On the 8th of November, Paddy did a workshop with us in which he took us through the basics of sound in film and how it is used in films such as ‘Heat’ (1995):
We discussed the importance of sound and how that sound may actually be more important than the visuals as you can forgive a film with poor visuals as long as the sound is good, however if you can’t hear the characters or the audio quality is just really poor then it doesn’t matter how good the visuals are as the story can’t be followed.
Paddy then moved on to show us the equipment which we can use to record sound in our films.
Sound Recorder
The sound recorder or PCM recorder is central to any sound recording setup. The one pictured on the left is a Zoom H6 which has 4 XLR microphone inputs. The recorder is where you can monitor levels, listen to the sound being recorded and of course record onto an SD card.
Radio Mics
Radio mics are useful for recording dialogue or speech. They can be attached visibly on the the lapel for interviews and suchlike and they can be attached under the shirt for films and situations that require the mic to be concealed. They can provide much better quality audio for vocals than other methods.
Shotgun Mic
Shotgun mics are a very versatile piece of equipment which can be used in a variety of circumstances such as when radio mics aren’t a viable option on set.