Resampling revisited and production audio, Sony style...

[Richard Brown]

As long as the intent is NOT DVD, then, absolutely, use any bit depth 
and sample rate. No algorithm to resample is perfect, is all I suggest, 
as well as to avoid same whenever possible. From my point of view, 
addressing analog delivery, which is the case sub 48KHz, is 
counterproductive. To 'change' later is to impair audio quality, but 
there is certainly room to maneuver...

It goes to the end user, when your video "goes home."... will the subtle 
differences, or even errors, in resampling digital audio be apparent to 
the layman? Even with a great home theater? Probably not. We have 
resampled a ton of 44 KHz audio from music libraries to 48KHZ, gone to 
DVD as well as VHS with them, and nary a soul has ever complained. Audio 
purists, on the other hand, rip out their hair over this. So do the 
music library producers, who often swear by their 44.1 KHz CDR delivery. 
In the end, based on the continued acceptance of declining quality of 
the broadcast medium (note the "100% Digital Quality" remarks on Direct 
TV commercials and then look at the artifacts within their highly 
compressed signal) it will remain true that content, not technology, 
rules in the end. When we score a project, we just use 48Khz for 
everything: music recording, ADR, foley, etc. because we are primarily 
headed toward DVD release with independent stuff, even industrial 
video.  Keeping things simple is easy to do.

As to audio solutions in production:

One of the problems with all Sony camcorders, from the PD150 on down, is 
that none are really regarded highly for their audio, meaning doing good 
ol' double system sound - separate video and audio, is a solution. 
Drifting from sync is not the problem it used to be when shooting film 
in the early days of digital audio. Things have worked out nicely since 
that time, and in DVCAM/DV,
syncing DAT audio, for example, works quite well, even when not 
resolving the two devices to the same reference. "Wild" audio is much 
less so in the age of digital everything. Just get a film style slate 
with clapper, maybe even a timecode version - it helps in editing later 
on, anyway. Double system also means you can have complete control over 
the audio portion of a show. It requires good working habits, but the 
end result can be a richer sonic experience during both the edit and the 
audio mix.

Richard Brown