EDTC 5340: QUALITY SOUND PRODUCTIONS

TIP ONE – Use an External Microphone

First, if possible, use an external mike.Unfortunately, the microphones built into most camcorders are not very good. Even worse they are omni-directional will pick up sound from EVERYWHERE to the sides and behinds as well as in front.…..mumbling, heavy breathing, and other extraneous noises.

EDTC 5340: QUALITY SOUND PRODUCTIONS

This is why you need an external mike that plugs into the MIC IN jack on your camcorder.http://www.internetvideomag.com/Articles_2008/041308_RecordingSound101.htm

EDTC 5340: QUALITY SOUND PRODUCTIONSTIP 2 – USE A WIRELESS LAVALIERE

FOR RECORDING TRAVEL Simple pin the wireless lavaliere and its transmitter to the guide’s label or jacket and then the sound of their voice will be transmitted back to the little receiver unit that is mounted on your camcorder. Sony ECM-HW1 wireless mic costs about $130

EDTC 5340: QUALITY SOUND PRODUCTIONS

TIP 2 – USE A WIRELESS LAVALIERE FOR RECORDING TRAVEL: cont…

EDTC 5340: QUALITY SOUND PRODUCTIONS

TIP 3 – GET CLOSEIf you don’t have a good telephoto or shotgun mike, or can’t afford a good wireless microphonesystem, or if your camcorder doesn’t have an audio input jack, then next best thing is to get close. The closer you can get to your subject the better they will sound. It’s simple physics.

EDTC 5340: QUALITY SOUND PRODUCTIONS

Most camcorders have an electronic circuits built into them called AGC or Automatic Gain Control. It automatically adjusts the sound recordinglevel so that the camcorder will hear something, no matter how faint it is. The further you are away from your sound source, the more the AGC has to magnify the sound. The more it amplifies the audio, the more it also amplifies the surrounding noise as well.  If you are a distance away and the audio source is faint, the camcorder may adjust the AGC pick-up sensitivity so high that it picks up the sound of the camcorder’s motors and gears.Getting close will not only make your audio sound better, it will make your video look better.

EDTC 5340: QUALITY SOUND PRODUCTIONS

TIP 4  – RECORD CONTINUOUS SOUND OF EVENTS OR PERFORMANCES

When you record a performance or event, make sure you record and capture the sound as a continuous event, without any breaks.

While the camcorder is rolling, capturing the sound, you can be zooming in and out, getting different shots, shooting close-us, etc.

EDTC 5340: QUALITY SOUND PRODUCTIONS

TIP 5 - MONITOR YOUR AUDIO TO MAKE SURE IT SOUNDS GOOD by using headphones or at least an earphone, you can check to make sure that the sound is actually working. This is very important when using external mikes where a dead battery or a disconnected mike plug or cable may spell disaster.

Especially when recording in tricky audio situations like concerts and performances. Even though you don’t want to be recording where the audio levels are too low, you also don’t want audio that is too loud or distorted.

EDTC 5340: QUALITY SOUND PRODUCTIONSTIP 6 – PORTABLE

AUDIO MIXERSOn many pro camcorders, this mixer and volume control system is essentially built into the camera. Some camcorders allow the operator to record, control and monitor up to four different audio tracks.

EDTC 5340: QUALITY SOUND PRODUCTIONS

TIP 7 – CAPTURE ROOM TONE

If you plan on editing your videos after you shoot, a very good technique is to capture a minute or two of what is known as room tone or the ambient sound of the location when nothing is happening. It can be the sound of the surf pounding away in the distance, it can be the sound of the city outside the walls of a ballroom, and it can even be the soft buzzing of the lights and electronics in an office.By recording this background tone and using it while editing, you will be able to insert it into your video to cover any gaps in your audio recording.By cross fading from the good sound to the background tone, the loss of audio won’t be as jarring as going from voices and singing to deafening silence.

QUALITY SOUND 101

1. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7482787306844419404&ei=3AvBSr_HMYvGqwL73OXaBg&q=HOW+TO+GET+good+sound+quality+video&hl=en#

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Ozxntkmnw&feature=fvw

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuJR1ND2CDM&feature=related

REFERENCES

http://www.internetvideomag.com/Articles_2008/022208_AudioTipsandTricks.htm