When you decide to upgrade your audio, you might not be sure where to start.
The amount of information and gear options can seem overwhelming.
From microphone types and placement to frequency response, polar patterns, and more,
there’s a lot to learn and a lot of choices to make that can drastically affect your recordings.
And even if you’ve got the right mic, you may not be getting the right sound.
I’m Alex Knickerbocker. I record, edit, and mix sound at the major studio level, and today
I want to simplify sound. By understanding the fundamentals of capturing audio, you can
improve your recordings with one of the easiest pieces of gear to use: the on-camera microphone.
On-camera mics are just that – compact microphones that can mount to your camera, plug into your
mic input, and start recording. They’re cost effective and versatile enough to use anytime
you’re shooting, which makes them a perfect fit for everyone from independent content creators
to documentary filmmakers and more. Because they make such an immediate difference in quality over
built-in camera mics, there’s really no reason not to have one, even if you buy other mics later.
On-camera mics pack a lot of features into a plug-and-play device.
They connect directly to the mic input and attach to your camera’s shoe mount to
instantly upgrade your audio. Some are also compatible with a standard ¼” 20 tripod mount
if you want a static perspective or need to get the mic closer to your sound source.
Shock mounts are used to isolate the mic from handling noise or movement,
which is especially important when shooting with a DSLR or mobile device.
Most also have accessories to mitigate wind noise when you’re outside or help to prevent plosives
if you’re speaking close to the mic. Mics like the MKE 200, 400, and 440 are unique because they have
these features built in, which saves space in your bag and on your camera. You can also pair them
with Sennheiser’s MZH windscreens to block out even more wind noise without muffling your audio.
Many built-in mics pick up sound from all directions, and while they might be useful
for scratch audio, they introduce a lot of environmental noise into your recordings.
In most cases, you’ll want to use a directional mic that will focus in on the sounds you want to
capture. The MKE 200 uses a super-cardioid polar pattern to reject noise from the sides and rear
while picking up on-axis sounds from the front clearly and intelligibly. Miniature shotgun
mics like the MKE 400 are even better at this, allowing you to focus on your sound, regardless
of your environment. Now, shotgun mics are a bit of a different breed than other directional mics.
We’ll get in depth on that in another video, but they’re basically the mic of choice for rejecting
as much unwanted noise as possible while focusing precisely on the sound source they’re pointed at.
Traditionally, they require a dedicated recorder with phantom power via XLR, a mic stand or boom
pole, and are most often found being used on film and television sets by professional sound recordists.
And while a full-sized shotgun mic like the MKE 600 would be right at home
in that environment, its removable battery and included shock mount make it a perfect choice
to capture the most natural sounding on-camera audio possible. The included KA 600 cable lets
you use it with DSLRs, and the optional KA 600i makes it compatible with mobile devices as well.
Regardless of what mic you choose, you’ll always need to consider the location you’re recording in
and try to pick mic positions that will put unwanted noise off-axis, so the mic
naturally rejects them. It may seem obvious, but if you’re in a loud location near roads, highways,
or crowds, try to position the mic pointing away from them. Let me show you what I mean.
We’re out here on the street with an MKE 600 going into a Sony A7siii. As you can hear,
with the microphone pointed directly at me, my voice is clear, present, and crisp.
As we go off-axis, you can tell my voice drops off significantly and we start picking
up a lot more of the environmental noise. Coming back on-axis, you can clearly hear
the advantages of a directional mic in a loud environment. Always try and take into account
the environmental noise you’re working with so you can position your subject and your microphone
to make the most of its directionality and reject noise that you don’t want.
You’ll learn what will work best for your content by experimenting, but thinking about
your environment before you hit record can really improve your sound, no processing necessary.
That being said, there are absolutely times when you need more than a directional pickup pattern
to help your audio. Maybe you’ve got wind that’s still overwhelming even with a windscreen. Wind
and handling noise create a lot of low frequency bumps and rumble, and even if your levels are set
right, sudden gusts or movements can cause your whole signal to clip across every frequency.
Using a low-cut filter will reduce bassy frequencies at the microphone, before they
even reach your camera or recording device, making your audio sound cleaner and more professional.
Cutting your lows can also reduce and control low-end heavy sounds like air conditioner hum,
which not only sounds better but allows you to record louder
since those lowered bass frequencies won’t distort your inputs as quickly.
If you turn up the gain on your camera, you might start hearing its self-noise in your recordings.
Most cameras don’t have quality audio circuitry – they’re basically only good for scratch audio.
Boosting the gain too high can introduce a lot of hiss from the camera’s microphone preamps,
which is generally why it’s best to boost the gain on the microphone itself if possible.
Mics that have a sensitivity switch are helpful because they can compensate for noisy camera
preamps. Setting that sensitivity higher on the mic will boost the signal using better circuitry
than your camera has. Or, if you’re recording really loud sounds, you can reduce the sensitivity
to avoid distorting your audio and get cleaner, higher quality sound at the source with virtually no effort.
That said, be sure to experiment to see which settings work best for you and your gear.
You should also take proximity into account here. We’re going to switch
over to an MKE 400 so you can hear what I’m talking about.
We’re using an MKE 400 again going into a Sony A7siii. Optimal mic placement for on-camera
microphones is about one meter away for the most natural sound. If you get too far your
subject is going to start sounding distant and it could be obscured by loud background sounds.
You might think it’s better to be close up, but you might run into the proximity effect,
and the low-end presence boost is going to start making things sound
unnatural. It’s really important to consider mic placement for the most
organic sounding recordings, as well as the focal length of your lens.
You should try to choose a lens that is going to accommodate both mic placement as well as framing.
With all that in mind, you should always monitor your audio when choosing a mic
or making adjustments. You wouldn’t start shooting video without checking how it looks,
and you shouldn’t start recording without checking how it sounds. Headphones like the HD 280 PRO’s
will represent what you need to hear accurately, and built-in headphone outputs like the one on the
MKE 400 make this really easy so you aren’t guessing at what your audio sounds like.
One final technique to try is recording in stereo.
Most on-camera mics output dual-channel mono to make recording as easy as possible,
and that works great for dialog or vlogging. But if you’re capturing live music,
or natural ambiences, or find yourself wanting a little more sonic immersion than mono affords,
stereo mics like the MKE 440 add dimension and depth right out of the box.
When it comes to capturing professional audio, there will always be new techniques to try out
and more things to learn. But by understanding fundamentals like these,
you’ll be able to make informed decisions during the recording process to improve your sound
no matter what content you create. To learn more about on-camera microphones,
check out the links in the description or head over to Sennheiser’s website. And remember:
no matter what you’re shooting, an on-camera mic is the perfect first step to upgrading your audio.