It’s easy to remove a sentence of unwanted audio in post-production. But, what if you need to add dialogue or narration after all the talent has gone home when production concludes? Not so easy. You could try to get the talent back, return to the identical location and use the same mic and equipme

Akira Kurosawa once described cinematic strength as deriving “from the multiplier effect of sound and visual image being brought together.” It is strange, then, that sound is often relegated to the sidelines of cinema, with few actually ever realizing its full potential in a production.

Considering that this article will be delving into the rich world of signal processing, I feel honor-bound to make a few suggestions: Avoid large amounts of long plug-in chains i.e. every channel does not need 15 plug-ins Try to visualize your signal flow i.e. DAWs are digital representations of an

As a location sound operator who’s spent time trying out, evaluating and choosing microphones to purchase for recording sound in the field, I can tell you that the process was a little more frustrating and confusing than I expected. Internet hype, operator opinions and personal brand preferenc

When crafting a narrative film, you’re going to be filming a fair amount of dialogue scenes. Dialogue is how viewers gain insight into your characters while moving the plot forward. Failing to film these scenes correctly will negatively impact your film and the way people watch it, so we’re going to

Being able to correct issues in post-production that were created in the field will not only make you a stronger producer, but will also make your video sound — and look — that much more professional. Poor knowledge of audio holds many producers back from creating a truly polished finished work, and

Lavalier microphones are a trusted stand-by in the gear bag of any video producer. The small size and clear vocal reproduction of a quality lav mic makes it ideal for placing on on-screen talent. In studio situations, a lav mic is most typically clipped to the talent's clothing, either on a shi

How much did you spend on your perfect audio kit? What audio kit, you ask? For some reason, many video creators treat the audio portion of their productions like a distant cousin. Talk on blogs and forums is all about pixels, sensor size, codecs and bitrates. There is little, if any discussion of au

It’s no secret that video producers put a lot of effort into shooting and editing videos that look good. Conscientious shooters pay careful attention to variables like lighting, lens selection and camera settings when they capture their footage. Likewise, they are attentive to the potential compromi

What do you do when you have more mics than inputs on your camera? It’s simple, get a mixer. A mixer will allow you to sum up all of your inputs into one stereo pair. Most mixers allow for XLR, ¼ inch mono, ¼ inch stereo (tip ring sleeve) and RCA inputs. XLRs are typically microphone inputs, ¼ are l

You just sat down, you got your jumbo popcorn in one hand, your overpriced candy in the other. The lights slowly fade down… It’s preview time! The announcer reads, in a sweet, sultry voice, “Coming this summer…” Your seat rumbles and you can feel his voice in your chest. It’s very likely if you met

In our Surround Sound part one feature, “Gathering the Audio” we looked at several ways to gather material for a surround sound mix in your video creations. It’s really not that hard, using equipment you may already own. We also touched on setting up a surround mixing space with yo

While all microphones essentially pick up the same audio, they don’t all pick up audio the same way. There are a few different microphone pickup patterns. When it comes to audio for video, it is essential to know what your needs are when it comes to buying a mic.  To the typical non-golfer

Smartphones and tablets didn’t matter to the masses until just a few years ago, and now they’re everywhere. Mobile devices have become our go-to choice for obvious reasons. A small, portable, connected gadget is pretty handy for a media producer on the move. And now – with some ada

At some point in your video creation career, you’ll have to perform a voice-over. Whether your regular narrator is sick or you have a very tight budget, recording your own voice-over is a feasible but humbling task. To lighten your load, we’ve assembled our 10 favorite voice ov

Sound is half of your video production, and sometimes you have to work outside your audio setup comfort zone. It’s not always sit-down interviews and Steadicam work, you know. A time may come along when you have to record at a live event and audio is most crucial. From simple to not-so-simple, we’ll

The shotgun microphone is the workhorse of film, television and documentary work. With a boom operator or just mounted on a microphone stand, shotgun microphones do a great job of capturing sound in just about any circumstance. A quick look at the polar pattern of a shotgun mic tells the whole story

Wedding video is back! Only this time, the production value is much higher. In the past, wedding videos were simply a camera on a tripod at the back of the venue. Today’s wedding videos are called “trailers” and look very much like the movie trailers they’re named for. With t

Watch any behind-the-scenes bonus feature or documentary and you will likely see a boom microphone or boom mic. In fact, you’ll see boom mics on the set of any television drama, reality show and even game shows. They’re standard gear in motion pictures, documentaries and virtually any vi

Editing audio for video is an art in which an audio editor might spend an entire career perfecting. While there are tons of tricks to the sound effects trade, there are a few simple filters and effects that every editor should know about and learn to use. Here are four fast effects that will help yo