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Latest Training
Take5: Sound Advice
5 Tips for Acquiring Awesome Audio
Hosted by Rick Green
SEASON: 3 EPISODE: 301 RELEASE DATE: JUNE 13, 2007
Bad audio can ruin good video. In this episode, Rick shares a few simple tips and some common sense for achieving clean location audio.
User Rating: 
4.45 (356 ratings)
Views: 39336
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- DJTV-Take5-s03e301-iPod
mp4 - 320x240 - 34 MB
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389 User Comments
great lesson. I am using a consumer camcorder on a shoestring budget to capture family outings, but as my budget gets better I will invest in a good mic. Thanks again!
Great job! I had never knew about the 90 degree cross of the power/mic cords. Nice tips! I had a shoot where I learned the hard way that monitoring with the VU meters is not a good thing! WEAR THOSE HEADPHONES!!!
All of these tips are important!
This hit some areas that I hadn't really thought about. Recording just the ambient noise is a good idea for voice overs that come closer to the original.
It is common sense but it's amazing how often these things are dismissed. I'll never forget sitting in with my sound editor on my first film. I was shocked as the film went from blah to boom with his work. Thanks for the reminders -- too easily forgot!
Rick,
Generally, I agree with your videos, often learn something, or refresh my memory. However, on this one, I'd like to point out a few things:
I sincerely disagree on "do NOT monitor audio from a mixer..." I've got 15 years of high end field production experience; MOST of the time, audio technicians monitor "return" (audio out) of the camera FOR cameramen. Some camera people, such as myself, prefer to listen as well, so there is a "splitter" from the audio umbilical cable. This however, directly impacts the quality and often the level of audio being monitored by the audio tech.
If the mixer is set up properly, then monitoring "CAMERA RETURN" FROM the mixer is a great idea. You're correct in wanting to "hear" what is being recorded by the camera.
Also, why did you use a "digital Hard Disk Recorder" (Sound Devices 744T) in place of an actual audio mixer? (Such as the Sound Devices 422!) That's a little misleading. People use those as primary/backup audio recording NOT m
Very basic, yet handy tips. One more thing I would've like to have seen added to Tip #2 is something about eliminating Ground Loops to reduce interference.
Great tips everyone should remember.
One item missing though, is a mention of using windscreens when shooting outdoors. The stand-up guy with the handheld mic had a pretty good breeze going and the uncovered mic in his hand would have surely picked up some rumble.
Regardless, a nice episode. It's always better to get it right in the field than to spend hours fixing things in post.
I have always said that you don't have good video until you have good audio. I have probably spent as much, if not more this past year on audio equipment as I have video components. In past years I would simply have plugged into a sound board at a wedding or stage event and suffer through the usual hum associated with that practice. No longer. I use portable mixers to gather sound from multiple mics on stages, a variety of wireless mics in addition to my favorite Sennheiser MKE300 shotgun mic... great audio at an affordable price. Sometimes I even forget that I'm supposed to shoot video as well!
Good information. Nothing presented that I didn't know, but it's always good to reinforce and review.
Thanks for your efforts~!
Dave Duprey
Great stuff! The basics are often forgotten, but are so important each and everytime you record. Excllent presentation.
Good basic instruction -- I'm always glad to see how others perceive and deal with problems we all encounter.
All of DJTV videos are really useful, and I watch as many as I can, downloading and saving them, to make them available for later viewing by the others in our audio / video department.
Keep up the good work -- you guys DO good work!
Good basic info. The building blocks for great location audio. I especially appreciated the info about the ideal mic distance being 4-12 inches from the subject. Thanks!
Solid basic info., worth reviewing/reminding yourself of every now & then. I'd like more info. for selecting decent mics for small, handheld miniDV cams. Sadly, there's no xlr connection on the Panasonic GS-500. Using an external mixer seems the only option. Got any suggestions for these cams? Thanks.
Loved the tips on running audio too close to a power source and also the "Cover your ears" tip. Before I worked for the company I'm working for now they had gone to shoot an instructional video that was a two day shoot. No one even thought to put on headphones to monitor the audio that was coming from the talent. End result: horrible audio and a wasted shoot. The video was never released and the relationship with the said talent was ruined. So be smart, listen to all of these great tips. They'll save your shoot someday.
Great episode! I'm a newbie and this information was right on time. These tips will save me a lot of time that I would have otherwise wasted.
Very good basic stuff and nicely presented for both the beginner and the forgetful seasoned pro. Ha!
Once again,
great tips and information. When are you guys gonna put all this stuff together on a DVD so I can have a training session with my colleagues.
Excellent tips. The audio is indeed one of production elements that is most likely to be overlooked, specially by those who are starting in the business.
Some great common sense tips that all of us need to keep in mind when working in our various locations. Keep up the good work!
Great tips..... I am looking forward to getting a better camera which has all the bells and whistles... (no pun intended).... so I can capture my video AND audio with perfection. Right now, my camera is very limited with inputs and outputs, so I have to be creative when shooting video.
Thanks for all the "sound advice"...LMAO..... until next time!
Great tips, way to often I am so focused on getting the picture right, that I forget all about the audio. I pay for it in the editing.
I think it is easy for people to take audio for granted... Clearly recording your subjects voice on set has to be one of the most fundmental concerns. It's one of the hardest things to "fix" in the edit stage. And remember, audio without video can at least be radio, but video without audio... well,ah... it just sucks!
Congratulations again to DJTV. Sound Advice just great...sometimes the obvious is just not so obvious. I am a great fan of DJTV and all I can say is, this is the very best educational site for learning the art of videography and all that goes behind the scenes...well done again!!!
Paul. Madrid Spain.
Great job! The timing of this piece is perfect. A friend of mine was shooting some video and he was having a terrible time with the audio. Yup, you guessed it...ran the mic line right next to an extension cord. I told him what was causing the bad audio and he couldn't be happier with the new results. Credit going to you of course. Thanks!
Russ
Enjoyed this segment. I always seem to learn of things I haven't been doing or could do better.
Thanks for producing segments that inform, educate & entertain.
Tom Telliano Cornerstone Multimedia
GOOD VIDEO. SOMETIMES WE FORGET THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. AUDIO IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE VIDEO.
Fairly basic information. Great for those new to the field. Good reminder for the more experienced as even they forget to follow the rules. Especially liked the recording of ambient room sounds (audio cutaways). Editors who simply remove the offending noise create silence that is deafening. Any information about camera noise transfering to the tape and something about balanced wireless microphones? Looking forward to the intermediate and the advanced levels.
Very valuable basics for audio. Very often getting good audio is more chalenging that getting good video. Thanks for helping us gettings this strait.
This is a pretty basic show. I appreciate the fact that sometimes the basics are necessary especially for those that may not know how to do certain things.
Thanks for these tips.....refreshing reminders concerning the audio cables and power cords. Thanks again for this info!