Creating the perfect shot composition is only half the battle in any video production. Without a clear soundtrack
then the whole thing can quickly crumble, requiring costly retakes and unnecessary editing headaches. It is therefore
essential for every shoot to have a quality setup of the best possible sound equipment.
Professional Audio Equipment
The vast majority of professional productions will have teams of experts covering each aspect of the filming, from
cinematographers and lighting technicians to location scouts and sound engineers. To ensure the success of the project
as a whole, it is vital that each individual department is properly briefed and equipped. After all, nothing can
replicate the immediacy and spontaneity of a live situation; so each take, regardless of what type of film you're
creating, should be treated as if it's the final one - meaning everything has to be technically perfect.
Capturing Clear, Unmuddied Sound
Sound, along with vision, is one of the fundamental parts of any filming process, whether a strictly amateur or
completely professional production. Starting with the basics, you will in most situations require an external
microphone, overriding the standard one that will ordinarily come attached with any camcorder. With a microphone you
are better able to channel the sounds you want directly to the film, whilst cutting out all of the unnecessary
nvironmental background noises.
Tie clip microphones - or to give them their proper name, Lavalier microphones - are perfect for discreet and
portable sound recording. Fitting neatly on the clothing of the subject - ordinarily a tie or lapel, hence the name -
they pick up audio almost directly from the mouth, negating any superfluous sounds.
Versatile Microphone Options
Using a boom along with a shotgun microphone achieves a similar result; although as this is largely directional,
it is essential that the operator of the boom maintains a good distance from the subject with the microphone pointing
at the source of the sound. Shotgun microphones can also be handheld or even set up on a stand in front of a static
interview or similar scenario. The furry windshield - also know as a 'Softie' - that has become synonymous with boom
mics used in the media, is particularly useful for outside broadcasts; preventing wind from effecting the quality of
audio and airborne particles damaging the microphone.
Handheld mics are an integral part of many interview scenarios. News, sports and other professional broadcasts
utilise these simple microphones as they can be easily passed between interviewer and interviewee and work just as
well in a report by a single person.
Wireless Sound Solutions
Greater freedom for the roaming video subject can be achieved through wireless microphones. As their name
suggests, these mics can travel anywhere without metres of cable trailing around. The signal is relayed via a
transmitter to a secondary receptor, which in turn records the soundtrack through a standard system. Just as you'd
tune an FM radio at home, your microphone is channeled through a designated frequency to the base unit. Infrared
wireless microphone systems are also available; however these tend to be less popular, purely because they are
restricted by the need to maintain an uninterrupted beam between microphone and receiver.
Directional & Omnidirectional Microphones
Aside from the numerous different variations with the style of microphones, they can usually be categorised in
one of two ways - directional and omnidirectional. A directional microphone will largely pick up sound from a
single source, with very little peripheral noise picked up. These are mostly used in situations where you only
want to have the subject's voice or a particular noise. Due to the direct nature of the way in which they pick
up sound they are extremely clear, although only when facing directly at the subject.
Conversely, omnidirectional microphones have a far broader range for recording sound. By picking up noises over a
wider sphere, the omnidirectional mic is ideally used for more atmospheric recording; capturing everything within
a scene rather than simply just what the camera or microphone is pointing at. Obviously this does mean that
background sounds can impact and overlap on the main filming subject, which does slightly compromise the quality
of the dialogue or other recorded material.
Enhance & Convert Sound
Capturing the sound is one thing, but then of course you have to edit and mix the audio to fully compliment the
visual. Mixers are just one of the products that can be incorporated into film production, either in the field or
back in the editing suite, to really optimise the recording quality of the audio track. Audio converters are also
incredibly useful; transposing signal between digital and analogue, allowing you to keep everything in the same
balanced format regardless of how the film and audio are individually captured.
Tailoring your Individual Audio Setup
There are plenty of other peripherals that go into making the perfect audio equipment setup; from extra cabling to
good old gaffer tape everything needs to be accounted for. But with the increased availability and affordability
of professional audio equipment, the modern technician can easily put together a fantastic audio system that's
cheaper and of better quality than ever before.
Finding the right equipment to suit your filming needs and setting it all up appropriately are just two of the
problems you'll face, but here at Pro AV we're here to help you. Our useful buyer's guides will help distinguish
what's right for your production and give you an idea of just what you'll need to get the very best sound for your
film. So if you're a little unsure and don't want to waste your time and money getting unnecessary apparatus, be
sure to have a look through our Audio Equipment section.