"Hi everyone! OVC founder Justin here, with a public service announcement about crappy audio.
Crappy audio is bad. It can make a good video unwatchable, and it can make an unwatchable video not even worth starting in the first place. Even without fancy super-expensive microphones, you can conquer the bad audio beast with a couple simple tips!
Tip #1: Shoot close-ups of EVERYTHING.
This is “ADR for dummies.” Make sure to get close up, solo shots of all your actors in your videos. This audio will naturally sound much clearer. Use the close up audio for all the shots that appear on screen, even if you don’t actually use the FOOTAGE from the close ups, the audio will be way better than when you were filming 10 yards away.
Tip #2: Record “room tone.”
Oftentimes there will be jarring differences in the background noise when you cut from one angle to another. It’s standard practice to make everyone on set shut up for like 30 seconds so you can record “room tone,” or the basic ambient sound of your location. Lay this room tone under your whole scene and it’ll help smooth out those dialogue cuts.
Tip #3: The mic on your camera sucks.
Sorry, if you’re using the built-in mic, it sucks. You can find a condenser or shotgun microphone for the price of a couple large pizzas. Buy it and it will make you scratch your head in amazement that you were ever so foolish as to NOT use one!
Anything I missed? Reblog or comment on this post with your own audio tips! Good luck out there!"