When a person watches a video, it is important, not only that you understand all the spoken words, but also that it is pleasant for you to listen to the audio. Therefore, it is important that you worry about recording good quality audio.
No echoes, no noise, no dog barking in the background. If they don’t understand the message you want to convey in a video, viewers have a negative experience. And that ends up creating low interaction and involvement on the part of the public.
To be successful in this aspect, you need to know not only some equipment and software that can be of great help, but also some tips that avoid noise and poor quality.
That is why we have separated all the resources that help us and we have also taken the opportunity to make a selection of the best equipment (including their price ranges) to help you not leave your viewers without hearing your message. We see it?
Record audio only with the camera?
The first thing you should know is that it is possible to record audio with your cameras. But not at a great distance from the interlocutor.
Whether it’s a Canon or a smartphone, built-in microphones to cameras are made to capture the audio of the environment, and not the voice.
In technical terms, we say that they are omnidirectional microphones. In other words, they capture sound from all directions, making all the surrounding sound present in the audio as well.
Thus, the noises of a car passing by on the street, birds or dogs, will appear in the audio. And often louder than the sound of the interlocutor’s voice.
In other words, they harm the understanding of what you want to transmit in the video. Therefore, it is always better to use another means to capture the audio, avoiding using only your camera.
Troubleshooting audio recording
Now you have an idea why your videos have noise and how to solve it, right?
But to better understand the audio recording process and find the ideal for you, we made a selection:
1. Lapel Microphone
Let’s start by talking about connecting the microphone directly to the camera.
Typically, the cameras that most people use, especially Canon DSLRs, have great images. But its sound system is of poor quality.
The electrical signal from the microphone is very low and therefore the camera has to amplify that signal. Since the preamp on these cameras is not that good, the sound ends up with squeaks and distortion.
In this case lavalier microphone is a good alternative. This is because the microphone is close to the speaker’s mouth and therefore captures sound in a more specific way, excluding surrounding noise and gaining clarity and quality when recording audio.
They are suitable for interviews, TV shows, and in cases where you want more control over the sounds in your video.
If you need a microphone that dispenses with a charger and gives you some freedom, the lavalier microphone is the one for you.
Another great advantage of this microphone, compared to an external microphone, will be at the time of editing. In this case, the sound and the audio will reach the end of the recording together, avoiding the synchronization work.
How to place the lavalier microphone?
You have to look carefully to see if its tip is directed towards the speaker’s mouth. If not, you must place it correctly.
That is, as straight as possible, as in the image below.
There are some techniques that can make it easier to use. The first is to wear a shirt in which the collar favors this process. Button down shirts are great examples, as when the microphone is passed under the shirt, it is possible to put it between two buttons, so that it is straight.
Another way is to give the lavalier microphone cable a little twist. In this way, it will be positioned correctly.
The ideal is that you take a part of the cable next to the microphone and join it with the other part below. Then you just have to pass this fold inside the microphone holder and put it on the shirt. Thus, the cable will not bother you and the microphone will be pointing up.
audio sync
Another detail is to observe the size of the lavalier microphone cable. Some are only a few meters long, which makes it difficult to connect directly to the camera.
For that, you will have to buy an extension that will connect to the microphone and then to the camera. In this way, the audio will already be recorded along with the image. And this will facilitate the process of .
If syncing isn’t an issue, you can connect the lapel mic to another device.
There are so-called wireless microphones, for example, in which the lavalier microphone is connected to a recorder synchronized with another connected to the camera.
When editing, we add the audio from the recorder to the video that has been recorded with the camera.
In some cases, these microphones also come with foam that can improve the quality of audio capture.
This is essential if the environment you are recording in is noisy as it will prevent surrounding noises from diminishing the audio quality.
Price
Lavalier mic prices range from roughly $2 to $500. So, you must see several reviews of products to see which one matches the quality you want. And, of course, with the value you want to invest.
But remember that price will not always be an interesting parameter to measure quality. Not necessarily because you invest more money you will have better results. Therefore, it is essential that you watch videos on YouTube with product reviews.
