Field Recording Masterclass - Attended vs Unattended Recording

Is field recording in person better than using drop rigs? What are the advantages and drawbacks of these two approaches? What is the best way to record nature and wildlife sounds? Join me as I discuss these issues in the first episode of my new series: "Field Recording Masterclass"!
I've been planning a field recording course for years but couldn't decide on the best way to share it. Paid platforms seem like a good idea but my aim with these videos is not to make a lot of money. I'd rather start interesting discussions and engage with more people even if that means making all my content free. Of course, if you find these videos helpful you can always support me by buying me a coffee or joining my Patreon. Links at the bottom.
Shot on location in South Luangwa in 2022. Many thanks to the Bushcamp Company for support and access - their bushcamps in South Luangwa are some of the best safari destinations I've ever experienced. Find them at ‪@BushcampCo‬ or on their website: bushcampcompan...
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#fieldrecording #soundrecording #naturesounds

[@GeorgeVlad]

Listen to some of the drop rig recordings I captured on the Zambia expedition: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXelh6eka6d0mZosi=BwFXU_MkSkvqg8kr

[@fernandafernandex]

First of all, thank you for the time and the thoughts you shared with us. I really enjoyed everything you said - and I will listen again. I like both ways of recording, because I am new in this activity and still in the process of finding things that I like most. As a birdwatcher, I like to record birds - the attended way. Bit, some years ago, a friend sugested that I could leave recorders unattended to find what birds are in some region... and I got hooked to find what happens in the night hours. My attention was caught, too, to the beauty of every sound... Trying to do this better, I have been studying and, for example, watching all of your videos.

[@GeorgeVlad]

Thanks Fernanda, good to hear this has been helpful.

[@aaronjmassey]

I agree, so much great information here that deserves a second listen.

[@laflamme7782]

Lovely to see longer video and lots of talking :) After 25years of field recording I'm still eager to hear and learn new perspectives, thank you for the video and taking time

[@GeorgeVlad]

Glad to hear that, one should never stop learning.

[@frywolny]

Totally agree, especially that one doesn’t exclude the other. For advantages of attended recording I’d add a pure pleasure of listening in the environment yet through the rig which gives different perspective. Additional benefit for me is much stronger memory of the moment of recording. I guess it also depends on sheer amount of recordings that has been done

[@GeorgeVlad]

Of course, that makes sense.

[@AndyMartinNatureSound]

Unless I missed it, I think you left out one of the best pros of unattended recording: the absolute delight you may feel when some wildlife comes along to inspect your microphones. From deep sniffs, the occasional lick, defensive squirrels, and birds looking for some nesting material, while these are moments where there is an unnatural interaction, that interaction can be so much fun… as long as your gear survives. Thanks for this video, George! It’s always a pleasure to gain more insight into someone’s process.

[@GeorgeVlad]

Yep, couldn't agree more Andy!

[@Kellysnorthshore]

I can't agree with you more about drop rigs. I grew up on the family farm in 70s and 80s, a time if you had to stop and wait, you just had to stop and wait. You got to hear the difference of a sound scape from when you first arrived, no birds, cattle stop moving, bugs stop singing, gophers hide etc. 20min later the bush and the farm comes back to life because they know you are not a threat but when you move or make a noise, it starts over. You just can't capture the natural sounds when you are present. I only started field recording over the pandemic to provide my wife with some sounds to help with her tinnitus and when I was not able to work as a photographer but its taken me down a wonderful rabbit hole. Still so much to learn and I really appreciate you taking the time to put out video like this. All the Best!

[@GeorgeVlad]

Thanks for the kind words, and glad to hear this is helping.

[@michaelbehan5507]

Thanks for taking the time to put this together George. I'm a newbie to field recording and I'm really appreciative of experts, like yourself, who are willing to share knowledge. I'm watched many of your vids and have learned from all of them. I'm looking forward to more.

[@GeorgeVlad]

My pleasure, Michael. More content coming soon.

