Above is a short video which I edited together using a variety of audio samples that I recorded earlier this semester. Collecting the audio recordings was an interesting process and while I’d used a Zoom h4n before, I feel that I still learned a lot about the recording and mixing of high-quality audio. First and foremost, I realised just how beneficial it can be to record audio and video on 2 completely separate occasions. Just having the Zoom recorder to worry about really let me focus on the sound I was recording and allowed me to ignore any visuals that might have otherwise distracted me if I had my camera.
In the video I wanted to try and create a soundtrack that was somewhat continuous, with no clear cuts in the audio – to achieve this I kept different sounds playing for quite a long time, even as the shots changed; fading sound effects in and out to create a more flowing experience. I quite liked the effect that this achieved – and I really like the transition between the first shot (of the road) and the second (of the street light).
My other aim was to add a certain degree of strangeness to the footage I had already shot. I didn’t want to mix in sounds that viewers might be expecting to hear. In particular, I liked how the sound of my car’s indicators worked with the shot of the car’s indicating along the road – I thought this made the shot quite interesting as normally we would only hear the indicator from within the car.
My main issue with the audio I recorded is that it was a little on the quiet-side. I probably should have been keeping better attention to the Zoom’s audio levels and tried getting closer to the sources of the sounds I was recording. The only other time I had used a Zoom had been in a controlled (and quiet) environment so recording in the field was a new experience and I suppose I wasn’t quite adjusted to recording while on the move. Next time I record audio I’ll definitely focus more on the input levels to make sure they’re consistently around that -6db mark.