Tips on how to record the best audio

Recording audio for new broadcast students can often be THE most difficult part to getting great video stories. Here are five tips on getting the most out of your audio.

1. NEVER, EVER, EVER rely on the onboard microphone, unless it is a high quality shotgun boom microphone that has separate level adjustments on the camera itself.

Most DSLR and camcorders have a tiny area that looks like three to four pinhole dots for the onboard microphone. This area is not what you are looking for in the way of top notch microphone quality.

2. FIND A QUIET SPACE even if you have a great microphone. Unless you want the interview to feel like a busy scene, quiet settings always make for better audio quality. Fighting background noise is never easy even for the best audio engineers.

3. USE THE RIGHT MIC FOR THE RIGHT SETTING. If you are trying to do a run and gun interview, you need to use a handheld microphone that you can hold close to the subjects face. The handheld reduces background noise and lets the reporter control where the microphone is pointing.

4. WATCH OUT FOR THE WIND! If you are outside, there are a number of natural elements that can interfere with the quality of your recording. If it is windy look for something to block the wind – standing next to a building or a wall could just do the trick.

5. CHECK YOUR BATTERY before you leave the room for the interview. Never ever use a worn-down battery either, due to the fact that as the battery gets lower on power, a cracking or dropping out of the sound could interfere with the level you want to achieve.

oh and also….

* ALWAYS USE HEADPHONES when recording into the camera. You can only get a good sense of what is being recorded by listening with good stereo quality headphones.

* WATCH YOUR LEVELS, not your volume. When recording you should be concerned with the level of audio and when you are listening you are concerned with the volume level. They are two different readings. Your recording level should always be between -12 and -24 dB.