Blog

The Sweet Sound of Audio

April 18, 2018

Many people don’t consider the audio aspect of corporate video. I mean, corporate video is just a talking head, right? Wrong. It can be whatever works best to communicate the goals of your business, and audio is an important element.

Mic Drop

Depending on the kind of scene being shot, the microphones used will vary. A stick, or hand-held, mic is probably the most familiar. It’s what you see reporters holding and it could be used if a CEO wanted to interview workers at a company picnic. A shotgun mic is another model you’ve probably seen, although it’s usually covered in a furry slip to cut down on wind noise. This is the kind of mic used to capture dialogue during a scene. But the kind of mic we use most often is the lavalier. Also known as a lapel mic, this is a tiny microphone that can be hidden behind ties and other clothes and tucked out of the way. It disappears from a shot while still providing good sound.

audio — A shotgun mic without its furry hat

When considering what kind of mic to use, we factor in a number of variables. For a mic that’s mobile and invisible, we use a lavalier. If we want a mic that’s also a prop, we use a stick mic. To capture directional sound from more than one person in a scene, we use a shotgun mic attached to a boom to keep it out of the shot.

Music

Music can do so many things for a video. It can evoke emotion, set the pace for editing or act as a transition. We mainly use stock music in our corporate videos. Stock music is created for commercial use and can be purchased at a reasonable price. Most stock houses have large collections of diverse music categorized by traits like speed, instrument or length.

There are a few other options when it comes to music used in video. Sometimes a client will give us a song they’ve composed themselves, which means we don’t have to pay a fee to use it. Other times, music can be a custom-made piece created by a composer. Finally, a video can use what’s known in the business as needle drop. This is the kind of popular music you hear on the radio and it can cost a lot of money to license.

Foley

You’ve probably heard the term Foley in relation to movies. It’s the sound added in post-production that mimics what you would hear if you were there on shoot day. Well, what you would hear enhanced is maybe a better description. For example, if a fistfight is taking place on a moving bus, you’d hear the bus’s engine and the smack of the punch. During shooting, the sound recordist only wants the dialogue, so everything else is kept quiet. Then when the scene is composed in editing, the engine noise and the resounding punch are added.

Other Foley examples include the sound of footsteps on a hard surface, birds in a natural setting and the blinker on a turning car. Without these sounds, video would be hollow and feel unrealistic. Adding even the smallest bit of noise can really make a difference.

Foley used to be done by artists, including the eponymous Jack Foley. Using an array of props, these artists would re-create sound while watching the visuals as a guide. Today, most sound effects are added electronically and matched to the video.

The Sound of Silence

Even a lack of sound is part of the video soundscape. Ambient noise is what you hear when nobody is talking. If you’re shooting a scene outside, it’s the chirping birds and the babbling brook and the buzzing bees. On a subway, it’s the murmur of passengers, the train’s rattle and the shifting of packages.

Room tone is what makes the sound recordist call out TONE! and hushes everyone on set. In editing, you sometimes need this tone to fill in quiet gaps to make the sound seamless. For example, an editor that cuts out some words in an interview can cover up that cut with room tone so nobody can hear an edit has been made. And believe us, rooms sound different! Sometimes there’s a far-off hum in even the quietest room and you want to capture that for later use.