Basic on-location sound for amateur film makers

[haveudonethis]

LOL...you'll need a mic for everyone in the shot "Ahh sorry man none for you".... loved that bit.

[berkantdilber]

Great video mate! You saved me a few months research time for all these things! I just want to ask you, my camcorder (JVC GZ-MG630) has a "AV" input, does it mean that it is capable of receiving microphone signals, I mean, if I buy a microphone and a XLR plug converter, is it going to work?

[GamersGettingPlayed]

I've been trying to find the correct microphone for my video blog I do on my motorcycle I'm having serious problems hearing the motorcycle over the wind so I tried mounting the microphone underneath my gas tank out of the wind and all I got was a rattling sound I'm assuming that that's because the volume was too high correct

And is there any specific technique you could recommend to get the motorcycle sound on the video without too much distortion I'm using a drift HD camera action camera

[FellowLad]

@GamersGettingPlayed I watched your vids and I hear 3 problems: wind noise (yep it's still there), volume clipping distortion whenever you rev the engine, and noise from vibrations coming from the motorcycle. Try these:

[FellowLad]

1) Wind doesn't come only from front; It wraps around motorcycle's aerodynamic design in different directions. As long as the wind hitting your mic is as strong as the air a human breathes out his nose, it will cause some audible distortion. I suggest a wind filter (furry/fluffy types are better than sponge type), or find an even better spot other than under the gas tank.

[FellowLad]

2) Volume Clipping - First try lowering the preamplifier volume on the camera (or whatever the mic is connected to). If problem persists, then the microphone simple can't handle it. Engines are generally extremely loud and mics designed for voices may not handle because the mic diaphragm vibrates at its maximum stretching capacity. In this case, lowering camera preamp volume will not help, so either get a mic more suited for extremely loud conditions,

[FellowLad]

or move the mic further from engine and exhaust. Dry/wet sound quality won't be affected from this slight increased distance of mic to engine, because there aren't enough walls and ceilings like an indoors area to cause bad echoes.

In motorsports tv shows, the microphone is most often inside the helmet, which is the same mic the rider uses to communicate with his crew. No wind, plenty of padding to dampen vibrations and soften the loud engine sound.

[tinkernator]

Very informative, concise, and the funny helped too.

[worzelhund]

so assuming i have 2 different ambient sounds what to do then?

[negiranjit]

pretty neat fellow lad.. put up some audio post production videos as well

[kioskdubstep]

Lol

[bmcjack]

Good tutorial, and helpful video. Thank you for taking your time to shoot this.

[chrisbitz]

This was really well made and useful. thanks!

[juicedupmedia1]

Great video, well shot and some brilliant tips.

Check out my new video on a mic blimp I have just reviewed that I bought on you tube.

Cheers for taking the time to make such a good video......

[sigridfreespirit]

Very cute and very helpful. Thanks for making the effort!

[noooly]

great job, thanks.

+it was funny :]

[azeemmalik13]

Thanks!

But still i couldn't get the Consistent sound recording thing.Please help!

[FellowLad]

@azeemmalik13 I used a variety of advanced tools to blend the ambient noise of the 2 separate scenes in the video. It will take another whole article or tutorial to describe how I was able to achieve the result shown, but for now all I can say is that it cannot be done without the main ingredient which is the 1 minute of ambient noise.

[Rafahelllll]

Thank you for this Video

It was very usefull and it helped me have basic knowledge of how to capture sound

[rhythmnationband]

Great video,.... do you have anymore?

Or,... can you do more, you explains things very well.

[arfurlife]

brilliant stuff. I really enjoyed this video and learned a lot from it. Thankyou. I will do the survey too.

[DiCasaFilm]

This is a great tutorial!

[Shagmonster3000]

pro job! this deserves a million views. some of the more popular videos suck ass and are a complete waste of time.

[jKRAMER001]

You guys know what you're doing. This is very informative, thanks a million.

[oddstuff123]

that was great and to the point

[hienlydia]

Thanks for sharing this amusing and applicable video - that is so excellent of you! I really like the way you relate the concepts in sound to that of the images

[EfrainKingz]

GREAT video my friend, lots of very very important details to consider when recording, all in one great video! LOVE IT!! THUMBS UP! make more videos!! =D

[TheTruePhoenixxx]

Thanks! A VERY good video. I'm just starting get into this stuff.

[Zumbawithcindy]

Very good! I'm a sound engineer and producer, just starting to mess with video - your explanations were spot on. Doing an indoor shoot quite soon - will record audio to a Roland 2480CD , primary shoot mic is a Rode NTG-2 - on a boom pole - will use a Rode NT-1 for studio overdubs. - again, great job on this video. :)

[joeelipo]

Thanks for your tutorials.

It is good to learn about basic on-location sound for amateur film makers.

[joeelipo]

Good tips .

Tanks for teaching with a great details step by step basic on- location for amateurs film makers.

Great video.

[00bikeboy]

Hey, great job with this video - informative and entertaining.  4/4 stars!

[kuyanikko]

Excellent/informative video! I've recently taken an interest in very amateur filmmaking but hope to develop some form of quality. I feel that audio recording will be the biggest obstacle for what I'm hoping to develop. Is it possible to connect a lavalier microphone to a field recorder? Or is there maybe some kind of inexpensive recommendation that would be a step above recording audio from a built in camcorder?

[FellowLad]

@kuyanikko Depends on the hardware specifications - the shape of the sockets and number of rings on male plug, the type of analog audio signal level it accepts (mic/line/instrument) and if it can supply 48V phantom power...

If they are not compatible by design, it's still possible to connect any audio gear with some electrical engineering. This girl even connected a field recorder into a DSLR camera so that it acts as the external microphone.

/watch?v=ilqcVjasVsI&feature=r­elated

[FellowLad]

@kuyanikko

as for inexpensive, assuming your camcorder has a microphone input jack, you can plug in a decent stage performance mic (at least $30) and instead of hiding it from view, make your actor hold it like a news reporter (because such mics have to be inches from mouth). Shotgun mics that can be placed outside of a closeup shot can cost as low as $60 from audio technica. Beware if the mic requires 48V phantom power because many hand-held consumer camcorders do not provide this.

[laughingcrows]

Thanks guys. Very entertaining, plus good info.

Thumbs up :)

[clothedwiththesun]

wow - what a wonderfully informative presentation ... you dont have anything on recording desks/home recording systems etc. ... Im a singer songwriter and i find im having to learn to do these things myself

Thank you and kind regards

[clothedwiththesun]

wow - what a wonderfully informative presentation ... you dont have anything on recording desks etc. ... Im a singer songwriter and i find im having to learn to do these things myself

Thank you and kind regards

[ericmaddragzter]

great!!!

[benbenghostdog]

thanks for the vid and information!

keep posting.

[royalcheese76]

good stuff - well pointed at the end - get it all plugged in when recording and make sure that the camera has the internal mic turned off :)

[Z3AI0T]

Most excellent... How does this not have millions of views?!

[RisforRob]

Totally great

[surgeonklade]

Absolutely outstanding! Well done gentlemen, that is very well orchestrated: recorded, edited, written and so forth. Keep you the great work!

[erlendrosjo]

Very informative and well produced, thanks!

[student31viewer]

Thanks for the introduction to audio film works!