Sound is half of your production. After the production, if sound is bad, what do you do? Reshoot? You can’t!
Make sure it is set up well at the start. Sounds and visuals are combined to give you the whole experience.

The thingy at the end is called a cat tail

Roles in the Audio world

Boom Operator – holds the mic in such a way that it picks up sound

Sound Recordist – monitors the sound that is picked up by the mic. Usually the head for location sound.

Sound assistants help connect and set up different mics on the set or talent

Slate boy is usually a sound assistant that slates the scene. (Usually for a double system used mainly in film)

Respect

• Allow time for the on location sound team to set up – don’t hurry or ignore their requests. Don’t think the video team are more important than sound.
• Block / rehearse the scene so that the boom operator and sound recorder know how to set up. This is important so they know where exactly to set up, or whether the boom will be blocked by obstacles.
• Check with the sound recordist in between scenes to make sure there are no errors. Don’t get angry if you need to reshoot scenes, they can make mistakes too.

Sound Theory

Frequency – voice frequencies are between 300-3400Hz. Important to know as some recorders cannot capture certain frequencies.
Sound loudness are measured in decibels and the range of quietness to loudness is called dynamic range. Different pieces of equipment have varying dynamic ranges.
A higher signal to noise ratio is good. Soundbooth from Adobe is a software that has good noise reduction features.

Types of mics - dynamic (can be used for more daily use / rough handling), condenser (usually need batteries to power them)

Directionality in mics have different pickup patterns – we have to speak within the pattern.

Mixers are used practically to allow the sound recordist to be further away from the camera. It also allows for more inputs rather than 2 inputs only.

This is how you hold a boom pole

Choosing a mic

Factors:
Scene – if they move, you might want a wireless over a boom mic. If it is a tight location, a wireless might be good. Wide shots cannot have a boom operator
Budget – wireless mics cost more
Camera mic – last resort as it picks up everything

Lavalier mics – small sized – user for television or theatre – often taped to the body, or clipped to the shirt, preferably near the button for stability.
Shotgun mics – highly directional. Do beware that it does pick up a little bit of sound from the back of the mic.

Boom – a long pole where the shotgun mic is attached to.

Sound recordists

• Come early for the rehearsal, set up, equipment check and watch the blocking
• It’s usually acceptable when sounds to not overlap dialogue (dog barking, motorcycles passing)
• If there is a problem with sound of the scene, alert the director immediately
• Before changing location, do record the ambient sound – about 2-5 mins. We can add the ambient sound in post to have consistency for the scenes.