Video is a big trend these days. TeamGantt uses video quite a lot and is always looking for ways to improve it. Video is a great way for customers/users/site visitors to engage with you. We’ve all seen some great examples, and some that were really bad.
What makes the great ones great!
There are usually a few things that you need to do, but the most important is high-quality audio to accompany your video. Recording high-quality audio for your videos is easier than you might think.
First things first.
It is very easy to get high-quality video footage these days. Any device that has a camera can capture HD video with great quality. Audio recording is where many high-end video cameras fail. The microphones built into cameras are often just plain bad. They are there to be sold as having a high quality stereo microphone built in. I can count the number of times I have used a microphone built into a camera to create videos over the years.
Some Pro/ENG cameras come with a separate microphone that attaches directly to the camera and plugs into an audio interface on the side. Although this is a great feature, you will still get poor results unless you remove the mic from the camera and move it closer towards your subject. This can be done by placing a shotgun microphone on a boom stand close to your talent or using a handheld boom mic. These are great options for getting amazing audio, but not everyone wants or can afford booms and boom stands. These can be intimidating depending on who is speaking.
Low cost, high quality
You say “That’s great,” but how can I record high-quality audio without spending a lot of money on external equipment, microphones, and magic?
I’m glad that you asked because you probably already have one the most powerful tools you have at your disposal.
Your cell phone’s microphone is a great mic for voiceovers. Although it has its limitations, once you understand them and work within them, you will be producing broadcast-quality videos in no time.
The good stuff.
Open the audio reorder app from your phone. Place the microphone facing up in your shirt pocket. Start talking by pressing record. Voila! Voila! There are options for those who don’t have a shirt that has a breast pocket or don’t want one to use for their video. Although you may need to be creative with your video composition and framing in order to get a high-quality recording, there are still many ways to get your phone close enough to your face.
You can frame your shot tighter, but keep it close enough to your voice to pick it up well. Finally, you can place your selfie stick that Aunt Helen gave you last year on a table or stool that you can easily position near you. To get your recording, place your phone on the selfiestick and have a friend stand in front of your camera. The selfie stick is just as good as the expensive, sometimes awkward boom mics pros use.
External audio recorders
An external audio recorder is a great choice if you have some spare cash. This particular model has been a great choice for me, but there are many others that are equally good. Here’s an example video that was shot using the webcam on a laptop. The audio was recorded using this type of recorder.
It’s not perfect (compare that to the opening of the video, where a high-quality shotgun microphone was used), but it’s definitely better than what could have been achieved using the built-in mic on a laptop or on a DSLR. The room they were in was essentially a worst-case scenario for audio recording. A square ro