Making movies
BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS Stereo mics are perfect for capturing ambience or live performances
“In all cases, it’s best to get your mic as close as possible to the sound source, but still out of frame”
is plugged in via the 3.5mm audio jack. There are full kits available with all the equipment needed, such as Sennheiser’s EW G4 kit or the Rode Wireless Go. When recording a conversation between two people, the best option is using two mics and something that can record two separate channels, such as an external channel mixer or an external recorder. However, many manufacturers now offer kits of two transmitters that feed into one wireless receiver on top of your camera. Examples include the Rode Wireless Go II, DJI Wireless, Hollyland Lark 150 and Saramonic Blink500 Pro. Some of these actually have a built-in mic and recorder, so they can be used without a dedicated lav mic. Just clip them onto clothing at chest level and the signal is transmitted to the receiver on the camera, as well as recorded to the device itself for downloading later. If you lose your wireless signal, you will still have a backup audio recording. Go external Many advanced filmmakers don’t want to record audio to the camera, but use a separate recorder unit with a channel mixer and often lots of XLR inputs and 3.5mm audio inputs, giving greater control and quality.
wind covers – often called a ‘dead cat’ – to cut down wind noise when it’s breezy. These shotgun mics output two mono channels, which are ideal for speech. If you want to record ambient sounds or live music, a stereo mic is better. Canon’s DM-E1 and Sennheiser’s MKE 440 typically have two condenser capsule tubes to give the stereo effect and are more sensitive to a wider range of volume levels, adjustable from birdsong in a quiet meadow to loud rock music. In all cases, it’s best to get your mic as close as possible to the sound source, but still out of frame. You can mount a mic on a mini tripod and get it close to your subject, if you use a longer cable to plug in to your camera. Film sets often have an audio expert using a mic on top of a boom pole walking along with the actors, making sure the mic stays out of shot. Stepping up a level Professional-level shotgun mics have large XLR output connections, such as the Rode NTG5 or Sennheiser MKE 600, which are larger and more directional than smaller mics, with a noticeable increase in audio quality. These don’t fit into the 3.5mm audio input on DSLR or mirrorless cameras, so you need an adapter that accepts XLR input. This allows you to do
seen on the video and heard on the camera’s internal mic, as well as on the external audio. You can then manually drag the high-quality audio onto the footage in the right place, replacing the camera’s own audio track, then in Adobe’s Premiere Pro click ‘link’ and the new audio and video are locked together. Nowadays, many editing programs can do it all for you; you can achieve this in Final Cut Pro X, for example. Select the video and audio file (or files) from different inputs, then select ‘synchronise clips’. You may then tweak the timing in post, if the auto system doesn’t get it quite right. It’s similar in Adobe’s Premiere Pro, too, though you can just select the video and audio clips before choosing ‘merge clips’. But if all else fails, you can always go back to the clapperboard system. Whichever way you choose to record audio, it can all be made to work well. Buy a good mic, get it as close to the sound source as you can, set the levels and away you go. PN
Top-selling recorders include the Tascam Portacapture X8 or Zoom F6, with mics and wireless audio receivers plugged in directly. However, you get the additional step of having to sync up the audio with the matching video in editing. You really need to also record some audio to the footage to help the sync, rather than disabling audio on the camera itself. Some filmmakers use the old clapperboard-style system where a clap is made at the start of the recording, which can be clearly
things like mix channels between two mics. The Beachtek DXA-Micro Pro+ or Saramonic SR-PAX2 are typical examples and some camera manufacturers offer their own, such as the Panasonic DMW-XLR1E. A popular way of recording a person talking is to buy a lapel mic – also called a lavalier or lav mic – and clip it to their clothing. You’ll have seen many TV presenters with these small, but visible mics – fitted with furry wind muffs when used outdoors. Sometimes they can be hidden underneath clothing, which often happens in feature films and TV dramas. But be careful to avoid clothing rustling on top of the mic. A lapel mic can be plugged into the camera with a long cable, or more commonly into a wireless transmitter box which the talent has in a pocket or on a belt. This sends the signal to a receiver on top of the camera, which CLIP ON Record two people speaking on-screen wirelessly – with a huge connectivity range
COVER UP Mic covers in all shapes and sizes help to eliminate wind noise
Issue 105 | Photography News 23
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