2. Wireless microphone
The other option for recording professional quality audio is to use a wireless microphone.
And this is a tempting idea, as it requires no cables and no amplifier either. This is because the wireless system itself will do all of the signal amplification.
So even if your camera’s preamp is of poor quality, the wireless microphone’s preamp will be amplified before sending the signal to the camera. But be careful, as this microphone has more sensitivity, which can affect the audio.
Wireless microphones are great and suitable for shows, or presentations. But unfortunately, a quality wireless system starts at about $400. There are some cheaper models, but the quality of the products is lower.
Another factor is that most wireless microphones, even the most expensive ones, transmit analog UHF signals. This means that they can receive interference from radio sources, large power grid sources, and many other things. Therefore, you must make accounts and verify if the investment is worth it.
How to use a tape recorder to record audio
Although this option seems to be the most difficult to record good quality audio, I have to tell you that it is not at all.
You can use a recorder, plug in the microphone, and record the audio directly into the recorder. And then sync the audio at the time of editing.
If you want to have quality audio without spending a lot, the sound recorder should be your first investment. This equipment does not transmit any signal to the camera, which reduces transmission interference to zero and makes your audio come out clean and audible.
In addition, it is capable of recording quality audio with a resolution much higher than that of the camera. They can record without compression, which helps to apply audio filters when editing.
As for the position of the recorder, it is very simple: you can place it on top of a nearby table that you are using.
The only remark about audio recorders is in editing. That is, there is one more procedure.
When you use a separate recorder, the recording has two different files. One is the camera file that comes with the video and audio captured by the camera’s microphone, and the other is the audio file on your recorder.
When you edit them, you will have to synchronize the video from the camera with the audio from the recorder. But nothing that is impossible, okay?
Function of the foam protector for the recorder
Additionally, recorders may come with a foam protector. What it does is prevent external noise, and even internal noise, from the environment they are in, from being picked up.
So that you can better visualize what this foam would be, you only have to think of the microphones used by television and radio reporters.
They all have a foam. She prevents external noise from being picked up in the audio. And, accordingly, they help improve sound quality.
It is worth highlighting an important point when using the recorder. The first touch will cause a red light to come on, but it’s not recording yet.
The recorder starts only when the red light is constant and not flashing. If it’s blinking, it’s not recording audio.
Watch this carefully. I’ve already done a full interview with the recorder flashing. And guess what? She wasn’t recording the audio. Yes, I lost all the work!
Price
Recorder prices vary widely, but the vast majority cost more than $25. You have to understand if you really need to use a recorder, since you will have to invest a high value.
The one we use in our videos, just to give you an idea, costs about $500. And it is not the most professional on the market either, it is still in this interval between amateur and professional.
Record audio using mobile phone
The mobile can save your life as long as you don’t have a recorder or a lapel microphone. Therefore, I will teach you two techniques that you can take advantage of when making your videos.
The first one is to use your mobile upside down and close to your face. Remember the framing techniques and think about where the mobile will be so that he does not appear.
In the image we see here, for example, it would be interesting to close the frame a little more. Thus, the mobile will not be very far from who is going to present it and it does not appear on the scene either.
Note that this will make it look like you’re holding a microphone, but not holding it.
The mobile will be directed to you and, thus, the audio will be better. Remember that you should avoid moving the arm that holds the microphone too much.
Always try to look at a fixed point. Thus, you avoid both the mobile phone appearing and your voice being high or low, depending on the distance from your mouth.
But it is worth remembering that it is not the best technique for capturing audio either, since in closed or small places the echo can alter the final result.
Therefore, the second piece of advice is to put a headset on the mobile and use it as a lapel microphone. This microphone is directional and will give more focus to what is closer. Thus, you will capture much cleaner audio than if you were using only your mobile phone.
Applications to record audio on mobile
Some mobile phones already have an application to record audio. You just have to search for “recorder” or “audio” to find it. Otherwise, you’ll have to…
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