Digital Video - June 2008 - (Page 36)

Making What You See SOUND GREAT BY MICHAEL SILBERGLEID I t’s been said that video without audio is just surveillance footage. It’s also been said that audio is the bastard child of video. Regardless, we all know that bad audio, even with the best video, can significantly take away from the viewing experience. This is especially true if the video is educational or instructional in nature. How you capture your audio is the first step. While the lens is the first device that your image hits, the microphone and its characteristics will ultimately determine the quality of your project. THINGS TO CONSIDER Microphones are not very efficient devices even though the process of turning sound waves into electromagnetic energy is fairly simple. It’s the accuracy of the process that is key. Microphones can cost less than $10 or more than $10,000 and you do get what you pay for. When selecting a mike, it comes down to getting the right tool for the job, as well as your budget. One thing to keep in mind is that street prices for mikes can be discounted by as much as 45 percent from MSRP — that helps with the initial sticker shock. In determining a mike’s accuracy, frequency response is crucial. People can ideally hear from 20-20,000Hz. For context, the frequency response of a wired landline telephone can range from 250-5,000Hz on the high end to 300 to 2,500Hz on the low end. AM radio is 40-5,000Hz, and FM radio is 30-15,000Hz. But those numbers are just half of the story. When accurately quoted, frequency response should also have a decibel (dB) range which tells you the variation of the frequency response. A perfect frequency response would be 20-20,000Hz +/-0dB. Keep in mind that 3dB is a doubling of sound intensity while 1dB is the smallest change in sound loudness that most people can detect. A mike that has a frequency response of +/3dB could have a difference of four times the sound level between certain frequencies (the difference between -3dB and +3dB). While a lot of manufacturers will only quote the frequency response and not the variation, a number of them will have the frequency response graph in the mike’s specification literature. Using this graph, you can see the variation of frequency response as well as at what frequencies those variations occur. Helping to make your recordings better, many mikes have rolloff switches (typically bass rolloff, although some have treble or high-end rolloff as well). These are great if you’re not going to do any audio sweetening in post and want to record what you need. Another feature of more expensive mikes are pads. These allow you to cut the mike’s output by a set number of decibels if the signal is too loud or “hot.” STUDIO MIKES This is one place where you can really spend the big bucks. But if you’re not recording a song for major label distribution, you can opt for the more priceconscience models. There’s one simple and inexpensive thing that you can do that will help keep the quality of your sound high: use a pop screen. Unlike regular windscreens that protect a mike from constant air pressure reaching the mike’s element, a pop screen helps to stop the popping noise of the letters “p” and “b.” Best of all, they are very inexpensive. Shure’s PS-6 Popper Stoppers From top: Studio Projects B1cardioid studio microphone, the Sennheiser EW100ENGG2 UHF wireless mike system. INSIDER TIPS ON HOW TO IDENTIFY THE RIGHT MICROPHONE FOR YOUR JOB. 36 dv june 2008 www.dv.com http://www.dv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Digital Video - June 2008

Digital Video - June 2008 Contents DV Update My Studio Runners World Brevis Flip 35MM Lens Adapter 4160 Soom Tripod System Century Essential-5 Filter Kit Little Big Disk Quadra Instant Expert DXA-2S Adapter Technology Treasures Making What You See Sound Great Click to Play DV 101 Production Diary

Digital Video - June 2008

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