5 key elements to recording ‘clean and clear’ voice on location.
- Microphone POSITIONING
- Microphone SELECTION
- Mic HANDLING & PROTECTION
- Subject POSITIONING
- RECORD LEVEL: setting- monitoring- adjusting.
5 different types of microphones.
- GUN/SHOTGUN mic.
- Lavalier/ Personal Mic (aka ‘lapel’ or ‘tie clip’ mic.
- Radio mic.
- Hand-held condenser mic.
- On-board camera mic.
What is a GUN mic?
- Uni- directional microphone
- Used extensively in drama for recording dialogue / voice and all other sound. Excludes sound from the sides and around the subject.
- Requires close positioning and careful direction.
- Requires careful handling manipulation such as re-direction during dialogue work.
What is a Lavalier / Personal mic?
- Omni-directional microphone. (Worn on clothes)
- Picks up sound from only very near proximity. So most effective in thenoisiest of locations.
- Used extensively in factual interviews and location presentation.
- Susceptible to handling (noise) problems such asbrushing against clothes, and difficult to hide discreetly and still avoid such problems.
- Wires and clips make it relatively cumbersome to use so not good for spontaneous interview filming.
What is a Radio mic?
- Omni-directional, wirelesstype of personal microphone.
- Again – designed to pick up only close-proximity sound so effective in thenoisiest of locations.
- Used extensively in drama such as capturing dialoguein MLS or LS or when actors are moving far duringthe shot – to avoid seeing filming booms/cables.
- When used in the long shots the mic cannot be seen as it is very small.
- Susceptible to radio / static interference. As well as usual personal mic problems, actors and presenters have to carry/wear transmitter and relatively time-consuming to set up.
What is a Hand-held condenser mic?
- Omni-/slightly directional interview mic.
(Presenter Style) - Designed to be hand-held by presenter and only effective to use at close quarters.
- Not designed to be invisible– typically used for factual;interviews; vox pops etc…Like all microphones – has tobe handled with care to avoid handling noise transferred from interviewer to microphone pick-up including along trailing cable.
What is an On-board camera mic?
- Typically omni-directional mic. (Not a specialist mic)
- Sometimes with limited dual-capability with switch between omni-uni direction (‘zoom’) effect.
- Normally treated as a ‘failsafe’ / backup recording mic.
- Not suitable for recording dialogue or interviews.
- Usually recorded with picture by default. May be DISABLED in professional camcorders when external mic source is plugged in, but NOT necessarily automatically - may have to beactively selected / deselected as a sound source.
What is auto gain?
Auto Gain automatically and continuously monitors ambient sound level (unintelligently) and adjusts recording level accordingly.
Why shouldn’t we use auto gain?
Auto-gain tends to produce poor quality, uneven sound because of the way it unintelligently reacts very suddenly to very LOUD or QUIET sound levels:
- LOUD: Drops DOWN sound level suddenly, then correcting UP.
- QUIET: Lifts sound levels UP during gaps in speech in interviews, so that we hear background noise grow until speaking starts again.
NEVER USE AUTO-GAIN – unless no sound crew and no choice.
What is Manual Sound Recording?
Manual Sound Recording involves performing a sound check and setting baseline sound level accordingly – followed by continuous monitoring+ adjusting of sound level.
Three things to consider when using a microphone.
- In principle, get mic as CLOSE as possible to sound source - without risking it actually being seen in shot / drifting into shot.
- For voice often positioned overhead, but may sometimes have to be positioned from below instead to avoid voice bouncing off hard floor surface for example.
- Mic should be pointed basically towards the sound source such as voice emanating from mouth – but may have to be placed slightly ‘off’ the mouth line to avoid ‘popping’ effect of sound/breath waves hitting mic surface.
Two types of microphone protection.
Microphone PROTECTION
from elements – WIND & RAIN!
