The sound crew

When recording with a microphone separate from the camera you will need to decide - are you recording anybody talking?

Yes.

You will need two people:

Sound Recordist - Who listens to the sound on headphones and judges if it's okay.
Boom Operator - Who holds the microphone in the best position.

No.

This time one person is enough:

Your Sound Recordist holds the microphone and listens on headphones. This is fun and really helps you to understand how the microphone works.

sound crew check out the gear

This can take quite some time to do properly, perhaps an hour or more. Check you have everything together before you start.

Camera Instructions Do you have the instructions for the camera? If so, a sound recordist should try to make sense of any information relating to sound, particularly about setting sound recording levels (but don't worry if you can't set the levels).

The Sound Crew's Checklist
comment item notes

what you need

Headphones

with a mini-jack connector at the end of the cable

An Extension

for the headphone cable (mini-jack socket to mini-jack plug)

Essential

_

_

Useful

what you do

Plug in the headphones using the extension if you have one

The socket may be hidden under a rubber cover

what you need

A Suitable Microphone

A clip or mount

which you will use to attach the mic to a pole, mic stand or hand holding 'pistol grip'.

Microphones are delicate! Never leave a mic lying on the floor. Find a safe place and make sure it can't get knocked.

what you need

A cable

to take the sound from the mic to the camera. This needs to be a minimum of 3 metres long.

An Extension

for the mic cable so you can get the mic nearer to the action, if you need to.

Be careful where your cables are going. Make sure they lie flat on the ground and are not likely to trip someone. Don't place them in front of doorways or across corridors.

what you need

A suitable pole

to use for a boom

what you do

Fit the microphone gently into its clips and screw or attach it securely with tape to the end of the pole.

what you do

Connect the mic cable from the microphone to the camera.

what you do

A blank video tape

AND either mains or battery power for the camera

Label the tape with the date and give it a title and a number.

what you do

Switch the camera on and put the tape in. Switch the camera to 'standby' or 'record pause'. If you can only go into record, do so.

what you do

The Boom Operator talks NORMALLY into the mic while the recordist listens. (If you’re on your own, talk into it yourself – you can always say 1-2-1-2-1-2!) Take time to get the idea of what the mic picks up.

Don’t shout! Swap places and also try it on your own, listening on the headphones while you talk into the mic or point it at other people.

setting the sound levels

If you know how to adjust manual sound levels on the camera, try to make it so the meters hit the middle of the scale when someone is talking normally about half a metre from the mic. If it shows numbers 1-10, set it to about 5 or 6. If there are minus numbers, set it to about -20.

You may be able to set Automatic Gain Control (AGC) to ON or OFF - set it to OFF

If you can't adjust anything, turn the headphone volume control - if there is one - to the centre position.

You are now ready to run a test recording

running a test recording

  • Ask everybody else in the room to be quiet.
  • Have somebody ready to talk - just ask them to describe their route to school or anything that will get them to talk for a while.
  • The boom operator (or recordist alone) points the mic, not too close, while the sound recordist or camera person sets the camera to record.
  • Record at least a minute. If you can adjust the sound levels while you are recording, try them at a lower, middle and high position.
  • Listen carefully to the sound and pay close attention to the difference between the volume of the voice and the general background noise.
  • Stop recording, rewind the tape and listen to what you recorded. Let the boom operator listen too.

Okay - How did the test go?

It sounds pretty good.

Well Done! You're ready to shoot!

We have a problem.

All sorts of things could be wrong with your sound, or maybe there is nothing there. Use our fault finding page to help you out.