Audio Noob Questions

Artificial · Aug 22, 2012

I'm trying to grasp everything I need to know about recording audio. I have a grasp on some basics, but I've still got questions. If someone could point me towards a tutorial or something that covers all the basics, that'd be great.

I'm going to be using a Nikon D5100. I'm currently considering a Rode VideoMic to mount on the camera, seeing as $150 is pretty much as much as I can spend on audio equipment. Is there a digital recorder and mic for a boom that's worth buying for $150-$250?

If I end up going with a recorder, how do I go about actually recording the dialog and ambient sounds and background noise? Do I use just the recorder and mute the on board mic? Do I have to mesh the two recordings together?

Is it hard to sync the audio without having a time stamp?

matthattar · Aug 23, 2012

Hey Artificial,

If you search "audio for film" on YouTube, there are all kinds of tutorials and "audio 101" lessons - Watch all of them because everyone will have different advice and it's good to soak everything in, and then you'll filter what you need.

I can testify that the RODE VideoMic is capable of getting you some good sound for your film, as long as you keep a few things in mind...

As you know, most cameras' onboard audio is atrocious, and having ANY mic is probably better than having no mic. For the VideoMic, I use a Zoom H1 recorded which you can pickup for under $100. Then you can purchase a high-class high-capacity microSD card on Amazon for under $20 and you can record all day without ever worrying about running out of space. Even the cheapest RODE Boompoles work great.

With this combo, you can get great audio. Most people use a clapboard to sync each shot. I don't...instead, I just sync my camera's audio with my recorded audio in post, then delete the camera's audio. It's not the most graceful route, but it works for me.

A few things to remember:

The VideoMic has small configurable decibel switches located in the battery enclosure - Have you seen them? Your manual should tell you about them and offer a diagram. You can set the mic to record at -20, -10, or 0 decibels (I think?). Since I have the mic plugged into my Zoom H1 which controls the input digitally, I leave the mic's setting to 0 decibels, so I know I am getting the full possible input from the mic itself. If my actors are too loud and it's clipping, I just turn the input down on the H1.

On the VideoMic, there is also a switch with an image that looks something like this: "/-|" (maybe not exactly like that, but you get the point). This is for when you use the mic with a boom pole. There will always be a little bit of rumble from whoever is handling the boom pole, and switching the mic to this option will bypass some of those low frequencies so they don't interfere with the audio you intend to record.

You'll also want a good pair of headphones to plug into your recorder so you (or your sound guy) can monitor everything that the mic is picking up. They don't have to be anything fancy, but you probably want something padded and sound-canceling so you can focus only on what is going into the recorder.

As for ambient noises, background, and sound effects, you'll usually want to record these kinds of sounds separately from what you record on set, or find libraries with the sounds you need. This is called "foley" in the film business. For punches, record yourself hitting a piece of cabbage or a phonebook. For footsteps, record yourself walking in place in the grass, on gravel, sand, etc. For monster noises, record a dog barking or a pig squealing, slow it down, double it, reverse it, and add reverb, and you'll get some creepy sounding stuff! For everything else, just do a Google search for "______ sound effect" and you'll find something you can work with or some inspiration.

Audio is never an exact science. It is going to always require testing and troubleshooting for almost every shot, but it's worth it to do it right. They say audio is the better half of video, and it's true. Your audio doesn't just compliment what's on screen, it has the potential to make it explode off the screen!

Good luck with all your projects! Hope this info was helpful, and feel free to pm me with questions. I'm no pro, but I'll be whatever help I can to you.

-Matt

NoiseNinja · Aug 23, 2012

Hello Artificial,

I highly recommend the Location Sound Bible from Ric Viers. I have taken two location sound seminars from Ric and have read his other book, The Sound Effects Bible. I can say that he is a great teacher and an authority on both location sound and sound effects.

http://www.locationsoundbible.com/

Best Regards,

Kurt Kroh
Noise-Ninja

Artificial · Aug 23, 2012

matthattar said:
Hey Artificial,

If you search "audio for film" on YouTube, there are all kinds of tutorials and "audio 101" lessons - Watch all of them because everyone will have different advice and it's good to soak everything in, and then you'll filter what you need.

I can testify that the RODE VideoMic is capable of getting you some good sound for your film, as long as you keep a few things in mind...

As you know, most cameras' onboard audio is atrocious, and having ANY mic is probably better than having no mic. For the VideoMic, I use a Zoom H1 recorded which you can pickup for under $100. Then you can purchase a high-class high-capacity microSD card on Amazon for under $20 and you can record all day without ever worrying about running out of space. Even the cheapest RODE Boompoles work great.

With this combo, you can get great audio. Most people use a clapboard to sync each shot. I don't...instead, I just sync my camera's audio with my recorded audio in post, then delete the camera's audio. It's not the most graceful route, but it works for me.

