Basic Training
Basic Sound for Video

Kyle Cassidy
August 2008

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"I don't know why I spend all this time recording such beautiful sound," I once heard a television sound engineer lament. "They're just going to mix it down to one channel, and people are going to listen to it on a speaker the size of a walnut."

That was way back in the 1980s, when having the best sound system for video in the whole neighborhood meant you had two channels of audio on your VHS player. The world has changed a lot since then. Home theaters today have better audio than most movie houses had in the 80s. People today routinely watch video with sound coming from six or more speakers. New technologies have not only increased the sound quality, but drastically reduced both the size of the speakers and the amount of power needed to drive them.

What all this means is that videographers now must pay much more attention to recording audio with their productions, because people aren't necessarily watching in low-fidelity anymore. But what to do if you don't have six microphones, countless boom operators, Foley artists or the time to mix things into surround-sound channels? There are a few things you can do to drastically improve your sound quality, even if you're recording in mono.

Today you wouldn't dream of not looking through the viewfinder while recording - doing so makes sure that you have your image properly framed and your horizon correct and that distracting things aren't entering into the frame. Looking in the viewfinder allows you to see how the scene unfolding before your eyes will appear to the people "back home" when they view your video. Plugging a set of headphones into your camcorder and listening to the audio will let you hear what the people back home will hear when viewing your video. Did the sound of that passing airplane drown out the dialog? Is there an annoying buzz coming from somewhere? Listen and find out. Nearly all modern camcorders have stereo mini-plug out - to make sure that you block out that ambient noise, you should use a big set of over-ear earphones, but, in a pinch, the set that goes to your iPod is better than nothing.

You can have wide shots followed by tight shots of the same subject, and it doesn't ruin the viewing. In fact, variety in video makes a production more interesting. However, when you are using only the on-camera microphone, the sound gets louder or quieter as you get closer or further from people or objects. Cutting back and forth from loud to quiet audio will drive your viewers to madness. The subject-to-microphone distance should remain constant. The easiest and most effective way to do this is with an off-camera microphone. You can videotape your talent from sixty feet back, but keep the microphone within a few feet of the subjects, not half a block away.

If you don't have an off-camera microphone, you should consider buying one. There are three types that you can consider:

1. Handheld cardioid: Cardioid microphones are so-called because the pattern they pick up is somewhat heart-shaped - mostly what is in front of the microphone, but some to the sides. You commonly see these in the hands of reporters. The cardioid is a good general-purpose microphone - you can put one on a stand or hang it from the ceiling.
2. Clip-on lavalier: Lavalier or "lav" microphones are small button-sized microphones, usually battery-powered and usually with a clip that can connect to the lapel of a suit jacket, necktie or shirt collar and capture the audio from a speaker. These are very useful if the speaker is moving or cannot hold a microphone for some reason.
3. Shotgun microphone: So-called shotgun microphones have very tight patterns - they're extremely directional, with very little spill to the sides. They're useful on booms and, in a pinch, they're also useful mounted on the camera.M

Any one of these and a good supply of cable or a wireless connection will go a long way toward improving the quality of your audio. Which microphone you buy will depend on the types of videography you do. Eventually, you'll probably have at least one of all three types in your kit.

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