Audio is often the biggest challenge for filmmakers, especially newer ones. Most people just coming into the world of video don’t realise how much of a big deal it really is to get good quality audio. And while can be quite gear dependent, you don’t always need the most expensive kit to get decent quality sound. In this video, filmmakers Parker Walbeck and Nick Sales talk though their top ten tips and techniques for getting good quality sound for your videos.
Deity’s S-Mic 2S short shotgun microphone is designed for small spaces and weighs only 85g
Deity’s S-Mic 2S short shotgun microphone is an evolution of their popular S-Mic 2 shotgun microphone. They had them on show at IBC 2019, but we were too focused on Deity’s new Connect wireless microphone system to notice. Now, though, the S-Mic 2S is getting ready to ship.
The Deity S-Mic 2S is essentially a shorter version of the Deity S-Mic 2, which has become one of my favourite shotgun microphones, offering a nice rich sound right out of the box. The S-Mic 2S has a similar sound but is tuned better for smaller spaces, but also fits well on top of the camera, too, for things like vlogging.
This $15 gizmo is a perfect solution to add a mic to your Sony A6400
The Sony A6400 is a camera of choice for many vloggers: it has good video features, a flip screen, and retails at a reasonable price. However, if you want to add an external microphone to it, you either have to rig it on the side of the camera, or it will completely block the screen when you flip it. In this video, Jason Vong will show you a simple and dirt cheap solution that will let you mount a microphone on top of your camera for cleaner sound without blocking the screen.
Shure’s new MV88+ Video Kit turns your phone into a mobile video studio
Shure has announced their new MV88+ Video Kit for smartphone video shooters. The kit builds on the success of Shure’s previous MV88 iPhone microphone. This time, though, it’s compatible with Android, too, via Type-C USB and it comes with a Manfrotto Pixi tripod, phone clamp, and shoe mount microphone clip.
Deity’s new “Smart” on-camera V-Mic D3 Pro features a lithium ion battery and analogue gain dial
Originally an Aputure product line, Deity is now its own separate company focusing on quality microphones. They have quickly become favourites of those who’ve tried them. I have a Deity S-Mic 2 myself (review coming soon!) and it very quickly proved its worth. Now, Deity is looking towards on-camera sound with the launch of two new on-camera shotgun microphones; The V-Mic D3 and V-Mic D3 Pro.
Sennheiser’s new wireless smartphone “Memory Mic” is now available to buy
Sennheiser’s new Memory Mic is a wireless microphone designed for smartphones. We saw it teased at NAB earlier in the year, and it does look like a pretty cool piece of microphone tech. It connects via Bluetooth but keeps recording without dropping even if you go out of range of the phone. And if the Sennheiser samples clips are anything to go by, it sounds pretty good, too.
Wire your subject like a pro with these top lav mic tips
Regardless of whether you call them lav, lavalier or lapel mics, they are wonderful things. Often used for interviews, spoken pieces to camera, and for when you can’t get a shotgun boomed overhead. What makes them great is that they can be so easily hidden from the camera’s view. You can hide them in clothes, under hair, on set pieces, and all kinds of places to keep them off camera but pick up quality audio.
This video from Creative North shares a handful of great tips on how to do exactly that. Mount and hide them to create great quality audio. It also covers some of the things you can do to cut down noise as your subject moves around – which can be a big problem for beginners to lav mics.
Can a $16 microphone stand up to the job or is it just a waste of money?
On-camera microphones have become a huge industry in the last few years. It used to be the only time I ever saw on-camera microphones, it was to create a sync track in the camera, or for emergency news interviews and such. Ever since DSLRs and mirrorless cameras became video-capable, though, their sales have skyrocketed. And they’re now the primary type of microphone for many vloggers and online video creators.
You’re still going to get the best results with a boomed shotgun or lav mic (yes, that’s a subjective statement), but on-camera mic technology has come a long way. And while there are some rather expensive options, many options are also rather cheap. In this video, Caleb Pike looks at a $16 Boya BY-VM01 microphone to see if it can really stand up to the task.
Sennheiser “Memory Mic” adds wireless audio recording to your phone with automatic sync
I use my phone to grab quick video clips regularly. But it’s not ideal, especially when it comes to audio. Smartphone microphones just aren’t that great. It’s a little ironic, really, given that, being phones, their primary function is to hear people talking and to let other people hear you talk. But when you point a phone camera at somebody and they start talking, usually you just hear them drowned out by background noise.
It appears Sennheiser are working to solve this problem, though, with a new product they’re calling “Memory Mic”. This is a working title as it’s still in development, but it essentially allows you to record audio wirelessly on your subject, and it does it without continuous access to wifi or Bluetooth. NoFilmSchool got to check it out in person at NAB this week and recorded a short video.
How to understand microphone specs to get the best sound for your project
With more and more people shooting video and creating content for YouTube, microphones are more ubiquitous than they used to be. But when you want to go for one that’s a little more serious, they come with all kinds of tech data. The question most of us want to know the answer to, though, is simply “How good does it sound?”
But the answer is a little more complicated than we might think. Each of those specs means something, and it’ll affect the sound in a certain way. And which is “best” depends on what you’re trying to record. This video from Podcastage looks through 10 of the most important microphone specs and breaks down their meaning in simple terms.
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