The Science and Engineering of Sound

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Take the full Filmmaker IQ course on the Science and Engineering of Sound with sauce and bonus material at: filmmakeriq.co...
Take a closer look at the science of sound and the basics of how microphones convert sound energy into electrical signals. We will also run through the different kinds of mics used in video and film production.
If you have any further questions be sure to check out our questions page on Filmmaker IQ:
filmmakeriq.co...

[@QuibizOwl]

In the audio world we use many different db‘s but never dbm for audio levels. dbm are mainly used in antenna and radio stuff.

[@danishmateen7464]

Jhon Hess you are a natural teacher. Your presentation is amazing.

[@SHONSL]

Wow. This is the most comprehensive video I've seen regarding sound. Thank you for the time and effort devoted to explaining sound!

[@MirrooCamilo]

Dude, i studied 4 years TV-Production in Leipzig, Germany. I'm right in front of my bachelor exams and i am so happy to see all your videos as a hugh summary. thanks to you so much.

[@FilmmakerIQ]

+Mirroo Camilo Break a leg on the exams!!!!

[@MirrooCamilo]

Filmmaker IQ Thanks :)

[@BigJandtheBadMan]

Dude......I'd say I'm an intelligent student and learner but logs always had me confused til this day...... I will love u forever.

[@BasicFilmmaker]

This is awesome. For those of us that are not sound guys, extremely helpful. Thanks John!

[@dylanhayes9156]

I was a live monitor engineer for 2 years, yes i'm a baby in the sound world, but you have helped me grow my knowledge exponentially just from this one video. Thank you so much for that.

[@ganormand]

Built my first amplifier about 1961, and a speaker system shortly thereafter....still involved in sound and recording gigs. Great video, well presented and very entertaining.

[@MrMaxilight]

Your videos are basically a great summary of everything I was taught in first year in film school. Great videos. Keep making them!

[@hakamsoufan]

10/10 all the time we used your Videos to study Film Media in Melbourne

[@twinkledoucheful]

Very useful information. We hear all kinds sound everyday but unaware of all these. "Knowing is better than wondering"

[@Species-rj9si]

Excellent vid, John. You condensed my entire 48 year audio and broadcast engineer career into 15 minutes and 25 seconds!

[@rkdfilm]

Anyone else drastically more impressed that he also plays a french horn and a trumpet?

[@miroculus3201]

rkdfilm haha my reaction was "ofcourse he does..." dudes pretty intelegent :)

[@docwright255]

Perfect professor for a 90s baby. I hope I may be a student of yours in person someday. I appreciate the videos, sir. Keep them coming.

[@19jc80]

I can't believe you did that whole first part in one take. Good job.

[@YooMaTTo]

I have to say this was the most proper, enjoyable, spot on presentation I've ever seen in my entire life of watching educational videos. The audio was fantastic by the way! Haha

[@lamenamethefirst]

Your videos have amazing content and you present really well and it's really easy to follow and take notes. It's several minutes of continuous speech but I never get bored. A truly great resource. Your history videos are just awesome.

[@electronicsheep0911]

Thank you for your video. I've finished foundation year for sound engineering last year, and staring 1st this September I cannot wait :). I've find this very informative. Good work!

[@brdst78]

Really great video. The chalk board sounds distract... a lot. Great video besides the audio about audio. You went through a wealth of info better put than I've heard. Thanks.

[@NatesFilmTutorials]

I'm so thankful for a channel that simplifies and gaining a lot of information in one place! :)

[@samuelsalins8309]

Thanks 👍

[@MaoRuiqi]

Well done. Didn't understand much, but thankfully when hearing of some of the terms you defined in the future, i'll be able to nod somewhat knowingly.

[@inevitableAnpu]

I'm loving this series on audio.

[@chriswood426]

great video. I've used a rode nt1a mic for years, quality. you mentioned bi-directionals' have uses capturing music, for anyone who is interested - other than each side having a slightly different recording warmth, pair a figure 8 with a cardioid and you can record a stereo signal. its the same kind of stereo that fm radio stations emit (rather than a pure L&R), it's main benefit being that it coalesces into a mono signal thats is still pleasantly listenable to when there is poor reception. it is also the way most on board camcorder mics work. boring but true

[@FilmmakerIQ]

Thank you Chris on that insight!!! it was something I overlooked in the research as figure 8 pattern is rarely used in video.

