This may not be totally accurate, but it seems to me that many folks rely a little too much on luck when it comes to audio in their videos.

The thing is, it will be so much easier for their videos to find the right audience when they’re easy to listen to.

Yep, we can deal with a poor image much more readily than we can poor audio.

If you’ve ever wondered if there’s a simple and reliable way to make your sound silky smooth, this one’s for you…

    26 replies to "How to Get Crystal Clear Audio for Video"

    • Patrick Mayfield

      HI Steve, What do you recommend as a microphone/app configuration for an Android smartphone?
      At the moment I’m using an Audio-Technica ATR-3350 and IgCamera app on my OnePlusTwo.
      The sound quality doesn’t sound great. I’d be grateful for any steers you may have.
      Thanks,
      Patrick

      • Steven

        Hey Patrick, this is very likely one of those “fix it in post” solutions. Assuming you have the proper interface with your phone, you’ll probably need to run the audio through a noise filter; maybe Audacity if your editing program doesn’t have it.

        Then just add the noise-free audio file back to your video and output from there.

        To make this as fool-proof as possible, before you start recording, sit in silence for 30 seconds to get a sample of what your camera is reading as “silence” before beginning to speak.

        Hope that helps!

        • Patrick Mayfield

          Thanks, Steve. That’s really helpful advice.

          One follow-up to this: “Assuming you have the proper interface to your phone…” I’ve just plugged it in with a jack. Is that where I’m going wrong?

          Best regards,

          Patrick

          • Steven

            Unless you got the phone version of that mic, it requires an adapter cable as well. You probably have the right one, though, as it wouldn’t work without it.

    • Earl

      Hi Steve,

      Great segment!

      I’m looking for the link for your webinar on this page and can’t find it.
      I’ll probably push SEND and then find it but if I can’t could you let me know where the webinar sign-up is?

    • Mark Schellhammer

      Steve. Been watching your videos for a couple of years now. Your new camera is amazing. The clarity and contract looks great.
      Audio is better than video. If I watch a video with no sound I get nothing. If I hear sound with no video then I can still hear the message.
      Question: how do you get the low impedance mic with 3 prongs to work on a camera with a 8mm jack? Is there a converter? If so, does it remove the improvement of using the low impedance mic?
      Thanks. Signing up for your webinar.

      • Steven

        Great question! That’s one of the main audio items I’m going to cover in detail on the webinar. There are 3 ways to do it and we’ll cover all three. For an advance look, do a search for the JuicedLink box, the Zoom recorder and the 1/8″ – XLR adapter.

    • Michael

      Great video Steve!

      I lately purchased the iRig lav mic approx $50, in fact I bought the dual kit because I can plug one lav into the other for interviews,

      For mobile video they are both exceptional and work off phantom power vs battery and unlike the Rode lav, come with ten feet of cable.

      Cheers,
      Michael

      • Steven

        Good-looking specs, Michael! Low noise and full-spectrum frequency response? Too bad they don’t make it for cameras, too!

    • Nancy

      Thanks for offering the Techy Weby, Steve.
      I’ll be there.

    • Cecil

      Very funny: I bought several microphones but none really worked. Then a few weeks I at last got one that I found working reasonable good and that was ATTR-3350, the first you mentioned.

      But what is shown in the upper part of the picture in your video, I do not have. Did I not get the complete package?

      • Steven

        You probably did. That’s just an adapter to use 2 mics (I think). There would be yet another adapter if you were to use it for a phone.

        • Cecil

          If you like to hear it: https://www.facebook.com/ZelfOntwikkeling/videos/1310119929040578/
          It is in Dutch, but it is about the audio, not the content.

          What I find a bit strange is that it sounds much worse as the original. Does Facebook something I should take into account?

          • Steven

            I think unless you specify it, Facebook transcodes your video to SD and degrades the audio along with it.

    • Mark Varney

      Hi Steve,
      The Webinar will start at 2:00 A.M. in my part of the world. I’d love to “tune in”, but won’t be able to. Will the webinar be recorded and posted after the fact? My fingers are crossed.

      • Steven

        Oh yes, there will be a replay. Commence uncrossing of the fingers! 🙂

        • Mark Varney

          Wonderful; thanks so much, and have a great time!

    • Stefan

      Hi Steve

      I bought an Audio-Technica PRO70 Cardioid Condenser Lavalier/Instrument Microphone a few years ago.

      Any views on it?

      • Steven

        Audio-Technica strikes again! This seems like a good mic to use if you want to be outdoors and minimize the noise you get from traffic, planes flying overhead, crowd noise, etc. That’s because it has a cardioid pick-up pattern. Most lavalier mics have an omni-directional pick-up pattern, so that turning your head does not change the quality of the sound.

        It does seem a bit pricey, considering it is not a wireless, and the other AT mic I recommend in the video might be as good or even better, but if it’s working for you, that’s great. Being conscious of your audio is the MOST important thing, and it certainly appears you’ve put a lot of thought into your solution!

    • Stefan

      Thanks Steve, it does indeed cut out background noise which is partly why I went for it. I suspect it was cheaper when I bought it …. I got a deal.

    • Doug

      Hey Steve … your video quality is also really good in this. Curious what you’re using for a camera/ lens/ frame rate/ shutter speed.

      • Steven

        Thanks, Doug! Hm. The settings are based on my lighting. Most people don’t seem to use the amount of light I do, so using my settings would be counter-indicated.

        Having said that, it’s the Sony AX-100 with built-in lens, 29.97 fps and 60 for shutter speed. Also 3db of gain.

    • Peter

      Hi Steve,
      Was thinking of getting a portable digital recorder like the new zoom h4n pro or the TASCAM DR-100mkII 2-Channel Portable Digital Recorder and then I came upon this
      https://ask.audio/articles/review-clipmic-digital-lavalier-microphone-for-ios
      From sennheiser and apogee
      Do you have any experience? Requires an app called metarecorder but it seems to work well.

      Appreciate your thoughts.

    • Steven

      It looks good and smart, but don’t you think it’s odd that he didn’t demo it in the video? Or maybe he did and I missed it. In any case, though I haven’t used it, I imagine it’s no worse than the ATR-3350, and probably better.

    • Peter

      Thanks Steve. From the review it seems he uses it and others but it’s a shame he didn’t say he was using it in the video we were watching.

      It better be a lot better than the ATR-3350, 5 times better given the price difference. But I’ll report back when I test it. Thanks again.

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