Diversity and Dissent in Education- Recording Sound for Video
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Contents
Recording Sound for Video
- Recording great production sound—if you fail here, you will spend so much extra time in post-production for not as good results
- Sound is often distant consideration to video, which is a mistake
Things to consider:
LOCATION
- Conduct interviews in quiet rooms
- Take sound, not just visuals, into account when doing location scouts
TREAT YOUR SPACE
- Echo and reverb is nearly impossible to eliminate
- Use area outside of the frame to put absorbing material up
- Carpet will help cut down on reverb
SIGNAL—TO—NOISE RATIO
- Good sound > Bad sound/Background noise
- Just because it sounds good in the headphones, you want the distance between your good and bad audio levels to be large
- Get the microphone as close to the actor’s mouth as possible
- No mounted camera mics if at all possible
- Good locations with no echo
LISTEN TO AUDIO WHILE YOU SHOOT
- Closed-back headphones (blocks outside noise, no earbuds, Dr. Dre Beats, etc. as they change the audio mix)
- Make crew aware of any problems
- Do takes again, if needed
- Record Wild Lines if necessary (audio take with same mics from scene that can be subbed into bad audio takes)
Audio Gear
HYPER-DIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE (BOOM MIC)
- Supercardioid or hypercardioid polar pattern
- Main source for sounds
WIRELESS LAVALIER
Coverage for when you don’t get the boom close enough
EXTERNAL RECORDING DEVICE
- Olympus LS-100
- Zoom H4 or H6
SOUND CLAPPER
- A must have for dual sound recording
PROFESSIONAL HEADPHONES
- You want closed back headphones that are objective—earbuds, Dr. Dre Beats, etc. hype sound
Recording Techniques
LAVALIER TECHNIQUES
- Placement- in a documentary they are often visible, just above the chest
- Very sensitive
- Cable adds noise
- Create one or two loops, then when the cable is pulled it won’t move the mic
- Triangle of gaffer tape around mic and windscreen can cut down on noise
- In work outside of documentary, get your lavalier as close to your source as possible while hidden
- Also monitor lavalier recording to note any “radio hits”
BOOM TECHNIQUES
Proper shock mounts must be used
- Stabilizing mic holder
- Plastic blimp
- Dead cat or windscreen
Placement
- As close as possible (to achieve best signal-to-noise ratio)
- Just outside the frame
- Aim directly at subject’s mouth
- Polar pattern incredibly accurate, so be aware of rear mic sensitivity and when sound is reflecting in the space
- Sides of the mic are good at rejection
- Outside, put the back of the mic at sky
- Indoors are harder, ceilings are sound reflective
- Be consistent
LEVELS AND MONITORING
Record levels
- Level headroom (more dynamic space to work with)
- Lower levels are fine, if you have a good signal-to-noise ratio
- -20…-12 is a good record area
- Peaks can go as high as -3 and still be in a safe range
- Limiters can help you avoid clipping
Headphone levels
- Leave level alone so you have a set reference point
- If you can leave multiple signals split into left and right in your headphones, this will give you better quality control for the signals