The importance of good audio
Good clean audio is a must for any video production. More often than not most of a video’s information will be delivered via audio which makes getting it right all the more important. There are two key stages to ensuring good audio is achieved, the recording and the mixing.
Recording Good Audio
Making sure the initial audio recording is good is paramount, as while audio can potentially be cleaned up in the mix, it is better to have it clean and clear from the outset. Some important factors to consider before recording any audio, be it a simple voice over or in front of camera, are as follows. Selecting the right environment/location, choosing the right equipment and having the correct expertise.
When choosing your environment, it is ideal to choose somewhere quiet away from flight paths, train and tram tracks or even busy roads. Many noises that you wouldn’t normally be noticed become painfully clear when trying to record good audio. Recording in a noisy environment can delay the entire production and/or result in lower quality audio. But there are many instances where you simply cannot record in a perfectly quiet location. This is where the right equipment and knowhow is a must.
Recording good audio often seems deceptively straight forward and is often an overlooked part of smaller productions however it can become exceptionally complex depending on the shoot or livestream. Recording a single speaker in a studio environment can be a simple and straightforward process, but the moment you start adding additional speakers or change environments the difficulty grows significantly. Using the right microphone for the job is key to getting the best audio possible on a production, be it a lapel a boom microphone or even a live music production setup.
It is important to remember that audio makes up 50% of any video but can have even more of an impact when done right. Always take audio and location noise into account when planning any video production.