[@Mazomedia]

a part two showing some video/photo of each mic in use would be epic. nice work!!

[@AirsoftReviewerHD]

Best filmmaking tutorial/info ever. Thank you for the free teaching!

[@RockitNowAlready]

John, you are an awesome teacher. Keep up the good work

[@penjackson]

Excellent! Love how you deliver info Mr. Hess!

[@christyvanden8799]

This is a fantastic video, a wonderful resource for budding audio engineers, as well. :) Thank you so much!

[@brucetaylor5917]

Excellent presentation.

[@audioviking5349]

Wow that's a lot of info in this tutorial. Thank you guys for making the world a better sounding place. I will try to support this endeavour as good as I can! :)

[@RobC415]

Great informational video! My only point of concern is near 14:50 in the video where you make it sound like a shotgun microphone rejects sound from the rear when the polar pattern for the mic clearly shows that it does not. Yes, you say 150 deg to the rear but if you get more technical it should be centered at ~120 deg. and crucially, the mic does pick up sound at 180 deg. So placing a shotgun mic on the hot/cold-shoe of your camera puts you, the camera operator, right at the rear lobe of the pickup pattern. But maybe you will cover this in a future video.

[@FilmmakerIQ]

Rob C I think you misunderstood - the 150 degrees to the rear meant the orientation of the polar pattern not that it covers all the way to the rear. But you are absolutely correct about that rear lobe being right where the operator would be :)

[@deneme56]

John, thank you very much for this excellent video.

[@ishmaelhutson5328]

This is much like the information I found watching a video on Lynda.com. Wonderful production.

[@BhashanaLiyanage]

This man is a library for film makers.

[@RyanHannaMusic]

this is a fantastic resource right here!

[@montage2726]

∫ Great Video! ∫ Audio IS crucial in a production. It can ruin your project if not managed skillfully. ∫ Thank you for posting!

[@abbyrodebaugh6634]

You deserve so many more subscribers. Your content is absolute gold!

[@KevinMarchese]

I frigging love you! thank you for these videos...such needed explanations or just a refresher.

[@Seftr]

Great work. Few in the industry understand the importance of sound unless their career resides in that area of specialization. If more creative, "macro" minds whom lead bulky, realized projects, were attuned with the fundamentals of sound, they could really innovate: the entertainment experience would be overhauled.

[@Ccalismak]

This is Super explanation. Can you please divide each term description in short videos.

[@Pauldjreadman]

I've heard and used are condenser pics, which used aa batteries. I have used one for band practices

[@randyreneevora2360]

thank you soo much...this is a very educational video..more power to you sir..

[@dchurch911]

Thank you. Well done and well put!

[@skofjanbejta4103]

thank you so much for the understandable videos

[@knoptop]

Great episode!

[@alexanderpils5459]

another great video! there's a whole series on microphone technology on the eevblog channel: EEVblog #605 - Fig.8 & Cardioid Microphone Patterns

[@tommyjones1978]

PERFECT AS USUAL!!

[@nories4383]

The reason I watched this video is becuz I love sound engineer thnx a lot

[@protegemoi]

Thanks for making such an excellent video!

[@johannesgustafson7142]

I've watched a lot of your videos, and I like them all.

[@1NOnlyAdityaOfficial]

very helpful... learned a lot... keep sharing videos like this... 💪☺

[@JTKOfficial]

Such a great video!

[@dariusstuart2010]

Good sound advice.

[@alanleonel56]

Wow ! you guys came back with everything! You used to post one video per month or so... Now you're posting every week! really glad for you guys ,awesome chanel! one of the best,if not the best,filmmaking chanels on youtube,keep up with the good work!

[@jostoju]

thanks for the great information

[@clydecessna737]

Terrific! Thank you.

[@Mikeycharls]

Legendary vid, man.

[@mariumeplume9562]

The decay is the same thing as the release right?!

[@FilmmakerIQ]

Nope. The decay comes after the attack and leads to the sustain. The release is how the envelope goes to zero. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envelope_(music)

[@raymota4515]

@@FilmmakerIQ True. BUT I've heard many pros use the terms interchangably.

[@bz1128]

Awesome! Video! Can't thank you enough!

