Evanescence: 2012-04-22 Frisco, TX (Bootradr Master AUD Shot DVD)

While Edgefest 22 (22nd year) in the D/FW metroplex had a terrible line up of bands this year, two bands stood out and I considered enjoyable.  All others were a total waste of time.  Evanescence and Garbage put on good shows, and as would be expected, their performances came at the end of the day/night.

There were a few issues with recording both bands.  The wind was blowing pretty good and I did not remember to bring my foam microphone guard to place over the Zoom H4n microphones.  So, at least on the Evanescence show, the Zoom H4n did not get a good recording.  I was also recording with a Zoom H2 and it did a much better job of not encountering the wind issue.  But it still had wind issues too (it wasn't exempt).  I used the Zoom H2 audio and synchronized it with this video for this Evanescence show being uploaded here.  Since the Sony camcorder's microphone never does a great job, and the better Zoom H4n had severe wind issues, I'm glad I had the backup Zoom H2 digital audio recorder!!!

Another issue with the whole Edgefest 22 event was the sound on the south stage.  This event was held in the FC Dallas Stadium/Pizza Hut Park Stadium venue.  Picture an outdoor American football stadium and you know what the venue looked like.  At the end of the Evanescence video I pan from the stage they were on (south) to the stage at the other end of the field (north) so viewers can get an idea of the setup.  Anyhow, the sound on the south stage was not good.  All day the bands on that stage sounded "muted" or just not mixed right from the soundboard.  I did EQ the Zoom H2 audio of Evanescence's show on the south stage before overdubbing the audio track to the DVD project.  It definitely needed the help.

So here's a rundown on the Evanescence show details, DVD details, and lineage details.

SHOW DETAILS:
Location: Frisco, Texas
Venue: FC Dallas Stadium/Pizza Hut Park Stadium
Event: Edgefest 22 (2012)
Date: April 22nd, 2012

DVD ATTRIBUTES:
Format: NTSC
Frames: 29.97 fps
Video Codec: MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (Widescreen)
Video Bitrate: 9100 kbps average
Audio Codec: mpg2 (originally AC3 from camera but software only outputs mpg2)
Audio Bitrate: 224 kbps
Menus: Yes (audio used on menus is from Evanescence's March 2012 Offenbach show)
Chapters: Yes
WinRAR File Size: 2.77 GB total (6 zipped files)
Unzipped File Size: 3.02 GB total (DVD)

EQUIPMENT USED RECORDING SHOWS:
(1) Sony DCR-SR85 Handycam with Carl Zeiss lens
(2) Zoom H4n Digital Recorder (recorded @ 96 kHz 24 bit audio)
(3) Zoom H2 Digital Recorder (recorded @ 48 kHz 24 bit audio)

LINEAGE:
DVD audio track recorded on Zoom H2 digital audio recorder @ 48 kHz 24 bit, and then amplified with AVS Audio Editor by 4.4 db.  I then clipped the audio track to synchronize with the video and converted it to 44.1 kHz 16 bit audio (CD standard) using CD Wave Editor. I then EQ'ed and cleaned up the audio with Roxio 2010 Sound Editor.  After all of this, I used AVS Video Editor to overlay the Zoom H2 audio track and turn off the video's native audio track and then to create superimposed text at start of video.  I then then exported the video with the same format/attributes that it was recorded in using a Sony DCR-SR85 camcorder (except the AC3 audio output).  And finally, I opened the video in AVS DVD Author and created menus, chapters, etc. and rendered it to DVD.  After that, all that was left was to use Trader's Little Helper to create the md5 checksum file and then WinRAR to zip the non torrent upload files.

SETLIST:
01. What You Want
02. Going Under
03. The Other Side
04. Made Of Stone
05. My Heart Is Broken
06. My Immortal
07. The Change
08. Call Me When You're Sober
09. Imaginary
10. Bring Me To Life

NOTES: (1) I never use digital zoom (only optical) to avoid blurry or pixel related issues.  Nevertheless, there are still times, when zooming in, the video degrades in quality.  It frustrates the heck out of me, but what can you do?  (2) I had much higher hopes of this being an excellent audio/video recording.  But it isn't excellent.  It is very watchable, but due to issues described and software and equipment limitations, there are some frustrating imperfections in the final production.  I don't mean to discourage anyone from downloading or checking out the DVD.  I just don't want any false hopes either.  It's a good production, but it is not the excellent one as I had hoped for :-(  And last but not least (3), I am looking for better video and audio software to create better productions.  Simple things, like working with the Zoom H2's 48 kHz 24 bit audio in Roxio cannot be done.  It has to be converted to the CD standard 44.1 kHz 16 bit setting.  That's just plain stupid.  And not being to output the DVD's audio in AVS as the native AC3 audio is another issue I have with that software.  I'm not always happy with AVS' video rendering either.  But, even though the production may "look cool", you get what you pay for.  I HATE Roxio products and desperately want to upgrade from AVS video products (Roxio 2010 Pro's video production has never worked).  Short story lengthened, I'm saving, looking, and still learning the in's and out's of this passion/hobby I love so much.  And I'm striving for the best productions I can create.

With all of the above stuff just being said, don't skip downloading this show because you expect it to be horrible.  Believe me, that is not the case :-)

I guess after all of this yakking it's about time I add the links.

FileFactory Links:
Part 1 - http://www.filefactory.com/file/c5a12fb
Part 2 - http://www.filefactory.com/file/c485828
Part 3 - http://www.filefactory.com/file/c4850fb
Part 4 - http://www.filefactory.com/file/c4855af
Part 5 - http://www.filefactory.com/file/c4855b8
Part 6 - http://www.filefactory.com/file/c48537d

Dime Torrent - http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=403754
NOTE: I created a torrent and posted it on Dime.  If your a Dime member, you'll know what to do.  If not, sign up for a free account and READ THE RULES.  Keep your sharing ratio at 0.25% or higher so as to not get banned.  It's a much faster download almost always!  Here's the link...and back to the original blog post now.

I did record the full Garbage show too, so whether I use the same software or something new, I'll surely make a DVD of it before too long.  I hope all who check this show out enjoy it...

Bootradr