Objective -- Learn the basics of recording professional level audio for news programs.
Ice Breaker. Go to the PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs production page
http://www.studentreportinglabs.com/tutorials
Watch the audio four on audio, (it is 6:03). Answer the first set of questions on your worksheet handout, that use the terms from the word bank at the top of the page. When you are done, come into the semi-circle.
Today you will learn some key concepts about audio.
I. The biggest item is getting high sound level. It should be high but not too high because that will sound scratchy. On the other hand, if your sound level is low, you cannot boost is after it has been recorded. This is why good sound is so important
KEY: Audiences will accept poor video, shot on camera phones or home video cameras. However, if the audio is poor and unaudible. If it's too low, loud or fuzzy, people will turn their attention off.
How to get good audio?
1. Use your headphones to review your levels
2. Keep your microphone close to the subject, six inches to a foot at the longest.
Know the inverse square law. It has a lot of math involved, but know the basics. If you double the distance from your microphone to your subject, your sound level drops by a factor of four. If your halve the distance, your audio level goes UP by a factor of four. If you get too sloppy with your positioning, the audio level will not be usable.
Types of microphones:
1. Field microphones - rugged. Built to be used in the real world. Not as sensitive as other mics, but very durable.
2. lavelier or lav mics. These are lapel mics, which are very small and can hide in plain sight. These are used in interviews. We have a lav that is wireless, that shares sound with the through radio wires.
3. shotgun mics. These have a very narrow pickup pattern, often called a cardioid pattern. This means the microphone picks up sound in a heart-shaped pattern.
I will model how to use the microphones and will have four set ups. One is a sit-down interview with laveliers. A second will have a field microphone. A third will have a shot-gun microphone on the camera. The last will have no external microphone and will use the mic built in to the camera to record video.
I will break you into four teams. Spend no more than five minutes at each station. Make sure you record audio at a distance of one feet, two feet, and four feet.
Let's listen to the audio you recorded. Can you hear the difference in the levels?
Final Project:
After we wrap up, answer these questions in a Word file:
1. You enter a room with very loud hum from the florescent lights in the ceiling. What can you do to get the high quality sound you need?
2. You set up a shoot using a shotgun microphone mic on your camera. The audio in your interview is low. What is one thing you can do to increase your sound levels to an acceptable level?
3. Can you do another technique to raise your sound levels?
4. If you're going to shoot a story near I-35 about a car accident, which microphone is the best one to select?
5. You have a subject you want to interview in an office that has a lot of noise 90 degrees to either side of your subject's chair. Which microphone will block out all the noise to the sides and give you clear audio of your subject?
6. Your audio is at 20% on your meter, when your shotgun microphone is four feet away from the interview subject. If you want to raise your level to at least 80%, how close should you move your mic?
Ice Breaker. Go to the PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs production page
http://www.studentreportinglabs.com/tutorials
Watch the audio four on audio, (it is 6:03). Answer the first set of questions on your worksheet handout, that use the terms from the word bank at the top of the page. When you are done, come into the semi-circle.
Today you will learn some key concepts about audio.
I. The biggest item is getting high sound level. It should be high but not too high because that will sound scratchy. On the other hand, if your sound level is low, you cannot boost is after it has been recorded. This is why good sound is so important
KEY: Audiences will accept poor video, shot on camera phones or home video cameras. However, if the audio is poor and unaudible. If it's too low, loud or fuzzy, people will turn their attention off.
How to get good audio?
1. Use your headphones to review your levels
2. Keep your microphone close to the subject, six inches to a foot at the longest.
Know the inverse square law. It has a lot of math involved, but know the basics. If you double the distance from your microphone to your subject, your sound level drops by a factor of four. If your halve the distance, your audio level goes UP by a factor of four. If you get too sloppy with your positioning, the audio level will not be usable.
Types of microphones:
1. Field microphones - rugged. Built to be used in the real world. Not as sensitive as other mics, but very durable.
2. lavelier or lav mics. These are lapel mics, which are very small and can hide in plain sight. These are used in interviews. We have a lav that is wireless, that shares sound with the through radio wires.
3. shotgun mics. These have a very narrow pickup pattern, often called a cardioid pattern. This means the microphone picks up sound in a heart-shaped pattern.
I will model how to use the microphones and will have four set ups. One is a sit-down interview with laveliers. A second will have a field microphone. A third will have a shot-gun microphone on the camera. The last will have no external microphone and will use the mic built in to the camera to record video.
I will break you into four teams. Spend no more than five minutes at each station. Make sure you record audio at a distance of one feet, two feet, and four feet.
Let's listen to the audio you recorded. Can you hear the difference in the levels?
Final Project:
After we wrap up, answer these questions in a Word file:
1. You enter a room with very loud hum from the florescent lights in the ceiling. What can you do to get the high quality sound you need?
2. You set up a shoot using a shotgun microphone mic on your camera. The audio in your interview is low. What is one thing you can do to increase your sound levels to an acceptable level?
3. Can you do another technique to raise your sound levels?
4. If you're going to shoot a story near I-35 about a car accident, which microphone is the best one to select?
5. You have a subject you want to interview in an office that has a lot of noise 90 degrees to either side of your subject's chair. Which microphone will block out all the noise to the sides and give you clear audio of your subject?
6. Your audio is at 20% on your meter, when your shotgun microphone is four feet away from the interview subject. If you want to raise your level to at least 80%, how close should you move your mic?