One of the problems of live video is the live sound that always accompanies it. With limited degrees of success, videographers strive to achieve a balanced mix of “live” sounding material mixed with close mic feeds. The goal is a total aural experience that accurately conveys the best from the live event – but this is easier said than done. Unlike in the studio, live videographers are confined to certain types of mic placement and equipment (not to mention the fact that they only get ONE take of the entire event, well, usually).

For the past five years, I’ve been developing better audio recording techniques. I am far from being an expert on this subject, but I have found some great ways of capturing the essence of live events. Here are a few techniques we (as a company) use on a regular basis:

Direct from the mixing board

This is by far the most common practice for live shows, and it allows us to mix in post-production (provided the live feeds are sufficiently noise free). Often with raw tracks, we bypass the house faders and therefore get everything… the microphone is effectively never muted. This can make for the most work later, as many of the mics need to have some effects processing and/or automation, but it yields some of the best results, since you begin approaching the amount of control audio engineers have in the studio.

Direct or mic the instruments/pit/stage

A lot like getting the board feeds, directly mic-ing or taking direct outs from an electronic instrument yields fantastic mixing results. The trouble with this method is placing gear – you often need a xlr (mic cord) snake or wireless transmitters, since usually your gear is not situated right next to the stage. This kind of mic-ing also requires the most pre-approval – since stage managers, show directors, and conductors all want to know about anything that will potentially be in the way or in the line of audience vision.

Stereo mic from audience perspective or mic the audience

This is a pretty easy one if you have a stereo field recorder. Sometimes, it’s not possible to get direct feeds from the board or mic the pit and you have to resort to a more organic solution. By placing the field recorder in a position to get a balanced version (and by balanced i mean mostly show audio with a bit of audience in the background) you can get very accurate stereo audio of what it would be like to sit in the first row. The trouble is, of course, the field recorder will most likely be in the line of vision. Another possibility (if you already have sufficient audio from the board and/or stage) is to simply mic the audience from most anywhere in the house. This will supplement your existing feeds and provide a bit more audience when you make your final mix. I find this method extremely useful when you want to get the idea across of a sellout crowd for a show or something like a musical comedy, where audience laughs help create the humorous atmosphere. Don’t place the audience mic too close to the audience if at all possible, since individual audience members will then stick out in the mix.

In almost every case, sound recorded from camera microphones suffers from being too far away from the stage and too close to noisy audience members. This is why audio recorded this way (unless at something like a wedding, where the atmosphere of being there is desired) should only be used as backup or supplemental.

Tools:

We use a variety of audio capturing equipment, and here is a list with a brief description of how we use them.

Stereo Field Recorder – there are a variety of these, very good for accurate, POV recording that sounds like you are sitting right there. Stereo recordings can cause problems if you use too many of the close together or you you mix things without paying attention to how sound moves through a space and causes phasing issues.

Digital Audio Interface – until very recently, we used a laptop with an interface to record directly to hard drive. This is great since you have a lot of control over inputs and levels, but mobility suffers when you have to hall around a large rack with all of your gear.

Multi-track Recorder – essentially, this is a glorified field recorder that doubles as a digital audio workstation. We recently purchased a new Zoom R16, which records up to 8 channels at a time to solid state. I cannot express in very few words how much easier it is to take this half-a-pound board than our large audio rack and laptop and all the associated paraphernalia.

Our latest audio gear, the promising Zoom R16

The last bit of knowledge needed for successful audio recording of an event is making sure you have things connected, powered (esp in case of condenser mics which require phantom power through a preamplifier), and turned to record. Most things can be fixed, boosted, or cut in post production and in general, “more is better”. You can always cut stuff later.

When recording audio for video, it is important to remember that everything one hears in the mix should be both clear and probably have a “live” feel to it – even if that means recreating reverb or repositioning feeds in the stereo image. Some of the early signs of a “youtube” quality video (and I say this in the most negative sense of the word, there are plenty of high quality videos too) is the lack of hi-fi audio or bad mic placement. No matter how good your video or subject matter, if the audio suffers, the overall effect of the video will suffer greatly. On the flip-side, low quality video which is accompanied by high quality audio is often very watchable – especially if the video was originally shot and edited at a high quality. Obviously, the best of both is optimal – but just because one shoots “video” doesn’t mean careful (if not equal) amounts of consideration should occur for live audio.