A lot of information about Audio today! The exercise was to shoot an action scene with dialogue but most of the class was spent going through the sound and audio instructions and settings. The exercise was a bit rushed, we just took it in turns to operate the camera, mic and run the action. I think the most important thing for this beginner is to understand the theory behind the way sound works rather than trying to comprehend what the actual equipment is doing straight away. The Audio Signal Chain where the microphone converts sound energy into analogue electric signals. This signal is carried down a cable to a preamp audio recorder or camera where it is converted to a digital file.

There is the single system or the double system option when recording sound for video. The single system is where the sound is recorded with the image directly into the camera. In a double system the sound will be recorded onto an independent piece of equipment while the footage is recorded separately. This is where I get a bit confused because I think we connected the mic into the camera and adjusted the noise using the microphone input panel where we can adjust the levels or the fader…I think. So does that mean we would have to sync that audio in post if it was connected to the camera? Yes I think we just connected the input to the camera to monitor levels. The camera itself wasn’t recording sound the boom was.

Okay…In news or documentary you would probably decide to use the single system if it’s material in need of quick turn around. With time limits and restrictions where action is unpredictable and spontaneous, I imagine I would opt for this type of recording unless the documentary was shot in a studio style set up where I could control the sound more effectively and have the option of doing more than one take. With a double system however, while it is obviously more time consuming I imagine the sound quality and options for control are much greater and more versatile. Plus if the camera being used doesn’t have professional inputs then you need separate recording equipment. Oh so much to learn….