Ocenaudio how to adjust recording level portable#
Ocenaudio how to adjust recording level professional#

If the sound ends up being louder than you anticipated, you will immediately see your level is over -12, and you’ll be able to make an adjustment as you’re shooting. It’s important to keep an eye on your meters as you roll. You look at the viewfinder constantly when you’re shooting. You don’t frame a shot then ignore the viewfinder once you start shooting. Likewise, your audio meters are similar to the viewfinder on a camera. Remember: your audio level controls are similar to the focus ring on a lens. Anticipate the loudest sound, adjust for it, but don’t go too low. The same rule applies to recording musicians, nature, etc. Once you have it at -12, roll it back a little (actors always get louder when you’re doing an actual take, however, be mindful not to set the recording levels too low). If you’re recording actors, ask them to say their loudest lines as you are adjusting the level. When you’re adjusting the level control on your recorder and trying to get the meters to bounce around -12, set it for the loudest sound that’s going to happen during the recording. There are several important procedural duties to remember… 1) Prepare for and anticipate loud spikes in volume The meter on the R-07 should read -6, -12, -20, etc., but it does not. Roland simply failed to add the minus sign to these numbers.

Ocenaudio how to adjust recording level portable#

Do a test recording to make sure the audio isn’t too loud or too faint.Īnother example of inconsistencies in audio meters is the one on the Roland R-07 portable recorder, which marks 6, 12, 20, etc.

Adjust the audio levels so that the meters dance a little more than halfway up. In these situations, the procedure is a little less scientific.

Ocenaudio how to adjust recording level professional#

I’ve seen this on both professional video cameras and portable audio recorders. The meters on some recorders aren’t marked with numbers, so you can’t tell where the area between -24 and -12 should be. Digital distortion sounds terrible, so it must always be avoided.Ĭaveat. The problem with recording above -12 is that you run the risk of overdriving and distorting. The problem with recording below -24 is that you won’t get the best signal-to-noise performance out of your recording device. The ideal spot is near the halfway point between the -12 and -24 marks, so the operator should turn the input level up a little bit. The audio in its meter is peaking around -24. The picture above is the screen of a Zoom H4n. 12 is clearly marked on the Zoom H4n’s meter The animated meters (the ones that move up and down as sounds get louder and softer) need to dance between the -20 and -12 marks. This is the big trick to adjusting audio levels: you need your audio levels to be bouncing between -20 and -12 on your audio meters. Your goal is to learn how to set proper audio levels for recording. What do these numbers stand for? Don’t worry about that now! You can learn about that another day. The number 0 should be positioned near the top of the meter, with -6, -12, etc. Most audio meters are marked by a column or row of numbers. You just need to look at your audio meters to be able to judge if you should turn the levels up or down. It’s almost as simple as raising or lowering the volume on a TV.

Adjusting your audio levels is an important responsibility, but it’s rather easy to do. With cameras this is only a concern when you’re shooting with a low maximum aperture. The thing that makes getting good audio levels difficult is that there’s a very slim threshold in which the audio levels are in the “sweet spot.” It’s similar to how a fast lens with a fully open aperture has a shallow depth of field - you can focus on a subject’s eyes, but the tip of their nose and their ears will both be out of focus. The result is very unnatural and distracting sounding.ĪGC (Automatic Gain Control) on a Zoom H4n is called REC LEVEL AUTO. When the person speaks again, the background will duck down again. The moment they stop speaking, the AGC will turn the levels up, and the background sounds will get louder. When someone starts speaking, the AGC will turn the levels down to avoid peaking and distorting. You can turn on Automatic Gain Control (AGC) on your recording device, which adjusts the audio levels for you, however, the levels of your recordings will be uneven. You can use Auto Focus on a camera, however, the downside is the camera will accidentally lose focus on the subject, and immediately start “hunting” for focus in the middle of a take, which, if you’re trying to create a polished production, looks really unprofessional. You have to constantly focus a lens in order to achieve sharp images, and the same is true for sound you need to attentively adjust the levels on your equipment in order to capture the best sound. Getting good sound is similar to getting a sharp picture. 7.5 years after I published this blog post, I made a video about it!