A few things to remember:

The VideoMic has small configurable decibel switches located in the battery enclosure - Have you seen them? Your manual should tell you about them and offer a diagram. You can set the mic to record at -20, -10, or 0 decibels (I think?). Since I have the mic plugged into my Zoom H1 which controls the input digitally, I leave the mic's setting to 0 decibels, so I know I am getting the full possible input from the mic itself. If my actors are too loud and it's clipping, I just turn the input down on the H1.

On the VideoMic, there is also a switch with an image that looks something like this: "/-|" (maybe not exactly like that, but you get the point). This is for when you use the mic with a boom pole. There will always be a little bit of rumble from whoever is handling the boom pole, and switching the mic to this option will bypass some of those low frequencies so they don't interfere with the audio you intend to record.

You'll also want a good pair of headphones to plug into your recorder so you (or your sound guy) can monitor everything that the mic is picking up. They don't have to be anything fancy, but you probably want something padded and sound-canceling so you can focus only on what is going into the recorder.

As for ambient noises, background, and sound effects, you'll usually want to record these kinds of sounds separately from what you record on set, or find libraries with the sounds you need. This is called "foley" in the film business. For punches, record yourself hitting a piece of cabbage or a phonebook. For footsteps, record yourself walking in place in the grass, on gravel, sand, etc. For monster noises, record a dog barking or a pig squealing, slow it down, double it, reverse it, and add reverb, and you'll get some creepy sounding stuff! For everything else, just do a Google search for "______ sound effect" and you'll find something you can work with or some inspiration.

Audio is never an exact science. It is going to always require testing and troubleshooting for almost every shot, but it's worth it to do it right. They say audio is the better half of video, and it's true. Your audio doesn't just compliment what's on screen, it has the potential to make it explode off the screen!

Good luck with all your projects! Hope this info was helpful, and feel free to pm me with questions. I'm no pro, but I'll be whatever help I can to you.

-Matt

Fantastic post, that was really informative. I'll definitely check out some videos. I always love learning new stuff, and getting different takes from different people.

NoiseNinja said:
Hello Artificial,

I highly recommend the Location Sound Bible from Ric Viers. I have taken two location sound seminars from Ric and have read his other book, The Sound Effects Bible. I can say that he is a great teacher and an authority on both location sound and sound effects.

http://www.locationsoundbible.com/

Best Regards,

Kurt Kroh
Noise-Ninja

Thanks a lot for that recommendation, I'll see about ordering it when it comes out on the 1st.

Alcove Audio · Aug 23, 2012

Matt and Noise have covered it pretty well.

The primary key to solid production sound is getting the mic off of the camera and putting it in the hands of a skilled boom-op. The boom-op probably has the most difficult job on the set. S/he must keep the mic properly aimed at the actors, gently adjusting the aim for optimum pick-up of the dialog. The boom-op must do this silently while being sure that s/he casts no shadows, keeping the mic and the boom out of the frame and avoiding all of the props and equipment on the set. At the budgeted level of shooting you would also have a production sound mixer who would run the audio equipment (recorder, mixer, etc.), allowing the boom-op to concentrate exclusively on booming.

The second key to solid production sound is having the proper equipment. Yes, you can use consumer grade gear like the Rode VM and a micro budget recorder like the H1, but you will have to understand the limitations and the problems that go along with budget equipment. The VM is a Hi-Z (high impedance) unit, so will be prone to RF (radio frequency) and other forms of interference.

Once shooting is completed you come to audio post. When you do a proper audio post you strip away all of the audio except for the dialog. The spaces between lines of dialog are replaced with room tone, which is recorded on a silent set after the scene is completed. All of the human made sounds - footsteps, cloth, hands, fighting, props handling, etc. - are replaced with Foley. Sound FX that run the range from doors to phones to vehicles to explosions to ambience are also edited in. You are essentially creating from scratch the sonic reality in which the characters live. Score and source music are then spotted and the final mix is done. An audio post can easily run into hundreds of tracks. I mention all of this because capturing solid production sound is only a first step, just like shooting the scenes; they are the puzzle pieces from which you construct the actual film.

I'll second Rik Viers book "The Location Sound Bible." He's a fun guy and knows his stuff.

Sound for picture is a complicated subject, one which many fledgling filmmakers have a tough time with as they seem to be primarily visually oriented. You should always keep in mind, however, that your project will only look as good as it sound, because "Sound is half of the experience." An audience will forgive mediocre visuals as long as the sound is good; the will never forgive poor sound, no matter how good it looks.

Artificial · Aug 23, 2012

Alcove Audio said:
The second key to solid production sound is having the proper equipment. Yes, you can use consumer grade gear like the Rode VM and a micro budget recorder like the H1, but you will have to understand the limitations and the problems that go along with budget equipment. The VM is a Hi-Z (high impedance) unit, so will be prone to RF (radio frequency) and other forms of interference.

