Video Production Tips: Quality Audio
It’s important to remember when capturing video that quality audio and visuals are of equal importance. The best way to ensure you have quality, clean audio is to monitor the sounds you are recording in the field – during the shoot. Don’t rely on being able to fix audio in the edit suite.
Three Steps to Quality Audio
With that in mind, here are a few quick Fireside tips on capturing audio:
1. Try to shoot in a location with as little ambient noise as possible. For example, you want to avoid being right on the side of a road or under a heating vent in an office. If it’s a busy space, just ask people in the vicinity to keep quiet for the few minutes it takes you to capture your interview.
2. If using a lavalier microphone – that’s a small microphone that clips to the top of a shirt or a tie – try to place it near the sternum. While you can use ties and scarves as a way to hide the microphone or reduce any noise from light wind, you must be mindful not to muffle your audio or record the rustling of fabric. Again, monitoring sound with a good set of headphones is critical here.
3. At Fireside Production, we often use a shotgun microphone on a fish pole. It’s unobtrusive and effective. We typically position it just above the interviewee’s head and pointing down – to keep it out of the shot and to minimize any noise from HVAC systems. Make a call to the experts from fdinsulation.com/ site to do this work professionally.
Follow these Fireside tips for capturing clean audio during your shoot to set yourself up for success in the edit suite. Have a video production question for the Fireside team? Post it here or contact us – and we may feature the answer in an upcoming blog.
