With all the advancements in DSLR camera’s, making gorgeous looking video has never been easier or more affordable. Unfortunately audio, even though equally important, is often an afterthought and left to chance. Unless you are in the business of shooting silent movies, audio is half the story and every film maker should strive to present their films with the highest quality audio possible to maximize impact and emotional response.
There are multiple problems with recording audio into a DLSR camera. The built-in camera mic is unacceptable for professional work and is also subject to wind noise and internal camera/lens noise. When using the 1/8th or XLR input on the camera, you are introducing possible noise and durability issues due to the unbalanced input. Also, in an effort to keep file sizes to a minimum, audio is often mangled by compression and limiting. A process that is impossible to undo. Obviously this is not the best strategy.
Recording audio with a completely separate device (also referred to as double system sound) is the best approach if you want the highest quality audio for your project. This setup involves a laptop, a professional audio interface (like an Apogee ONE or Duet 2) and a quality microphone and results in feature film quality audio from the start. This system also allows the film maker to monitor, backup and check files on the laptop, eliminating any possibility of lost video footage or audio.

The Dual System also increases efficiency and makes file organization a breeze. With a Dual System for your audio, your files are already on your workstation when you are ready to start editing, eliminating the step of transferring audio from a hard disk recorder or the DSLR camera.
Often a concern with DSLR audio is sync when editing. New with Final Cut Pro X and also offered as a plug-in by third-party software developers, audio can be automatically lined up with video in the correct location with near zero effort.
Using Final Cut Pro X for post production allows you to effortlessly record overdubs in place without having to transfer files and line audio up.
Apple has tweaked the connection between audio and video tracks with something it's calling "Clip Connections." This binds secondary audio tracks to the primary audio tracks that are attached to footage. This way, if it's dragged to another part of the timeline, it won't lose the secondary audio that was added after the fact. Joining that is a feature Apple calls "Magnetic Timeline" which makes sure that these connected items that are dragged around on the timeline do not collide with one another.
Use Apogee hardware with any of these popular video applications:
Final Cut Pro 7 |
Final Cut Express |
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ONE, Duet 2 and Ensemble are all excellent choices for the DSLR Filmmaker. Here is a breakdown of their features.
Product |
ONE
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Duet 2
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Ensemble |
| Built-In Microphone | N/A | N/A | |
| Number of Inputs | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Number of Outputs | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Number of Microphone Preamps | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Phantom Power 48V | |||
| Soft Limit | |||
| Portable | |||
| Light Weight | |||
| Price | $249 | $595 | $1995 |
Apogee gear for music creation on a Mac, iPad and iPhone |
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JAM |
Studio quality guitar input
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$99 |
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MiC |
Studio quality microphone
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$199 |
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ONE for iPad & Mac
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2 IN x 2 OUT USB audio interface/microphone
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$349 |
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Duet for iPad & Mac
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2 IN x 4 OUT USB audio interface for iPad & Mac
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$649 |
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Quartet for iPad & Mac
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4 IN x 8 OUT USB audio interface and studio control center for iPad & Mac
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$1395 |
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ONE for Mac |
1 IN x 2 OUT USB Microphone and Audio Interface
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$249 |
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GIO |
1 IN x 2 Out USB guitar interface and software controller for Mac
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$395 |
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Ensemble
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8 IN x 8 OUT FireWire audio interface for MacAll-in-one FireWire audio interface for MacThis product is no longer in production Check the Apogee Store for refurbished Ensembles> |
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Symphony I/O
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2-to-32 channel modular audio interface for Mac
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Starting at$2495 |
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