Understanding Microphones and Recording Sound
For this task, we had to watch two videos that briefly explained the basics of microphones and then take a short quiz that tested our understanding of the use of microphones in different circumstances.
The links to the video are here:
https://isle.island.edu.hk/mod/page/view.php?id=54594- proximity effect
https://isle.island.edu.hk/mod/page/view.php?id=54595- equipment tutorial
Firstly, I watched a video talking about proximity and how this affects the quality of sound depending on what type of microphone you are using and the environment you are in. The narrator talked about how important it is to make sure you think about proximity whilst buying/using microphones. I have learnt that the best type of microphone to use for interviews are handheld dynamic microphones because they are inexpensive, does not pick up extra sound from around the room and they have a good sound quality. Something that he emphasized was that you can't fix sound in post, meaning that if you have recorded bad sound in the first place, you will not be able to fix this during editing.
The links to the video are here:
https://isle.island.edu.hk/mod/page/view.php?id=54594- proximity effect
https://isle.island.edu.hk/mod/page/view.php?id=54595- equipment tutorial
Firstly, I watched a video talking about proximity and how this affects the quality of sound depending on what type of microphone you are using and the environment you are in. The narrator talked about how important it is to make sure you think about proximity whilst buying/using microphones. I have learnt that the best type of microphone to use for interviews are handheld dynamic microphones because they are inexpensive, does not pick up extra sound from around the room and they have a good sound quality. Something that he emphasized was that you can't fix sound in post, meaning that if you have recorded bad sound in the first place, you will not be able to fix this during editing.
The second video explained in detail on the types of microphones, polar patterns, and which type of microphone in what situations. I learnt that there are two main types of microphones, dynamic and condensers. All microphones are either dynamic or a condenser. For example, a handheld microphone is dynamic while a microphone for recording a song in a studio are condensers. Dynamic microphones are cheaper, more durable, less sensitive and self-powered while condensers are more expensive, fragile, highly sensitive and require phantom power.
Afterwards, the video explained about polar patterns- diagrams that show a microphone's sensitivity. The types of polar patterns include omnidirectional (from all directions), bi-directional (from the front and back), cardioid (front) and super cardioid (highly sensitive from the front but can still pick up some sounds from the back). The narrator also explained how you have to think about the microphone's polar patterns and if it is suitable or not for the situation you are filming in.
Finally, I took the test which I passed after two attempts. I found the test to be quite helpful since it basically helped me to summarise everything I learnt and told me what things I would need to revisit and research more on.
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