|
In the past ten years, technology has given virtually everyone the ability to shoot stunning video. All you need is a smartphone (and a microphone plugged into that smartphone) to pull it off. That's the good. The bad is that few people know how to get the most out of their equipment, because no one has taught them how to do it right. I'd like to change that, because life is too short for bad video. So check back often, as I will be sharing tricks of the trade that I've learned in over twenty years of experience. All of them will help you to shoot better footage, with better audio, than you even thought possible. |
 Let's be honest: when it came to the Brady Bunch, the most downtrodden of all six children was Jan. Middle child. Complainer. Bad eyesight. Probably ate paste when no one was looking.
That's exactly how people think about sound... or rather... don't think about sound. We have these fantastic video cameras in our phones. The picture can be stunning. The sound, however, is stunningly bad because of the physical limitations of the phone's microphone. If you've tried filming something over five feet away from your phone, you know how blech the sound can be. But don't feel bad. On professional film sets all around the world, sound is often given short shrift. To the picture jockeys, all most of them think about is what they see through the view finder or the monitor. They don't put nearly as much attention into sound, much to the ire of sound recordists and boom-microphone operators everywhere. And the reason? "We're going to have to fix sound things in post-production anyway... so who cares?" You should care, because you don't have the budget, time, or know-how to "fix it in post" when it comes to sound. And I'm here to tell you: nothing makes good video look cheap and awful than the quality of how it sounds. I know it may be counterintuitive, but it's true. With sound, it's garbage in/garbage out, so there's only one thing to do: get it right the first time. So how do you get good sound (or even just passable sound)? Simple... you need a microphone to plug into your phone. And further... you need enough cable to that you can hide it under your shirt like they do for news broadcasters. There are two variations: iOS and Android. Android is easier: purchase a corded microphone (I happen to LOVE this one), along with an extension cable. For your iPhone, do the same, and then add a lightning-to-3.5 cable adapter. This video will show you how to hook it up, and how this particular microphone for under $50 really makes a difference. The folks at Edutige America really know what they're doing. This simple little trick will change your outlook on what you can do with your phone footage... simply by enhancing your audio. Happy filming!
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |