If you’re a filmmaker, chances are you don’t have unlimited resources or equipment (we don’t either). One important aspect of filmmaking is being able to work with the equipment that you have. Expensive equipment doesn’t make you a better filmmaker, so instead take the time to work with your own equipment and continue improving. Today we’ll specifically look at ways to improve your audio recordings.
Ideally we recommend having some sort of external microphone like a shotgun mic, or even a cell phone, but you can also make do with internal camera audio if need be. No matter what mic you’re using, here are a few tips to improve your audio recordings.
Microphone Spacing
The first step to improving your audio quality is understanding microphone spacing. Ideally most microphones should be about a foot from your source, especially if it’s a person talking. Sometimes this can be complicated if you can’t have any mics in your shot, but there are creative solutions to this problem. If you’re shooting in a car, you can hide the mic by the center console in one of the cupholders. The important thing is that you get your mic roughly as close to your sound source as you can for clean audio.
Location
Another important consideration in audio quality is location. No matter what equipment you’re using, it’s difficult to get clean audio in loud places with crashing waves, heavy wind, cars, or lots of people. It’s also difficult to get clean audio in big open spaces with lots of reverb (unless that’s specifically the sound you’re looking for).
If you can, choose quiet locations with furniture and other objects or surfaces that will dampen the sound and help you capture crisp audio. If you don’t have a choice of location, bring blankets, acoustic foam, wind covers or any other materials you can to help you dampen the sound in the space you’ll be recording.
Audio Leveling
Before you start recording, make sure to test the audio levels of your microphone. Similar to spacing your microphone from your subject, you want to make sure your audio levels aren’t too high or low that they’ll affect your recording. Audio levels are measured in decibels on a negative scale, meaning 0 is the loudest. Ideally your audio shouldn’t go above -6 decibels or below -18 decibels. This will give you loud enough audio without your sound hitting 0db and clipping. When your audio reaches the max at 0db and starts clipping, it distorts your sound.
These three simple steps should help you start to capture the best audio possible with the equipment that you have. Obviously there are specific microphones and accessories that are useful for different scenarios, like wind covers for outdoor sound, but you can also get decent quality audio with most equipment if you plan your shoot ahead ahead of time.
If you want to watch some of our own videos, or check out some behind the scenes photos of our audio setups, check out the audio design section of our website. Additionally, you can contact us about your own project if you want help at any step of the process!