Archive for August, 2010

In our quest for good images, we often forget how important sound is to our production. Bad sound can ruin any image. Even the greatest sound cannot salvage bad visuals, but good audio can enhance almost any scene. Of course you can go out and purchase the most suitable type of microphones and set it up for best performance. However, if you don’t follow the guidelines in this article, the results still can be less than satisfying.

ext. microphone for cold shoe

Clip-on microphone

Transmitter unit

Some fundamentals for Audio recording
Focus control
Some camcorders have manual focus controls situated dangerously close to the camera’s built-in microphone.  You might not see this as a problem, but try fiddling around with the focus while the camcorder is recording, and you will soon discover, that handling noise is picked up on the soundtrack.
To overcome this, make sure, that you focus your shot correctly before pressing record. This way, you will not only have a perfectly sharp shot, but your soundtrack will be free from unwanted noise.

Get the background – or ‘wild’ sound
Professional sound recordists always record a minute or so of background noise (known as ‘buzz’) at each location. This is particularly useful when you are cutting a dialogue where the background sound of the scene might be changing.

Headphones
If you want to hear what your camera hears, plug a set of phones into your camera to listen how it sounds. Remove them once you happy with the result.

AGC can be bad (Automatic Gain Control)
This feature makes the microphone hear things in a quiet environment what you and I cannot. It will even try to enhance its hearing to find something to record, like the air-conditioner or its own camcorder mechanism.  Find the controls, where this feature can be disabled and manually adjusted.

Sound check
This is a simple but effective check. Try to gauge how your on-screen talent will sound, and how well the microphone or camera is positioned.

More helpful Tips for recording great audio

1. Use an external microphone
You pick up less mechanical noise from your camcorder (drum, tape transport, zoom and focus
motor).  You can even use a microphone with a more suitable characteristic.

2. Place the microphone close to the talent
This way you will limit ambient noises and disturbances.

3. Listen through headphones while you shoot
You need to know what the camera hears. It can be quite different depending on the noise levels
and AGC settings.

4. Keep hand movements on the camcorder to a minimum
As discussed earlier, it not only influences your scene composition negatively, but also creates
handling noises, which can be picked up by the microphone.

5. Use a handheld microphone for man-on-the-street interviews
That is the way to go, if you want to get your microphone really close to the talent.

6. Use a wireless microphone to avoid cable hassles
This is a more expensive option. However, it is easy to set up and gives you much more flexibility
and very good results.

7. Keep audio in mind, when scouting locations
Wind noise can be very dominant and annoying. It is therefore prudent to make use of a decent
wind-screen or a barrier on the windward side of the camera when shooting outdoors.

8. Do not move microphone cables while recording
Depending on your equipment and set-up – too much movement can cause interference in your
audio.

9. Avoid long cable runs to minimize interference
This is sometimes a matter of trial and error to get the best results.

Summary
If you would like to improve the audio and have more impact with your video production, start by implementing some of the rules, tips and tricks outlined in these articles.