Audio Quality Tips for Corporate Videos

The audience will rarely notice good audio, but what they will notice is poor audio quality. And what happens when there is bad audio in a corporate video? The audience will not be able to hear your message and your video will have been for nothing. When on a shoot, most people might not think that audio is as important as shooting the visual aspect, but they are wrong! It’s as important — maybe even more important – since it’s how you are supposed to hear the message that’s being conveyed in the first place. Editing audio can also be quite difficult, even for professionals. That’s why obtaining good quality for your corporate video is key.

Here is a process of how you can obtain good audio quality:

• Obtain high-quality audio equipment. Don’t use the mic on your camera. The camera will be some distance away from your subject, and will naturally pick up any noise between that distance.
• Use the right type of mic for the right type of situation. A shotgun mic can be used for pretty much anything. It isn’t attached to the subject and needs either to be attached to a boom pole, or someone needs to be holding it. This type of mic is very direct and ensures better audio quality depending on where it’s directed. The parabolic mic is a mic mainly used in sports broadcasts because it picks up audio from a distance. Handheld mics are usually used in concerts and/or by reporters. The only downfall of using this mic is that it can usually be seen. One of the most popular types of mics used for corporate videos is lavalier mics. These mics can be clipped on to the subject’s clothes. They are small and can go unnoticed, which makes the audio look more professional. They are mainly used for corporate addresses to camera, talk shows, for news anchors, etc.
• Assess your shooting location in advance to become aware of any factors that could affect your audio quality the day of shooting. By doing this, you will have a better plan of where and what time to set up the shooting.
• Use headphones. Some people use earbuds (which do work but not as well).  Real over the ear headphones allow you to block out the current noise and let you really focus on the audio sound from the shoot. Also, when using headphones, wear them for the entire shoot. Lots of seasoned audio pros don’t do this, as they can see the audio levels on the camera. But if a mic battery dies during the shoot, they might not realize it right away, and could potentially lose out on an important sound bite, resulting in poor audio quality.
• When editing the audio quality, always keep in mind that the accepted level of the range is around 12 dB.  Contacting a professional audio house doesn’t hurt either if you want to improve your audio quality.

At Key West Video, we have been producing corporate videos for over 30 years, and know the importance of audio quality when it comes to corporate video production. Contact us for more information!