- Wind Gag (e.g. Rode ‘DEAD CAT’) (The furry one)
- Zeppelin or sound cage. (may also be covered by furred wind gag to create MAXIMUM PROTECTION).
What to consider when positioning subjects.
background noise such as traffic, crowds etc…
- Pay attention to the direction of background noise. Avoid as far as reasonably possible.
- If feasible, reduce the impact of background noiseby changing the position of your subject / interviewee to help allow pointing the mic away from noise source.
(If practicable /acceptable).
Sound Level Setting
When recording directly onto camcorder
- Professional camcorders typically include 2 sound CHANNELS or ‘INPUTS’
- Each channel needs to be correctly set (switched) to receive either internal or external MIC or other input such as a LINE from a mixer.
- Each channel has a level setting dial or readout that needs to be set to hear good sound level but without risking it distorting.
- Should be monitored through headphone output but… correcting sound level live on camera is DIFFICULT.
Typical Pro/Semi-Pro Camcorder
setup with External Mic input DIRECT:
- Make sure BOTH Channels are set to ‘Mic’ (NOT line!!)
- Plug EXTERNAL MIC into Channel/Input.
- Plug ONBOARD MIC into Channel/Input.
- Start with sound level at Mid (‘5’?) level and adjust accordingly using voice level mic test. (Speak into mic in record mode).
- Monitor sound continually using headphones at all times!!
Typical Pro/Semi-Pro Camcorder
setup with 2 x Interview mics input DIRECT:
- Make sure BOTH Channels are set to ‘Mic’ (NOT line!!)
- Plug LAVALIER / RADIO MIC 1 into Channel/Input 1.
- Plug LAVALIER / RADIO MIC 2 into Channel/Input 2.
- Start with sound level at Mid (‘5’?) level and adjust accordingly using voice level mic test. (Speak into mic in record mode).
- Monitor sound continually using headphones at all times!!
Microphone POWER SOURCE
‘Phantom’ or Battery POWER?
External microphones all need to be electronically poweredby either internal (CAMERA) or external (BATTERY) source.
Some gun/shotgun/condenser microphones offerselection of EITHER internal or external powering.
‘PHANTOM’ power
Internal power from the camera power sourceis indicated by ‘48v’ being set to ON.
BATTERY (microphone) power
Using external power from the microphone’sown battery(s) demands that 48v is set to OFF.
WARNING: Setting 48v to ON when a battery-poweredmic is attached and on can damage a mic!
Typical Sound Monitoring & WARNING
When recording sound / voice, you need a healthy visible level around the GREEN centre of the sound meters scale, peaking occasionally into yellow.
If sound is constantly past the centre green into YELLOW zone, your sound is riskily high.
NEVER allow sound to peak into RED distortion zone. If you see this you MUST reduce the recording level. Bad distortion CANNOT be removed digitally without degrading sound overall.
REMEMBER: Digital sound should always be slightly under-recorded. (SLIGHTLY!!!)
If you do not see your sound source making the meters light up/ bounce, then your main sound is far too low and level must beincreased.)
Cinema PICTURE Structure
Linear sequence of individual moving images (typically) primarily connected by CUTS with additional FADES / DISSOLVES / TRANSITIONS.
Cinema SOUND Structure
Linear real-time sequencing
typically utilising both short and long CROSS-FADES as well as CUTS and constructed in multiple parallel LAYERS OF SOUND
Picture EDITING
Film & Video PICTURE editing is completed to an accuracy of (most commonly) exactly 24 or 25 frames per second.
(matching speed of projection/transmission)
Sound EDITING
Film & Video SOUND editing may be completed to a much greater accuracy – down to fractions/milliseconds.
This is not done in Source / Timeline cutting within film/video editing software, but is typically done by exporting sound files into audio-editing programmes (e.g. Audition; Audigy) to be edited, then re-importing them into the video-editor timeline.
This level of editing accuracy is essential, especially for editing dialogue, whether for TV or Cinema, fact or fiction.
