I FOUND THE BEST WAY TO RECORD COCKPIT AUDIO

So I decided to put together a very widely asked for video explaining what I use to film these videos. Including the very popular cockpit audio recording methods.
I use the following gear:
Sony A7Siii
GoPro Hero: 9, 7 & Max.
Pilot USA Audio Splitter
Zoom F1 Field Recorder
Follow me on Instagram:
/ thomasmarrow

[@AnthonyTorr-ng7kn]

Great video, thanks for sharing. Another solution I’ve recently discovered is the NFlightcam cockpit kit for smartphones. You can get it in SA but it’s not cheap. The major benefit of this kit is you can connect your headset splitter cable directly to your smartphone and then any audio is automatically synced to the video your record on your phone without any editing required. And then no need for the separate audio recorder as well. Smart phones are typically not as good as the top GoPros quality wise but these days I find it close enough for everyday content. Safe flying!

[@danielterry1377]

Are you using a iPhone ? I’m trying to get mine to record audio but it’s not coming through the comms to the phone video recording.

[@AnthonyTorr-ng7kn]

@@danielterry1377 Yes I currently use an iPhone 11 and it works well. I've only had one flight that the audio did not record and this was while plugged into a different headset (a noise cancelling one that isnt mine, I use a David Clarke headset). Unfortunately I'm not sure if I didnt connect the cable properly or if the noise cancelling functionality had something to do with it. Otherwise the audio recording works perfectly every time when using the Nflightcam cable connected to an iPhone. Sound quality is great and virtually no engine or external sound is picked up. Hope this helps.

[@chrisinafrica]

Another awesome vid Tom! However you forgot to mention the hours of editing afterwards to get it looking so good!

[@ThomasMarrow]

Thanks Chris! That deserves a full video on it's own I think haha

[@kbungeraviation333]

@@ThomasMarrow You should make one!

[@bozhidarkaterinski9039]

What settings do you apply to your Go Pro for filming your cockpit and outside references ? I find it really tricky, because Either the outside image would be overexposed or the instrument would stay in the dark...

[@siyabongablack9344]

That was very useful thanks for sharing

[@ThomasMarrow]

Very welcome! Thanks for the comment Siya!

[@diantownsend3350]

Been looking forward to this video for quite a while! Your cinematic colour grade, is that done in post, or do you get that from the ND filters? - Complete video noob by the way... 😅

[@ThomasMarrow]

Mostly done in post. To get all the yellow and browny colours, it is ideal to shoot during golden hour. Often for me, that is early mornings haha The ND filters are to help with shutter speed. Creates a realistic motion blur as would be seen by the natural eye

[@enricos1409]

Thank you for the Video! Which Settings (especially resolution, Frames, white Balance, iso) do you mainly use with the two Gopros in the Cockpit? Thanks :)

[@ThomasMarrow]

Mostly using 4K 30fps on an auto white balance setting. I limit the iso to 1000. The thing with flying is that the light and temperature is always changing I do use an ND filter to limit the shutter speed too

[@AV8R_1]

Do you rely on the internal batteries of the GoPro’s in the cockpit, or use external power? I found if I use external batteries, I can record continuously, which avoids the need to fiddle with cameras in flight. The only downside to that yes then you end up with many many hours of video to sort through when editing. As for my cockpit audio, I also use a splitter, but record directly to one of the GoPro‘s that is recording continuously. The only issue I have run into with that, is that when you are running a external battery to the GoPro as well as external audio, you end up with a audio delay that needs to be realigned with the video in post editing. It’s a little annoying, but is manageable. I think I am going to switch to a dedicated audio recorder like you are using, so that I can avoid one other small problem with the audio delay. The other small problem is that because the GoPro records video in segments, the audio delay is not the same from one segment to the next. If you stitch all the segments of video together in editing, they may still not align with all the audio throughout the entire recording. You need to realign the audio for each individual segment a video before stitching the videos together. A dedicated audio recorder would eliminate that problem.

[@ThomasMarrow]

We have mastered the art of stitching the video and audio together. Unfortunately all GoPros are powered with internal batteries to minimise cabling headaches so we need to switch on the voice recorder and cameras multiple times and then put the two files together in post

[@aerozg]

Where do you plug in the splitter cable? Into the MIC port or the HEADSET port? And what settings do you use on the Zoom F1? Thank you!

[@Voyteck]

Thank you for sharing! 😀

[@djsairplanevideos3886]

Awesome flight video. I just Subscribed

[@jackjetpilot]

Feel the bass!

[@djsairplanevideos3886]

Keep up the great work

[@dava686868]

Why not use the GoPro 360 inside the cabin? Also can you hook the GoPro mic adapter to the 360 and still get ATC?

[@alpha_music.]

any way intercom system gets broken by using the splitter, or that the mic doesn't work etc.?

[@helgardtpretorius3888]

Hi. Any idea how to record cockpit audio to Insta360? Also a South African looking to record cockpit and ATC audio

[@jahurska]

This only works on countries where it is legal to capture ATC/radio communication.

[@crazycons]

Do you use some remote controls? Especially, since the Max doesn't have such a long battery runtime...

[@ThomasMarrow]

Use the phone as a remote for the 360 - put battery life is approx 1:15 on the 360 so it is often on and off throughout the flight

[@funandmore2923]

Nice Video 👍

[@Ko3n3k33]

Do you know if there are any built in solutions for recording cockpit audio? I'll be building a bearhawk soon and I'd like the functionality built into the panel rather than having a splitter hanging from the lemo jacks. Anyone know of anything out there?

[@ThomasMarrow]

I’m sure there must be a version of a cockpit voice recorder built into an audio panel that could do the job. I just have no idea who offers this

[@flywithvian2646]

Thank you for the video! What editing program do you use

[@ThomasMarrow]

I am using Final Cut Pro at the moment. Stay tuned for a video on editing at a later stage!

[@chiragjoshi5]

Awesome. How is the Max mounted on the wing?

[@ThomasMarrow]

Mounted on a sticky mount on the underside of the wing tip. Will experiment with longer pole to protrude forwards in the future

[@user-hh3ij1il4p]

Can you list these wires for recording

[@AV8OR51]

Thank you. How do you like your hero 9?

[@ThomasMarrow]

I love it!