Search results for: audio tips solutions getting started with audio recording
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283 Views· Posted
Are you just getting started in the world of audio recording? Today, we're going to help you translate some of the words and phrases you may come across when recording and editing. AB takes you through some of the most common lingo and gives you some tips for getting started in audio recording and editing. Are there other words or phrases you've come across that you need help with? Let us know in the Comments section, below.
by Jason T · Posted
When I first started engineering and producing music, I was, strictly speaking, a complete and utter mess. I would often lose project files, samples, preset libraries—I couldn’t keep track of anything. Sometimes I’d find what I was looking for by sheer luck, other times it would be gone forever.
After several frustrating years of data loss, I decided to get serious about organizing all my music production audio and files, and regularly backing up my projects. And, what do you know? My productivity increased, my system ran more smoothly, and I
by Andrew Eisele · Posted
Over the years, certain manufacturers have started to use the terms polarity and phase interchangeably. Although there are some similarities, there is a difference between them, and understanding that difference can help you make the most of any session, whether in a live sound situation, or in the studio recording, mixing, or mastering.
Polarity
Any electrical signal has polarity, and it is a reference to the signal’s position or voltage above or below the median line. A device that inverts the polarity of a signal will simply swap
by Nicholas Messitte · Posted
Recently, we’ve been hearing a lot of noise about high-resolution audio. Casual listeners might be wondering, what is high-resolution audio, anyway? Why does it sound better? Can we even determine that it sounds better? Answering these questions requires discussing digital formats such as PCM, MP3, and DSD—but don’t worry; this won’t be a dive into the technical weeds. To the extent that we’ll address science, it’ll only be in terms of practicalities.
But first, an anecdote: Before I was a professional recording/mixing engineer, I was a guy
by Nicholas Messitte · Posted
Here’s what you need to know right off the bat: Mixing vocals for podcasts is quite different from mixing vocals for music, where the trend is to impart sheen, sparkle, luster, and other trebly adjectives. A simple A/B test between any Gimlet podcast against any Justin Bieber song will prove the difference: What constitutes a solid, pro sound in the podcast world is a meatier affair, and an altogether different target.
Yes, your podcast vocals do need to be present. But, quite often, vocals are not the main attraction in a podcast—they’re the
by Nicholas Messitte · Posted
As mixing engineers, one of our biggest challenges is communicating width and depth in a stereo track. It’s tricky for loads of reasons. For one, what we’re doing is essentially a fiction: When you listen to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on an iPod, you are not at the Philharmonic—yet it’s often the engineer’s job to create the sound of the orchestra, from left to right, front to back, and in the appropriate environment.
Furthermore, the technical concepts we employ to achieve this fiction (dispersion relations, the Haas effect) can be difficult
by Shawn C. Steiner · Posted
While you can definitely get by with the same kit you use for your still photography, video adds some additional concerns that require extra equipment. Now that you know a few basics about shooting video, or you should if you read the first part of this series, Getting Started, you will definitely want some of these helpful tools to step up your game.
The essentials
An
by Shawn C. Steiner · Posted
Love it or hate it, high-quality video is now a significant part of the latest DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, and point-and-shoots. This is, in part, because of a greater consumption of video content, thanks to faster Internet, impressively good mobile screens, and what I see as a natural evolution of visual media. So, with this higher demand of stellar video content, many dedicated still photographers are making the leap to video. This series is designed to help guide a photographer through the often confusing world of digital filmmaking.
A few
by John Harris · Posted
We are about a year into the B&H Photography Podcast and, while we still have a lot to learn, our success in this relatively short time has been inspiring. In addition to the wonderful guests who continue to come to our studio, our listenership and subscriber list have steadily grown over the months, and we were even nominated for a Best Podcast Award in the Arts category by the People’s Choice Podcast Awards. These factors are encouraging, and motivate our small team to continue
by Nicholas Messitte · Posted
The synthesizer quandary—every guitar player-turned-producer comes face to face with it sooner or later. On the one hand, that song you’re working on could really use a synth part. On the other hand, you’re a guitar player, not a pianist; those lessons your parents made you suffer through so long ago have been thoroughly wiped from the annals of your memory.
No keyboard skills? No problem. We at B&H can still give you practical advice on how to become a digital synth-smith, even if your wheelhouse is built of strings. Read on for tools,
by Steven Gladstone · Posted
In the world of film production, a Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) can be many things. Depending on the scope of the production, the scope of their job is constantly evolving. Taking advantage of the wonders of email, I checked in with a few working DITs to get a better understanding of their complex and ever-changing job. What became apparent quickly was that although most people in the industry start off as beginners, taking on the role of DIT requires a healthy balance of experience, people skills, technical knowledge, and an almost
by Mike Wilkinson · Posted
As prices continue to plummet and resolution continues to rise, it is becoming commonplace for amateur and hobbyist photographers to purchase a high-quality digital stills camera—mirrorless or DSLR. Even a photographer with a $500 camera can capture amazing clarity with just about no training whatsoever. Almost every one of these cameras now has the option to shoot video, usually in an HD resolution (or even 4K video, on some models). Lots of photographers, even the professional ones, are clueless when it comes to picking the best settings,
by jaime traba · Posted
Whit Norris is a professional film sound mixer with a filmography ranging from work on Fast Five to Anchorman 2. Norris took some time off on the set of his current project, the forthcoming Vince Vaughn film, Term Life to talk about gear, and share some great tips and experiences from his expansive filmography.
On your IMDB page, you have a fairly prolific filmography listed. When did you realize sound for film was your passion, and how did you get your start as a professional?
When I was in college, I always had a passion for sound,
by Shawn C. Steiner · Posted
Portable digital audio recorders and their built-in microphones have made it easier for everyone to capture high-quality audio. Ambient sounds, podcasting, and live music are obvious uses for these highly capable devices, but one of the most significant areas for portable digital recorders is in film and video production. The past decade has brought a wave of affordable camera systems that can shoot cinema-quality Full HD and 4K video.