[@aaronjmassey]

I always learn so much from George's videos and urge anyone that watches and learns something new to support him by either buying him a coffee, purchasing his sound effects libraries or soundscape albums. The information here, especially for people new to sound recordings is invaluable and does not go unnoticed. Cheers George. Appreciate you. 🔊🙏👍🏆

[@GeorgeVlad]

Thanks Aaron, glad to hear that.

[@rarefindssound]

Great video George

[@GeorgeVlad]

Thanks 👍

[@ExperienceAluiaWithCori]

I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge here for free! I much prefer unattended recordings myself too...both as a listener and as a recordists. I just prefer hearing the natural environment as undisturbed as possible...oh by the way, I feel a bit silly now, because often leave my ZoomH2n out overnight and I always come back to the spot with a bit of anxiety in my stomach wondering if it is still there...well this little toy mic is actually nothing compared to what you leave out there unattended 😅

[@GeorgeVlad]

It gets easier with time, but of course it's never 100% safe to do.

[@johnmunro5983]

Nicely summarized George . I am still fairly new to serious recording and am sure I will find find these Materclass videos very helpfull , thanks

[@GeorgeVlad]

Thanks John, glad it was helpful!

[@HpBeck_Fieldrecordings]

Thanks for this video George and for sharing your experiences. Wish you all the best

[@GeorgeVlad]

Thanks, you too!

[@oliverkadel6586]

Thanks George great video! 👏🏻Looking forward to hosting you on the Immersive Audio Podcast one day and diving deep into the field recording?!

[@GeorgeVlad]

Sounds good!

[@MrSurfhunter]

I like your recordings and I agree that unattended recordings ussually, if you did your homework before to explore and listen the surroundings, can get you impresive results.

[@GeorgeVlad]

Great to hear that.

[@charleskenwright7036]

Thanks for your experienced based thoughts. For me accompanied recording is a direct link with the scene. If the place is right I can run cables away from the microphones to reduce my "footprint". I've been thinking of using drop rigs for some time now. After hearing your thoughts on it, you've really wetted my appetite! Thanks again.

[@GeorgeVlad]

All methods are valid. I've done the long cables thing for a while but it gets really exhausting with hundreds of meters of cable.

[@misterbusiness3964]

I see what you did there when you said "if the wind picks up…" LOL

[@GeorgeVlad]

Ha, that was 100% unplanned!

[@CoenradJMorgan]

Thank you for this George, i really appreciate this video, thank you. I was looking for this. Low frequency rumbling, the sort elephant produce, it’s apparently below human hearing range, do you know how this is recorded and then brought into range of human hearing in post? I note Shotgun mics being used commonly for wildlife, is there a reason Parabolic mics aren’t often seen in these behind the scenes wildlife recording videos. How do you record at distance without a parabolic?

[@GeorgeVlad]

While elephant rumbles and growls have a lot of infrasonic energy, part of them is within the human hearing range so not impossible to record and hear. Parabolic reflectors are limited by their size, and everything below around 1kHz does not translate well when recorded. This is why I don't like them very much. I would rather set up a drop rig in areas where I expect animals to be and record them that way.

[@CoenradJMorgan]

@@GeorgeVlad very interesting, thank you for the reply and sharing that. Much appreciated

[@tarafairchild6764]

I love all of your recordings. I have always wanted to ask, though, for unattended, are you afraid that something is going to either accidentally eat or somehow run off with one of your microphones? Or do you put these up in trees so hopefully that this doesn’t happen?

[@GeorgeVlad]

Thank you. I'm not afraid but I'm aware that no drop rig is 100% safe. I've lost batteries, cables and even recorders to wildlife in the past and I'm sure I will again. There's no better way to capture the kind of recordings I want though, and I'm lucky to work with several equipment manufacturers who are happy to send me a steady supply of replacements :)

[@tarafairchild6764]

@@GeorgeVlad love this, thanks for the response.

[@doulaliane6159]

Thank you for sharing. Have you experimented with replicating the way animals hear sound ? Say, are there specific microphones which resemble the hearing of certain animals ? Thank you for being here.

[@GeorgeVlad]

As far as I know, many animals can hear way beyond the top end of our hearing so I couldn't play that for humans. I already record extra frequency content but that's only so I can use the recordings in sound design.