>>In this movie, I'm demonstrating some of the differences in audio quality among different
recording devices.
Right now, I'm using the built-in microphone on my camcorder to record this, and you can
hear that it picks up my voice fairly well because I'm within two or three feet of the
microphone on that camcorder.
>>But the sound drops off fairly dramatically when I'm a distance from the camera and the
microphone and especially if there is background noise such as running water or the sounds
of machinery.
Now I've attached a lav or lapel microphone, and you can hear that it has improved the
audio of the this recording substantially, and even when I move away from the camera
and turn away from the camera, you can still hear my voice quite clearly
>>What if your video camera lacks an input for an external microphone?
Well one solution is to use the microphone on your cell phone to record the audio while
your video camera is recording the video.
You can talk straight into the microphone on your cell phone or you can use an external
microphone that attaches to your cell phone.
>>Another option is to use the ear buds that come with your phone.
These have a small microphone, and you can hear when I put it close to my mouth or hold
it farther away.
It's not the best microphone in the world but it will work in a pinch.
And so then all you do is you can loop it around your neck, and you just want to make
sure that it is, the microphone is positioned close to your mouth, and ahh, like so, and
you can tuck it under your lapel.
And then you can put your phone in your pocket and that leaves you hands free to do a demonstration
or whatever you need to do.
>>Or you can purchase a lapel microphone that comes with a jack that fits into your cell
phone.
And the quality of these microphones is somewhat better than the microphone on your ear buds.
>>However, you need to be able to match up the recording, the audio recording, with the
video that is being recorded on your camcorder.
And one easy way to match those two files up is to clap [sound of a clap] at the beginning
of your recording.
And that allows you to match the two files when you edit your footage.
Then all you do is mute the file, the video recording from your camcorder, just mute the
audio and then attach the externally recorded audio to that video file and you'll be all
set.
If you're going to be doing voiceovers during editing, then the microphone that you use
will make a huge difference in the overall quality of your video.
Right now, I'm using a studio quality microphone that attaches to my computer through a USB
cable.
I'm now using my built in microphone on my computer and I think you can hear the dramatic
difference.
My voice is tinny and echo-y.
And if I were in a larger, uncarpeted room, the sound would be much, much worse.
So what microphone and external recording device you choose to use may depend on your
wallet, but this example should give you some idea of the various options that are out there
and how they might affect the quality of your audio.