Mics, Audio Recorders & How to Sync Video with Audio - TechSmith Tips

Welcome to another episode of TechSmith Tips. I am Mike, a video producer for TechSmith and in this episode I am going to give some advice on types of microphones, audio recorders and methods to easily sync your audio with video.

Nothing turns off viewers faster than a video with bad audio. If you are recording with mobile devices or lower end cameras, they will most likely have very poor built-in mics that are designed to pick up a wide pattern of sound. Unless you have a higher end camera that has a built-in shotgun mic, you are going to want consider recording audio separately from your video.

The first thing you’re going to want to do is select the right microphone. Each mic has a different pick-up pattern and connection type so youre going to want to determine what’s best for your situation. For one person interviews, I recommend a lavalier or “lav” mic. Here is one that we use at TechSmith for interviews. These are great for clipping on your subjects shirt and are easily hidden. They do a great job of picking up only the audio that is close by.

For capturing location sounds, or dialog between 2 or more people, I recommend a shotgun mic. Caution though, shotgun mics are very directional, so you need to make sure you’re pointing the mic directly at the sound you want to pick up.

And finally you have your traditional hypercardioid mic which is great for your TV journalistic style shoots or stage performances.

Here is a look at the pick-up patterns of all of those mics I just mentioned...

So you picked out your microphone and now you need a recorder to capture the audio with. Here are a few options that I recommend. Don’t be afraid to spend a little less on a camera if it means you can put more money into a better audio recorder. Keep in mind that these audio recorders typically record to SD cards, so make sure you have something over a few Gigabytes in size. You'll also want to make sure you have the right cords. Most audio recorders use XLR or ⅛” size audio jacks or have mics that are built-in.
In addition, it’s good practice to get as close as you can to your subject, because the sound will degrade exponentially the further you are away.

Finally, we are ready to shoot. Since we want to make sure it will be as easy as possible to sync later while editing, we want to use a trick called the “Clap Method”. Which basically means creating a spike in the audio that is captured on both the audio recorder and camera. Have you ever seen those clap boards on movie sets? It’s essentially the same idea, you are creating a noticeable spike in the audio that you will be able to easily line up later in your editor.

I know that it can become time consuming if you are recording a bunch of clips and are trying to sync them in your editor, but there is some software out there that will help. I’ve used Red Giant’s PluralEyes in the past and it is a great source if you have lot’s of clips that you need to sync up.
That’s it for this episode, as always make sure to comment, share, like and ask your questions below. Thanks for your time!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE TECHSMITH YOUTUBE CHANNEL!
http://bit.ly/TSCYouTubesubscribe

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR TIPS & TRICKS AND GREAT INFORMATION!
http://bit.ly/TS-news

CONNECT WITH US!
Google+ ► http://bit.ly/TSCgoogleplus
Facebook ► http://bit.ly/TSCFacebook
Twitter ► http://bit.ly/TSCTwitter
LinkedIn ► http://bit.ly/TechSmithpage
TechSmith.com ► http://www.techsmith.com

---

Closed Caption:

Oh didn't see you there. Welcome to another episode of TechSmith Tips.
I am Mike, a video producer here at TechSmith
and in this episode I am going to give some
advice and tips on types of microphones, audio recorders
and methods to easily sync your audio with
video.
Nothing turns off viewers faster than a video
with bad audio. If you are recording with
mobile device or lower end camera, they
will most likely have very poor built-in mics.
Unless you have a higher end camera that has
a built-in shotgun mic, you are going to want
consider recording audio separately from your
video.
The first thing you’re going to want to
do is select the right microphone. Each mic
has a different pick-up pattern and connection
type so youre going to want to determine what’s
best for your situation. For one person interviews,
I recommend a lavalier or “lav” mic. I
am actually wearing one right now for this. These are
great for clipping on your subjects shirt
and are easily hidden. They do a great job
of picking up only the audio that is close by.
For capturing location sounds, or dialog between
2 or more people, I recommend a shotgun mic.
Caution though, shotgun mics are very directional,
so you need to make sure you’re pointing
the mic directly at the sound you want to
pick up.
And finally you have your traditional hypercardioid
mic which is great for your TV journalistic
style shoots or stage performances.
So you picked out your microphone and now
you need a recorder to capture the audio with.
Here are a few options that I recommend. Don’t
be afraid to spend a little less on a camera
if it means you can put more money into a
better audio recorder. You'll also want to
make sure you have the right cords. Most audio
recorders use XLR, 1/4 “or ⅛” size audio
jacks. And some have mics that are built-in.
In addition, it’s good practice to get as
close as you can to your subject, because
the sound will degrade exponentially the further
you are away.
Finally, we are ready to shoot. Since we want
to make sure it will be as easy as possible
to sync the audio later with the video while editing, we want to use
a trick called the “Clap Method”.
Have you ever seen those clap
boards on movie sets? It’s essentially the
same idea, you are creating a noticeable spike
in the audio that you will be able to easily
line up later in your editor.
I know that it can become time consuming if
you are recording a bunch of clips and are
trying to sync them in your editor, but there
is some software out there that will help.
I’ve used Red Giant’s PluralEyes in the
past and it is a great tool if you have
lot’s of clips that you need to sync up.
That’s it for this episode, as always make
sure to comment, share, like and ask your
questions below. Thanks for your time!