Once shooting is completed you come to audio post. When you do a proper audio post you strip away all of the audio except for the dialog. The spaces between lines of dialog are replaced with room tone, which is recorded on a silent set after the scene is completed. All of the human made sounds - footsteps, cloth, hands, fighting, props handling, etc. - are replaced with Foley. Sound FX that run the range from doors to phones to vehicles to explosions to ambience are also edited in. You are essentially creating from scratch the sonic reality in which the characters live. Score and source music are then spotted and the final mix is done. An audio post can easily run into hundreds of tracks. I mention all of this because capturing solid production sound is only a first step, just like shooting the scenes; they are the puzzle pieces from which you construct the actual film.

I'm trying to get off to a semi-solid start and not cheap out completely. Once I actually come up with a short screenplay, that I feel has potential, I plan on doing some crowdfunding. If it goes better than whatever I set my goal as, I may very well put the extra money towards better sound equipment.

Would using a second camera as a mic to capture the dialog, instead of an actual mic, just to play around with syncing that up be worth my time for the practice? Or is working with an actual recorder and a mic a whole different animal?

AudioPostExpert · Aug 23, 2012

You've received some good advice but I would just like to pick up on one suggestion:

matthattar said:
You'll also want a good pair of headphones to plug into your recorder so you (or your sound guy) can monitor everything that the mic is picking up. They don't have to be anything fancy, but you probably want something padded and sound-canceling so you can focus only on what is going into the recorder.

Don't get sound-cancelling headphones! Noise-cancelling headphones use mics (built into the headphones) to pick up the environmental noise and then output an inverted signal to cancel it out. This reduces the noise of the room or environment you are in, so you can listen to music or a phone conversation (for example) more clearly. However, when recording production sound, the sound you are recording (and want to monitor) is the sound which is occurring in the same room (environment) as you. So noise-cancelling headphones are going to be trying to remove the on set/location sound from what you are monitoring! Obviously what's going into your recording mic (and into your recorder) is not going to be identical to what's going into the noise-cancelling mics but it will be close enough to ensure that you're not going to get a good idea of what you're actually recording, which is the whole point of monitoring the recording in the first place! In other words, noise-cancelling headphones are the worst type of headphones you can use for monitoring production sound.

G

Artificial · Aug 23, 2012

AudioPostExpert said:
Don't get sound-cancelling headphones! Noise-cancelling headphones use mics (built into the headphones) to pick up the environmental noise and then output an inverted signal to cancel it out. This reduces the noise of the room or environment you are in, so you can listen to music or a phone conversation (for example) more clearly. However, when recording production sound, the sound you are recording (and want to monitor) is the sound which is occurring in the same room (environment) as you. So noise-cancelling headphones are going to be trying to remove the on set/location sound from what you are monitoring! Obviously what's going into your recording mic (and into your recorder) is not going to be identical to what's going into the noise-cancelling mics but it will be close enough to ensure that you're not going to get a good idea of what you're actually recording, which is the whole point of monitoring the recording in the first place! In other words, noise-cancelling headphones are the worst type of headphones you can use for monitoring production sound.

G

Are regular over ear headphones what I should get, or should I stick with just on ear?

AudioPostExpert · Aug 23, 2012

You want over the ear ones. The more they isolate (and the more accurate they are), the better. You want to monitor as precisely as possible, without any interference, exactly what you are recording. You therefore don't want the sounds in the room to bleed into your monitoring because then you are not monitoring the recording, you are monitoring the recording + the bleed and you won't know which is which. Likewise, you don't to eliminate any sound you're recording from what you are monitoring (as would happen with noise-cancelling headphones).

Not easy to explain! I hope this is clear?

G

Artificial · Aug 23, 2012

AudioPostExpert said:
You want over the ear ones. The more they isolate (and the more accurate they are), the better. You want to monitor as precisely as possible, without any interference, exactly what you are recording. You therefore don't want the sounds in the room to bleed into your monitoring because then you are not monitoring the recording, you are monitoring the recording + the bleed and you won't know which is which. Likewise, you don't to eliminate any sound you're recording from what you are monitoring (as would happen with noise-cancelling headphones).

Not easy to explain! I hope this is clear?

G

I understand, that makes sense.

I really appreciate all the help. There's so much to learn.

matthattar · Aug 23, 2012

Don't get sound-cancelling headphones! Noise-cancelling headphones use mics (built into the headphones) to pick up the environmental noise and then output an inverted signal to cancel it out. This reduces the noise of the room or environment you are in, so you can listen to music or a phone conversation (for example) more clearly. However, when recording production sound, the sound you are recording (and want to monitor) is the sound which is occurring in the same room (environment) as you. So noise-cancelling headphones are going to be trying to remove the on set/location sound from what you are monitoring! Obviously what's going into your recording mic (and into your recorder) is not going to be identical to what's going into the noise-cancelling mics but it will be close enough to ensure that you're not going to get a good idea of what you're actually recording, which is the whole point of monitoring the recording in the first place! In other words, noise-cancelling headphones are the worst type of headphones you can use for monitoring production sound.

Wow, I had no idea that kind of technology was built in to noise-canceling headphones. Thanks for correcting me G, and sorry for the bad advice Artificial.