Good audio can really enhance a video or cam performance, however it often takes a backseat to image and stream quality. Here are some things to keep in mind to make sure your sound quality in on par with the rest of the killer content you’re producing.
Kill the noise. The background noise, that is
Filming is hot work, literally. It’s usually a good idea to turn off your a/c, heater, fan, or any similar appliance (maybe leave the fridge on though, for the sake of the La Croix) while filming.
Don’t ruin a great scene by having the loud jolt of your central air turning on in the background. If you’re worried about getting too sweaty or chilly while shooting, try to cool or heat your space appropriately before filming.
Get Some Royalty-Free music
Sometime’s you might want to set a mood. The hunt for royalty free music can be a tough one if you’re trying to stay on the up-and-up regarding potential copyright issues.
The good news is there’s a huge source of royalty free music right under your nose on Youtube. Set up an account there to access the creator studio which has free?royalty-free music organized by genre, mood, instrument, and duration.
Keep an eye on those track volumes! A nice mood setting song is great but if it’s too loud it can be distracting. This is an area where “less is more” applies.
Use An External Mic for Best Results
If you’re recording on your computer with a webcam, sound can be easily improved with an external microphone. Much like built-in webcams, internal microphones can leave a lot to be desired.
Many models prefer using external mics for both recording and streaming. The most popular choice amongst streamers is the Blue Yeti USB mic. This will not connect to a DSLR or other cameras as it connects via USB, so it’s more ideal for those who might be broadcasting or recording from their computer.
That said, some content creators will record a sound file on their computer with a high quality USB mic while they record video with their external camera. With this you can sync that sound file with your video. If this is a route you want to take, making a loud sound or clapping can help you sync your sound file to your video. This way, when you’re looking at just the raw audio waveforms, you can see the “spike” in the waveform that indicates a new take or starting point for edits.
Normalize Those Levels!
One of the best things you can do for your audio is to normalize it. Normalizing (also called “compression” for audio professionals) means raising the levels of the quieter parts of your audio while lowering the levels of the biggest peaks. If this sounds like too much work, relax! There’s a FREE and easy tool that works on any platform called The Levelator which does all the hard work for you in one step. Get The Levelator free from Conversations Network.
Most video editing programs have an option to export just the audio – if you’re on OS X, you can even use Quicktime Player and choose “Export As… Audio Only” to get a perfect .aif file for usage in Levelator.
Once you’ve downloaded The Levelator, simply take this new audio-only file (must be .aif or .wav format) and throw it onto The Levelator window. Give it a minute or two while it works its magic and voila! You can then replace the audio in your video with the new post-normalized file. This one final step will make a world of difference.