[@ksanavengsar4050]

Thank you for information

[@norisgomez6623]

thank you this well help me for my quiz

[@jc3777]

soooooo good. I wish I could give it a hundred thumbs up

[@c2ashman]

Another really awesome video of yours. Very high quality content. AAA.

[@ParkerEdwardsParties]

Really excellent content.

[@a2roland]

Thank You! Thank You!

[@jaywolfenstien]

You know, with zero formal training, I quickly noticed 3db (and multiples thereof) seemed to be the magic number when fiddling with audio gain and audio levels in Premeire. "Well, my music is too loud, let's drop it by 6 ... still too loud, drop it by 6 more, etc. Okay, need VO to be louder, bump it up by 3..." And I always wondered why that was because 3 seemed like a weird base number. Now I know.

[@funking5404]

Thank you!!!

[@marquise32]

This is awesome!

[@JadeFangY]

thx for the information

[@JacobMcJacobwood77]

very cool Mr.Joe

[@satisfied8779]

Great Channel

[@BlackWindPro]

Great job John, keep them coming;-)

[@KarlBunker]

So what's the dB increase when you turn it up to eleven?

[@patricksudbury]

I love your videos!

[@ElFeilasouf]

I haven't even started the video yet but I know dis gonna be gud. Sorry. You guys... Thanks.

[@shuvrosarker]

Amazing!

[@ksanavengsar4050]

You are the best 💓

[@SanczykLucas]

All your videos are really helpful and I really appreciate them. But I would like to give constructive criticism. When John is reframed to a close up and slowly giving up zoom on it, it gets a little confusing and dizzy. It gives the impression that John is about to fall forward. Instead repositioning and resizing are not annoying if they occur relatively quickly. It may be just my impression. However this does not detract from the excellent quality material. So, thank you for sharing all your knowledge about cinematic art.

[@guitargatekeeper]

what a cool sponsor

[@mitchellmitch1778]

This is awesome. i learned a lot thanks . i like the way you teach do you know of any other video that teach like this? regarding recording technology

[@FilmmakerIQ]

Mitchell Mitch This was part of our series on Sound - you can check them out here: filmmakeriq.com/2014/11/a-6-part-comprehensive-introduction-to-sound-and-filmmaking/

[@carsecundino]

Should've payed attention in pre calc

[@909sickle]

I've been studying sound for a long time and have never quite understood what exactly accounts for the different tonal characteristics of different instruments. I thought perhaps that waveform shape could account for some of this. Because square waves sound "buzzy" and sine waves sound "smooth", I assumed that something like a trumpet was somehow able to produce a more square shaped oscillation. However, this does not account for the tonal differences between similar types of instruments or different human voices. I'm wondering if the harmonics / resonates that you're describing could account for the extra tonal differences and what exactly those harmonic differences would look like in a visualized form.

[@FilmmakerIQ]

When I was a kid I played a lot with synthsized midi instruments. The reed instruments sounded pretty realistic, brass was always hard. Basically it's all about overtone harmonics. Everything is a sine wave but the way the overtones lay on top changes the overall shape of the wave pattern.

[@lisheblack]

JAH Bless for Knowledge

[@MrPashee]

Great lesson! But I love Neumann ))))

[@CGKf35]

Loved the video! What kind of a mic would you suggest for recording wedding vows and speeches? A Lavalier sounds practical since it would be virtually invisible on camera but the huge drawback to that would be to get the bride and groom to agree wear it which could be tricky in a situation like a wedding. I'm guessing a Rode M-1 would make more sense? What do you think John? Thanks in advance!

[@FilmmakerIQ]

+P Maximus Definitely a wireless lav mic. Miking both would be ideal - but if you just have one, usually it's placed on the groom as he has more pockets. You could also place it on the person conducting the service. Depending on the wedding service you could also hide a microphone in a central location among some flowers. A lot depends on whether the service is indoors or outdoors - if you're indoors you have more options - outdoors and you really have to go with the lav or a hidden boom mic overhead. The RODE M-1 would be more for some one making announcements and speeches that are going to a speaker. It can also work as a handheld mic for doing "well wishes" directly into camera. If they put up a fuss over wearing a mic just tell them they have a choice of being able to be heard clearly in their wedding video or really soft hissy noise.

