Sound Testing

Today we had a workshop on using the boom microphones along with the film cameras. I worked in a small group with my classmates Nina, Junaid and Luca as we went out to test out the quality of sound that the microphone would pick up when it was windy.
Everyone had a go at being in charge of the sound. We all had a role throughout the recordings, with one person controlling the camera and another controlling the sound, the two left over people could be recorded talking before we switched round.

We wanted to experiment with sound by moving the microphone around for each video to see what would affect the sound most.

(Most of these sound test were just us rambling on about random things, but its not about what we said, its about the quality of the sound)

Sound Test 1 

I was videoed talking in this particular video. Luca operated the sound. For this video we chose to have the microphone held above my head. As it was quite windy we weren't sure if the microphone would pick up my voice as clearly as it did. However we didn't have any problems with the sound and you can hear me clearly.

Sound Test 2

The microphone was held in the same place as the first video for this, once again proving that it could cancel out the sound of the wind and still pick up Junaid's voice clearly.

Sound Test 3

For this video, we held the microphone lower down to Nina, which is why she sounds really loud. This didn't meet the sound requirements so it wouldn't usually be allowed. However, you are still able to hear her clearly without too much background interruption. You can't really hear the people behind the camera responding to her very well.

Sound Test 4

In this video you can hear the trees rustling a lot behind Luca. We also tried to swing the mic over to the others behind the camera when we asked him questions, which showed the variation in sound. 

Sound Test 5

The microphone was held over the camera for this interview, meaning it was further away from Luca. When you watch this video in comparison to some of the earlier ones, you can tell it is much quieter but also in some ways nicer to listen to, as his voice sounds less harsh because the microphone wasn't held so close.

Sound Test 6

In this video we held the microphone closer to the floor, so it picked up some rustling from the leaves blowing. We also had it moving from side to side, showing how when it was further away from us the sound would get really quiet. This was a good way for us to show the variation in sound and how having the microphone closer to the people talking makes them sound clearer.

Sound Test 7

We changed location for this final sound test. As we shot this under a cover from the wind, there is less background noise which meant we didn't need to hold the microphone as close to the person talking. However, you can slightly hear the trees blowing from the wind in the background but it doesn't affect the sound of the speech so much.

Outcome

From these tests we not only learnt how to operate sound alongside using the camera and filming, but we also discovered what is the best way to record sound, and how much you have to think about, such as your surroundings and what background noise you might be picking up without even realising. I definitely feel more confident about recording sound with a boom microphone after this workshop and I think I would be able to do it again without any problem. I would like to get some more practice to get better at understanding the best conditions to record sound under.