5 SOUND Tips You NEED to Know

[@dsouthall8265]

one thing I've learnt from filmmaking this past year is to always get a recording of room tone (sound of the room with no other sound/dialogue) can't even express how many times it has saved me when I'm working on sound design in post production.

[@nicolaskwatnoski8754]

Why do sound and camera never get along? Because sound always walks on set and asks, "can we kill the AC?"

[@jalalCoo]

Lol... true

[@gallegoproductions]

Listen for the minor sounds of handling the boom pole, especially when queuing between multiple actors. A lot of times these low frequency sounds can be quiet and unnoticeable until you get to the editing phase.

[@stephenharrod948]

Always good to have some roll off.

[@gallegoproductions]

Definitely!

[@nicolaskwatnoski8754]

Also, soft gloves are great for limiting noise.

[@TjDelargy]

I think that another thing you have to listen for is blocking cues, getting onset sound for props, footsteps etc. can save a lot of time in post if it sounds right, but if you have bad sound overlapping dialogue, it's all trashed and you end up mixing to drown out the bad sound, and consequently the dialogue. If you can get a dramatic pause to last a tad longer, or consult with the director on keeping the dialogue sections clear of sound, you'll be extremely grateful later.

[@Linkone7]

I would say listen for the acoustics of the room. Depending on the room size and what's in it can add unnecessary echoes etc. The examples you went over were great. Awesome video!

[@wellingtonbosharpe]

Whispering in the next room :) sometimes by either actors waiting for their scene or with little to do in the present scene. Sometimes people just click and get carried away with talking to one another. Otherwise the usual suspects turn up again and again - Planes, Dogs and creaky floorboards. Someone usually asks the soundman after a take - Did you hear that car alarm in the distance? The soundman answers - "Well if you can hear it, it means I can".

[@godsminion9]

Gotta take a stab at this. For indoor shooting, you want to consider the acoustics of the room. If you have a lot of echo, say in a grand hall, you may have to use sound diffusers or dampeners. Depending on if you want echo or not, will determine the type of mic you use. Thanks for the awesome video!

[@JoeBSanchezFilms]

Listening to back ground sound. Traffic being one of them. Even though we are inside and windows are closed or doors are shut. We often get traffic sound or outside sound. Sometimes weather sound plays a big part as well like heavey rain that hits the roof for those rainy day film shoots haha.

[@ecolasalmon]

I'll be setting up in a few weeks to do a short film in a large room that has 30' ceilings with reflective metal services all around accompanied by a very busy railroad about seventy-five yards from their backdoor. I've also been researching mics and recorders to pull the shoot off while I still time on my side. The thought never crossed my mind about the trains rolling by . . . thanks for the heads up and tips.

[@Edeian]

One essential thing you need to look out for when recording audio is flight paths. If you live or work in an area which has an airport nearby, you will want to pick up a flight path app that actively tracks flights so you can get your takes uninterrupted. I worked on a shoot a few months ago done on 16mm and making sure there were no planes was extremely important.

[@HitechProductions]

Also, reverb in an interior location. Sometimes something as simple a putting a few blankets on the floor (off camera of course) will make a huge difference as that is typically where the mic is pointed.

[@rayafahreza]

Those living in muslim countries like mine have one more thing to watch, namely mosques near locations, because when they do prayer calls, forget about taking any sound, they use big big loudspeakers that can be heard literally miles away. :)

[@Chriscross0425]

If you are filming outdoors in a metropolitan city you'll definitely want to always be listening out for the chirping sounds from crosswalks. They're meant to be loud and can easily be heard from two blocks away so time your takes carefully and shoot for the moment they end!

[@MateFilep]

In case of an outdoor shooting I always listen for airplanes or airplane routes. Their sound can easily ruin a take. I suggest live airplane tracking if you can't change location, this way you can plan your recordings even when it's cloudy and you can't see the planes coming.

[@linusnygren]

Recording ambience sound from different angles and position. Just having a subtle shift in ambience when cutting from actor to actor, or leaving the same ambience flowing through a whole scene is vital. Even if it's just your microphone's or your preamp's self-noise it's worth recording. One of the biggest "nah, ain't gonna watch it" factors for me is poor ambience sound control when the self-noise of mics/amps go up and down like a rollercoaster, one can get seasick!

[@dontfrown3593]

Really gotta watch your phasing if you have a bunch of LAVs out and are quite close.

[@imark7777777]

Reflections, had an interview i set everything up and then during the interview I realized 20 feet away the kitchen and stairwell in this house was very echoey and I had to live with it. Don’t know what I’m going to do for next time. They were lav’d up and it was just a bit of bleed.

[@victorbart]

What you really need to be carefull about is when using a shotgun mic, where you point it. If you do run and gun. And in the background where you point are people loud talking. You pick that up too.

[@ShelbyWatson]

Always listen for the crew and address it before it ruins a take. If they are at crafty and it isn't far off set, people tend to forget that you can still hear them.

[@jordanhurd1988]

No matter what, always make sure that there's no hiss/hum in the audio due to issues with the equipment. That's happened to me a few times recently.

[@cinephile1772]

One important thing to listen to background music in public places, which is something I have had trouble with before on set.

[@HitechProductions]

Background noise when recording. A dog barking, a door closing, someone whispering, etc. So many people don't realize what is captured by the mic. And once people become use to a background noise they stop hearing it.

[@smoms]

Nice Video !

[@Abdulrahman_Nosser]

how about listening to something that u cannot, I am talking about the electromagnetic interference may not be that strong but if u are shooting in an industrial place like a nuclear reactor or a scientific observatory u may want to be careful because it may induce a voltage in the cables especially if they are long

[@sim2195]

Great Video!

[@crazyc4geek]

You hit on it but did not really explain how to deal with room tone . First like you said eliminate as much you can. Secondly take a sample of the room tone so you can have one continuous track underneath your dialogue.

[@stephenharrod948]

Like my dad says: "you hire cheap help what do you expect?" :I Yes, room tone is super important and part of locations that you going to be going to, especially the ones out of your control. It's a must for indie filmmaking.

[@alexminot4849]

I do film camp with Stephen, he's the fucking bomb!

[@emmybunn0]

Trees have ruined more audio for me than any other potential hazard. I live in a very wooded area and the wind in the leaves, while a pleasant sound, becomes overpowering during large gusts without a focused microphone. Additionally, without replacing the leaves on the ground with fake leaves no wide shot can be taken without booming from below or using a lav microphone. In short, listen for natural debris creating sound.

[@manucamarixta]

I don´t know how to avoid the grass sound when shooting in the forest

[@JoeDurd]

Having a neighbor underneath my flat who hears his music with a LOT of base, allways annoying if I have to ask him politely to turn it down because I am shooting some video up there...

[@stephenharrod948]

Dat Cue sounds like your neighbor should move. 😏

[@JaserBlades]

RX6 is good for removing unwanted noise it's great

[@krakiii]

Wireless interference between mic's and other gear

[@andrehall6432]

It would be good to listen any crew members and make sure they are quiet.

[@VoragoMaster]

Great video. And great Obama voice, too.

[@HubLocationSound]

I love how 100% of the comments are unsolicited tips from sound guys. Typical sound guys :)

[@NevelBeats]

Rustling on clothing and jewelry noise.

[@lerm2mysquirm183]

Listen for other crew members and their footsteps.

[@ShelbyWatson]

also crickets, they're great at ruining dialogue.

[@siyabrian1799]

all some dudes