Sound recording tips | How to record great location sound
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The importance of recording quality sound
By far the biggest technical shortcoming of many videos and independent films is the sound. The dialogue recorded on location, which in most cases is the project's only source of dialogue in post-production, is not always recorded with correct technique, which results in poor audio quality. Location sound recording is a huge topic, but I will attempt to cover the salient points based on my past experience.
1. Choose the right microphone
To record high-quality location sound the right type of microphone must be used: ultra-directional for external locations, directional (shorter) for interiors, and non-directional for cramped interiors.
The more directional the microphone, the greater the extent to which it selectively picks up sounds from its front end, and the higher the signal-to-noise ratio will be; but bear in mind that excessively directional microphones will pick up too much echo in tight interior locations, so the right compromise must be struck in those situations. The AT4073a short shotgun condenser microphone is an outstanding dialogue microphone – the favorite of many professionals. I have used it to record exceptionally good location sound (in conjunction with a boom pole and shock mount, of course.)
2. Place the microphone as close to the actor's mouth as possible
Having picked the right microphone, the key to recording rich, clean, high-quality location dialogue is to place the microphone as close as possible to the subject. In this way the actor's voice will be much louder than the background noise. The microphone should also ideally be overhead, pointing downwards at the actor's mouth. The second best choice is to place the microphone below the bottom frame edge, with the microphone pointing upwards at the actor's mouth.
The best way to do this is to make the actor(s) get into position, frame them, instruct the boom operator to dip the microphone into the frame, lift it out until it is just out of frame, set the level using a sample line from the actors, and roll!
If you use this technique consistently I guarantee that all you will have to do in post-production to obtain professional, clean-sounding dialogue is set a consistent sound level across the movie, patch up the occasional extraneous noise with clean sound from another take and place the audio cuts wisely (more about this later).
With this strict technique the microphone will occasionally dip into the frame, requiring a re-take of at least that part of the shot, but the amazing sound quality will more than compensate for that. I shot a 30-minute movie in this way and although my insistence on this technique made for a demanding shoot, the resulting sound was really worth it. I was very glad I insisted on it.