're using an external clock then you might have an unstable clock..

But regarding sample rates.. Film actualy has a lot of diffrent sample rates that people work from.. Depending on the frames per second. 30fps is the film standard, and then you can have quite a few diffrent sample rates.. Also depending on where the film is being edited, country of ditribution etc.

But most things shot in SA will be shot on either MiniDV, DVCam, BetaCam, XDCAM, HDCAM, HDSR or HDV.. This means that it'll end up in either an Avid editing suite or Final Cut one.. And they work on 16bit, 48k as you said.

Recording at 24bit, 44.1kHz and then exporting it to 16bit, 48kHz shouldn't pose a problem. I do it quite often for outside recordings. One word of caution though.. Check the total length of your exported audio to the original recorded material. It can happen that the 48k version could be shorter than your 44.1k version. (jip, it happens.)

Renesongs

48khz x 24bit is the minimum I would record with for anything going out of my studio for further manipulation, including film. You need 48khz for better sound definition and 24bit for overhead space in mixing and layering. Peaking should be 3db below unity .

Neps

I must say.. I've tried to listen if there realy is a huge difference between 24bit 48k and 24bit 44.1k, and I'm not sold yet. Doing it at 88.2 or 96, now there is a bit of a difference from 44.1 and 48k.. But at those rates your clock needs to be so accurate otherwise you loose out on the advantages of recording at that res. Long live Apogee and Roshendahl clocks!!

Most of the guys I work with regarding Music recording either work 24bit 44.1k or 24bit 88.2k.. Only reason they do 44.1 is Hard Drive space. And some external preamps connected via ADAT or SP/DIF can't handle anything above 48k.

Manfred-Klose

Thanks guys.

This is my first film soundtarck i'm doing, and as neps said in a previous thread, reputation is pretty important.
So just want the directors to be as happy as possible(they are full of crap, they keep changing their minds on what they want?)

Neps@ I've got some old recoding sessions that is at 44.1, and just wanted to make shure if it can be exported at 48khz if i would ever need any of it for film.

sounding bad at 48kHz

It could just be a clock setting i suppose, but if 44.1 exported to 48khz works then its ok.

I'll be posting one of the songs tonight,to get some opinions

48khz x 24bit is the minimum I would record with for anything going out of my studio for further manipulation, including film

Rene, do you work at 48khz for your normal audio stuff as well(music cd's)?

Neps

You can transfer stuff from 44.1 to 48k. Just make sure that you import it at the best quality you can. In ProTools when you import 44.1 to 48k you can choose how good the quality must be, and I take any other DAW worth it's salt should be able to do that as well.

Regarding the directors.. A clear Brief is all it takes.. But if they are inexperienced, then you'll be lucky to get one.. Esp if they are aiming for a Spielberg film with a Rodriguez director. Then they will never be able to make up their minds.

Renesongs

Rene, do you work at 48khz for your normal audio stuff as well(music cd's)?

Yeah it sounds a lot more present than 44.1 to my ear. Also most of my soft synths and drum samples are 48k x 24. When I'm finished the project I back it up to CD as data files and OGG it on my hard drive for reference.

Esp if they are aiming for a Spielberg film with a Rodriguez director

AFAIK Rodriguez writes and produces his own music for his films.