A few weeks ago, we were tasked with using a Zoom Recorder to interview one of our classmates on one of three topics, in order to prepare us to possibly use the equipment in our Project Brief 3. Looking back on how using the Sony MC50 in PB3 went, I think I would definitely use the Zoom if I had the choice of which piece of equipment I was required to use again. The recorder was relatively easy to use, and it was small enough to be easy to carry around. The only issue I found with it was that because it is such a good quality audio recorder, it picked up every little sound, which, while wearing the headphones, made even a tiptoed footstep sound like a stomp. My partner and I managed to find a semi silent spot to work, and while we did have relatively constant interruptions due to the door opening and closing repeatedly, we managed to get some useable, good quality footage to then edit in Audition.
Audition was not as simple as the Zoom. It took me a good few hours to figure out how to even use it at all before I could even start editing the recorded audio. I managed to get the hang of some functions like removing background noises, thanks to internet tutorials, but my patience did wear pretty thin with it. After the audio disasters I had during my PB3 editing and recording, I’m semi proficient at editing audio on Premiere, so in the future if I’m pressed for time I’d probably just edit the audio there if it was paired with video, and figure out Audition when I have time to watch some full length tutorials on every function and how to use them.
Finding questions to ask the interviewee proved relatively easy; James was talkative so I didn’t have to prompt him much, but the questions seemed like natural progressions from his previous answers. It meant that I got a lot of material to work with audio wise, which of course makes editing all the more easy as you don’t have to use bad captured audio because you’re running out of the good to fill up time and flesh out the interview.
Overall, it was a fun exercise and a bit of a learning curve. Having the headphones on while using the Zoom made me realise just how much background noise there is in even the most seemingly silent situations, and how this might affect audio recorded, with video or otherwise, in the future. I’d definitely use the Zoom again over my shotgun mic that I have always used if it was feasible.
