Video Camera Audio

Video Camera Audio

Audio can be one of the most over looked properties in video production and it can make or break the outcome.

Built in camera audio, in many cases works well depending on how the camera is set up. The biggest issue one might face would be wind noise outside. If your camera mic protrudes from the body of the camera then you can simply add a windscreen, some smaller cameras only have surface mounted microphones making it difficult to do that. In that case you will probably need to get a shotgun microphone and get a windscreen for that.

A second reason you may want to consider adding a shotgun microphone would be if you are wanting to film with a wireless mic. Most video cameras are set up so that if you plug in an external audio device it will shut off the on camera microphone.  If you want to use a wireless mic and still want to pick up other audio around you, you will need to also run a shotgun microphone.

Another valuable tool that often gets over looked is headphones. Most cameras have an audio meter on the screen but that is not a real accurate indicator of the audio you are capturing. The last thing you want to do is realize you had an audio problem after you are done filming. By using the headphones, you will hear the audio coming through the camera exactly as it will sound when you get home to watch it.

These are just a few thoughts on audio and if followed should make your finished production that much better.