[@CGKf35]

Filmmaker IQ Thanks so much John! Your words are truly appreciated! I'm about to film my first wedding and want to make sure I can capture pristine sound of the vows without having a mic appear on camera so this truly helps a ton!

[@FilmmakerIQ]

Don't worry so much about hiding the microphone in this situation - good sound is much more important here. If you can hide it, good for you, if not, no biggie.

[@CGKf35]

Filmmaker IQ gotcha! Thanks again!

[@alsifjlasieflooo]

Sooo, what mic are you using to record the sound for these videos? Sounds gorgeous and the content is awesome too - keep it up!

[@FilmmakerIQ]

For the audio series we've been using the Rode NTG-2 from our sponsor. We've been very happy with their microphones.

[@alsifjlasieflooo]

Filmmaker IQ Yeah, I have some audio gear from Rode as well and it performs great. For the recording I'm still using the zoom h2n and h6, but I'm looking into getting my hands on a NTG-2 and some other rode mics... needless to say, I'd connect them to my phantom powered h6 recorder :)

[@FilmmakerIQ]

The next video will be about the whole recording chain but it sounds like you've got a good setup :)

[@Nukle0n]

Filmmaker IQ I'm always confused at "Røde" being pronounced "Rhode", because the letter ø has a very different pronunciation in Danish, kinda like the first part of "Oeuvre", if you know your French.

[@alsifjlasieflooo]

Filmmaker IQ I'm looking forward to it for sure :) Yes, I'm pretty sure that my audio setup is about as good as you can get with a limited budget. And expandable too, if more money comes in... those 4 phantom powered xlr connections with manual gain control are gorgeous!

[@stigm1318]

LUFS my friend :D

[@trapperking1095]

Are the harmonics described here the same as timbre

[@FilmmakerIQ]

+Trapper King Yea, but Timbre is more of a psychoacoustic description, Harmonics is the scientific driver of Timbre. :)

[@NickKhoo]

my brain hurts.

[@oninster84]

@12:32 if i have a +48V phantom power, can i really use it for my lav and shotgun microphones since they are both condenser mics? i read before that phantom power will fry them because they only require plugin power from the 3.5mm jack so i haven't tried yet. thanks. learned a lot.

[@FilmmakerIQ]

if it is 3.5mm minijack it probably wont take the 48v phantom power.

[@raymota4515]

For 3.5 mm plugs, tip hot, ring bias voltage (typically 5 vdc thru 200 ohms or so) and sleeve to "ground." Phantom puts 48 V on the tip and sleeve and can damage the mic's element. 3.5 mm is typically an "electret" condenser. powered by a 1.5 v ( some up to 9v battery) cell in the mic body. Yeah, it is confusing in both concept, terminology and physical application. Lav is often an electret with a button cell in the body. sometimes a TRS 3.5 mm. Shotguns since they're often the choice on video shoots often use electret or phantom. Phantom is the choice when possible, because you don't have to worry if the battery is going to go flat.To avoid your own job termination and never being hired by reference again in your career, read the manual before you first use a mic and find a seasoned engineer who can 'splain wtf is going on. Then open a fader, open your beverage of choice and cut some hits.

[@gregthompson8062]

Is this sound engineering in 17min? This is alot of quality shit. Thanks

[@johneygd]

So no air means no sound,haha lol,very interresting,including those moctophone's technology.

[@raymota4515]

"No one can hear you scream in outer space."

[@maralnor02]

What about head MIC.

[@FilmmakerIQ]

Headset microphones? Most of them are dynamic mics - but some of the higher end ones are condensers like lavs.

[@anonmouse956]

I don't think its even possible to state all this more clearly.

[@johnjosephspearns896]

Make a stop motion video

[@nicosmith3924]

Cycles1-3

[@nathanbarajas9174]

Dam, you researched all that, and then made a 17:30min video just to tell us...Thanks!

[@MultiSciGeek]

This is so confusing if you go trough it quickly. Can you give more examples, detail explanations and time to understand please? Thank you very much

[@FilmmakerIQ]

MultiSciGeek Just watch it a few times ;) Sorry but the nature of these presentations have to be quick (we still end up with 20 minute videos when many others shoot for 6) but the good news is you can always stop and replay parts.

[@MultiSciGeek]

Filmmaker IQ You are right... Thank you

[@ptankov]

Gives a jet engine as an example. An actual plane flies above my home.