Evaluation

When recording an audio file the position of your microphone can be one of the
most important factors to your overall sound quality. Poor mic placement can
result in the appearance of breathing, drop out of volume and distortion of
overdriven audio. All of these can result in having to re-
record until you have the perfect audio.
There are several types of microphone to use when
recording, most commonly used is the condenser. This
mic is mainly used for the recording of vocals and some
low volume percussion such as egg
shakers, tambourines etc. The condenser mic features
several different polar patterns. These are various
patterns in which the sound can be picked up. Cardioid is the most commonly
used for the recording of vocals.
The cardioid is shaped like a heart as it is
most directional to the performer when
they are recording, therefore enabling to
pick up the cleanest sound projected. For
multiple sounds and a less direct capture
you can switch to the figure-8 pattern. This
will allow you to capture a more broad sound
from a wider space. Other patterns include:
omnidirectional, supercardiod and
hypercardoid.
The placement of the mic should go as follows It needs to be placed at a 45
degree angle from the mouth pointing either at the left or right corner of the
mouth NOT directly at it. It will also benefit you to use a 'pop shield' when
recording. This is a piece of fabric which is placed in front of the mic to stop
the air from certain pronunciations of words hitting the mic avoiding peaking
and distortion. By doing this it will also avoid the
'p' or 'popping' sound on certain words. Not ever
condenser mic will focus the same way. Some
require you to aim the tip of the microphone at
the subject while others are adjusted so you talk
into the side of them. These microphones are
typically referred to as side address or side
fire. Make sure youre using your particular
microphone the right way to avoid a muffled sound.
Dynamic microphones that are handheld are
typically made to take a beating. Theyre designed
to be held by hand or by a mic stand, moved
around during a performance, and work at variable
distances very well. Dynamic microphones are
often used by on-stage performers and live
reporting from the scene of an event. Theyre
also greatly preferred for interviews where they
may be passed between various people. A large
condenser microphone generally doesnt play as
well with vibrations and movements. Dynamic microphones are generally flexible
in positioning, with the best results coming from a space of between six and
twelve inches from the performers mouth. You can up the gain to capture sound
from a longer distance, but youre also letting in more of the background hiss
when you do so. Too little gain in a noisy environment can make it difficult to
hear the performer/instrument at all. As with any microphone, you should avoid
placing it directly in front of someones mouth unless youre in an environment
that is so noisy that lowering the gain is an absolute must.
Another mic commonly used is a shotgun. Shotgun
microphones can usually be found in controlled
recording rooms or mounted on top of camcorders.
These microphones are adjusted to capturing sound
from greater distances in a specific direction. Just
as the name suggests, you want to aim a shotgun
microphone directly at your subject. They are
commonly used in situations where audio needs to be
heard in a noisy environment. Unlike omnidirectional
microphones, shotgun mics perform poorly when receiving audio from the side
and back. Youll receive the best results when using them with performers or a
performer/instrument is positioned directly in front of them at a distance.
Below: headphone mix
When recording, musicians often like to use
headphones in the studio booth. This is because
a headphone mix (also known as the headphone
monitor mix) is performed when
you're recording a new track in the studio to
allow the recording musician to play along with
the other instruments or vocalists that are
being recorded at the same time (or to play along with the tracks that have
already been recorded). The monitor mix allows the musician to direct and
control the tracks they would like to hear in their headphones separately from
the main stereo mix. So, a vocalist might like to hear more of the kick drum and
bass when they're recording, but a guitarist may prefer to hear more of the
other guitars.
A passive speaker doesn't have a built-in
amplifier. It needs to be connected to an
amplifier through normal speaker wire. A
passive speaker level signal has been
amplified enough to drive the speakers
sufficiently. However, an active speaker
has a built-in amplifier and are fed by a
low-level (line-level) signal passed along
an interconnect cable originating at a
preamplifier or controller. Because the
amplifier is an active electronic device it
needs power, therefore, you have to put
any active speakers near a power socket.
For most audio systems, the subwoofer is
probably going to be your only active
speaker although you can also find passive subwoofers.
Tweeters and woofers
Woofers are the biggest drivers, and are
designed to produce low frequency
sounds. Tweeters are much smaller units,
designed to produce the highest
frequencies. Midrange speakers produce a
range of frequencies in the middle of the
sound spectrum.
For our last project before Christmas we had to get into a group and make an audio book. This involved
recording an audio track on the logic software. It had to be between 3 to 5 minutes. I got into a small group
of four with Ella, Jack and Riley, we all agreed to do the Audio Book on a childrens film, we chose The
Nightmare Before Christmas, which after watching it we were genuinely surprised it was for children as it
was scary for even us to watch.

After watching the film, which after everything we are totally aware that was the biggest time waste of all;
we decided that as its very musical so we should do part of a song. This again wasnt one of our brightest
ideas. We discovered that it would be more work than we anticipated. We had to then require Matts help
as we left it too late to even begin something. The notes for the original piece of music were way too hard to
learn in the time we had left. So we decided that with the time left we wrote the song out as a script which
made it seem like a poem/story and asked Toby to read/be recorded for the audio book.

After sorting everything out fully (thanks to Matt instructing us), we were then asked to be split off into
twos and each working on half of the audio book. It became clear that myself and Ella worked better as a
two as we got things done a lot quicker and we were really motivated to make a good piece.

I am happy to say I learnt a lot from this project, some of which included;
Placement of microphones is an important factor when it comes to recording. Ella and myself wanted to
make the recording seem realistic and record a sound that would seem as though spiders were running. So I
made a sound on the wall by tapping my fingers really fast, which we decided we could adjust and it would
sound similar. We found that we could manipulate the sound through logic as the midi room had general
acoustics to enhance the reverb of the sound. Getting the microphone in the right place was so hard because
it needed to be in the polar pattern to get the perfect audio outcome. At the same time we couldnt hold it
ourselves as the creak on the pop shield would disturb the recording.

When youre placing a microphone to record someone playing an instrument you need to take into
consideration the placement of the microphone. For example when recording a drum kit you have to
consider the room your recording it in as different rooms differentiate in reverb. To record the drum kit you
would have to think about mic placement focusing on close micing on the kick and snare or a stereo setup
with two overhead mics to capture natural reverb and also to use for panning. You have to be careful and
not place it somewhere where it would have too much high frequency, or where the performer could
accidentally hit it etc. Like on a guitar you would have to place it virtually opposite the hole because if you
placed it on the frets you would just hear the sound of the performer pressing on the frets and moving their
fingers up and down the neck of the guitar to change chords.

Pop shields came in handy a lot with our recordings. This is purely because I was mostly being recorded for
some sound effects and I havent exactly got the best pronunciation. I would often pop the ps or overuse
the s. This is why the pop shield is used as it prevents any extra air being pushed out of your mouth when
you say certain words, like pop.