Audio is a crucial element of any video, whether it's a news report, a documentary, or a tutorial. Poor audio quality can ruin your credibility, distract your audience, or even make your message unintelligible. That's why you need to ensure clear and balanced audio in your video, from the recording stage to the editing stage. Here are some tips to help you achieve that.
The first step to clear and balanced audio is to use a microphone that suits your purpose and environment. Different types of microphones have different characteristics, such as sensitivity, directionality, and frequency response. For example, if you are recording a voice-over in a quiet studio, you might want to use a condenser microphone that can capture subtle nuances and details. But if you are recording an interview in a noisy street, you might want to use a dynamic microphone that can reject unwanted sounds and focus on the main source. You should also consider the placement and distance of the microphone from the speaker, and use a windscreen or a pop filter to reduce plosives and wind noise.
Simply put, you need good reference monitors, aka speakers, in a well-balanced room. Otherwise, you won't be able to properly judge your audio piece. After that, you need to have good ears to "hear" things and mix audio elements together so that it sounds balanced and clear. And most of the time this can be done by manipulating volume controls aka faders and equalization. There are also a lot of good books on audio for motion pictures. Read them, and of course, watch and listen carefully to movies that sound good. (You can start watching films that have won an Academy Award in the category of Best Sound).
Circumstances such as the location you are recording in, will dictate what microphone you will use. Always have at least 2 workable options. For an interview scenario I would use a 416 shotgun Mic on a stand as my preferred option. But if the room is big, empty and sounds "boomy" I would go for a hardwired lavalier ( which can be purchaed cheaply second hand). If the frame is very wide, and audio cables are in vision, I would use a wireless lavalier as my 3rd choice. A good practical tip: If you are recording an interview and the interviewer will not feature in the programme, wire them up anyway, split the tracks and put them on track 2. The worst sound in the world is an off mic interruption/question. Don't have to worry about overlapps!
The second step to clear and balanced audio is to monitor and adjust the levels of your audio signals. Levels are the measure of how loud or quiet your audio is, and they are usually displayed in decibels (dB) on a meter or a waveform. You want to avoid clipping, which is when the levels exceed the maximum limit and cause distortion, and also avoid low levels, which can make your audio too soft or noisy. You should aim for a consistent and moderate level, usually between -12 dB and -6 dB, depending on your platform and format. You can use headphones or speakers to monitor your audio while recording, and use a mixer or an audio interface to adjust the gain or volume of your inputs.
The third step to clear and balanced audio is to edit and enhance the audio in your video editing software. Editing involves trimming, cutting, splitting, and joining your audio clips to match your video clips and create a smooth flow. Enhancing involves applying effects, filters, or plugins to improve the quality, clarity, or tone of your audio. For example, you can use noise reduction to remove unwanted background noise, equalization to balance the frequency spectrum, compression to reduce the dynamic range, and normalization to raise the overall level. You should also use transitions, fades, or crossfades to smooth out the changes between audio clips, and adjust the volume or pan of each track to create a balanced mix.
The final step to clear and balanced audio is to check the compatibility and export the audio in your video editing software. Compatibility means that your audio settings match the specifications of your intended output device, platform, or format. For example, if you are uploading your video to YouTube, you should use a sample rate of 48 kHz, a bit depth of 16 bits, and a codec of AAC. You should also check the loudness standards of your platform, such as LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) or LKFS (Loudness, K-weighted, relative to Full Scale), and use a limiter or a meter to ensure that your audio meets the requirements. Finally, you should export your audio as a separate file or as part of your video file, depending on your preference and purpose.
What are you recording onto? Camera? Hard drive? Make sure you can listen off tape, ie listen to the audio that the camera is recording. In prep, ask what make of camera is being used, are there more than 1? You can Google most camera audio settings, the camera op should be able to help but having a reference close at hand helps. The camera will catch you out, so make sure to use timecode and give as much information as possible to the editor as well as whoever is taking notes. Talk to the camera operator. Check frame size and fps etc. Ask questions and never assume anything. Assumption is the mother of all cock ups.