*** From the Archives ***

This article is from October 1, 2014, and is no longer current.

Sound Advice: Focused Listening

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In the Sound Advice series, I’ve discussed several audio-for-video topics in previous articles, including choosing microphones, why you should avoid the camera microphone, and how to think about the craft and art of sound for video.

Another important part of the sound capture process is maintaining a focus on what is being recorded. A common (and rather telling) problem on many video shoots is simply that nobody is listening. I am not referring to people not listening to each other­ (also a common problem on set) but rather the misguided practice of recording audio without actually listening to the recording while it is happening,

You may be able hear an actor speaking from wherever you are standing on set, but this does not mean that the audio recording is good or even usable. There is a parallel here with capturing the picture: you can probably see the talent, too, but you cannot evaluate the shot without looking through the camera, can you? Similarly, you can’t evaluate the sound without careful listening on headphones.

To accomplish good sound for your video, someone must be assigned the task of listening to (and continuously evaluating) all audio being recorded during the shooting of footage. As previously mentioned in other articles, it would be best to have a professional audio person in charge. They know what to listen for, and they will tell you (if you are the director) when the sound is not being captured properly. They will also have the expertise to fix it. In any case, at least make sure that you, the director, wear high quality headphones, (not the camera operator, unless that’s you, too). Turn up the volume to a level that isolates you from the surrounding environment, and then pay close attention to the audio coming through. And that’s the rub. If you are directing, or shooting, or doing some other important job on set (they are all important), you will have some difficulty truly focusing on the sound. Later, during the edit, you will be amazed (and probably darn upset) at what you missed. If you can’t hire a pro, then appoint someone—anyone—to the task of listening to the recording. It’s not ideal, but it’s far better than nothing.

Part of the equation is what you are using to listen. Wear high-quality headphones, and it’s worth repeating that you have to turn up the audio loud enough to really have the audio wrap around you. It’s a common mistake to listen to the sound at a level too low to properly make a judgment about quality. I was shocked when I first discovered that my students were listening at levels that told them nothing about the recording they were trying to capture. They were in turn shocked when I turned up the headphones to a level at which they could truly evaluate the incoming sound. Director’s note: this singular focus on sonics is why sound people seem spaced out all the time, or, at least, it’s one of the reasons.

The question of what specific brand of headphones to use comes up a lot. It’s largely a matter of preference and experience, and everyone has favorites. In truth, there are many good brands, but here are a few general do’s and don’ts that will get you started:

• Don’t use headphones designed for home music listening. Headphones designed for listening to music usually sound big in the bass or bottom-end, making them inappropriate for critical recording because they will fool you with inaccurate sound reproduction.

• Don’t use earbud type headphones—they are not designed for recording—nor inexpensive phones that usually have little foam pads that sit on top of your ears.

• Don’t use noise-canceling headphones. These are great at reducing the ambient noise of a noisy location such as an airplane, but they also remove some of what you want to hear when engaging in critical monitoring.

• Do use headphones that are known as “closed-air” type, meaning they cover your ears entirely and allow you to focus on the sound.

• Do look for descriptions such as “studio monitors” or “critical recording.” These are more likely to be the type you want. Expect to pay upwards of $100.

• Do discuss your requirements with a salesperson that understands the recording business. This won’t guarantee great headphones, but it will at least help you avoid useless ones. You can also do research online, and should.

Where you plug in those headphones is also important. If you are listening at the camera’s headphone output, there is a good chance that you won’t get enough volume (loudness) to hear things well. You’ll probably hear better if you use an audio recorder (more on this in a future column) and listen from that device. Another option is to get a portable headphone amplifier/distributor. It’s a little box that you plug into the camera headphone output (or any device’s headphone output), and then plug your headphones into the box, which has a volume control and boosts the output level. You usually get the option of more headphone ports, too, so more than one person can be listening together. Clients love that.

Regardless of how you proceed, know that capturing good audio requires a focus on the sonic world, particularly when monitoring sound during a shoot with so many things going on at once. That focus on the aural along with the visual is exactly what you want in your video making throughout the process. You’ll find that this leads to clearer storytelling and smoother editing sessions, but most important, programs that will be better understood and appreciated by your audience.

 

Jacoby practices sound and radio art, audio for video, directing, producing, writing, performing, and podcasting. Jeff serves as Professor of Media Arts in the Broadcast & Electronic Communication Arts Department (BECA) at San Francisco State University. Jeff founded Living Sound Productions (1980), where for thirty-five years he produced radio, video, and film projects, music (from jug band to rap), live concerts and various events. He taught media production at Quinnipiac University, Real Art Ways, and the Media Arts Center in Connecticut, and hosted radio programs at KAOS (Olympia, WA), KBOO (Portland, OR), KMUN (Astoria, OR), WPKN (Bridgeport, CT), and WLNV (Derby, CT). Current projects include Sonic Dark Rides (immersive sound art), the podcasts Sonic Space with Professor Noize, and The Traveling Radio Show, and enjoys collaborations with artists working in a variety of mediums. Jeff is also a published author at Linkedin Learning, Creative Pro, and the Journal of Radio & Audio media. He has been recognized with an Emmy Award and two Emmy nominations, two Crystal Radios, five Broadcast Education Association Awards, and two CINÉ Golden Eagles, among other honors. His work has been heard on PBS, NPR, commercial and community radio, and at art festivals such as South by Southwest, Black Maria, Festival du Film de Paris, and ASIFA-East. Jeff lives in San Francisco with his most frequent collaborator and partner, visual artist Sharon Steuer. In 2005 they formed the Freedom Fries Art Collective, recruited sixty artists, and mounted a large-scale, participatory political art installation (more of this is under way). For more information, visit www.jeffjacoby.net.
  • Cromarty Maciver says:

    I have to say great to see this sort of article. So many ‘contemporary’ videos have sound that is inaudible or undecipherable to that extent that they are unwatchable. Sadly sound has often been the poor cousin to vision, everyone wants to do the ‘glamour’ job of camera but not do the often difficult job of sound. It takes courage to stop a shoot, especially when an interview or scene is apparently going well but it has to be done if there is an audio problem. People may be a bit annoyed at the time but it is better then than in post production, another good reason to give the director a good audio split.

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