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While we'd like to be able to shoot interior movie scenes in a sound stage and have a secured perimeter for outdoor scenes, this will not be possible. We have to make films in the real world where things aren't always hospitable to our efforts. If you are adamant that you must record a movie scene's dialogue rather than dubbing later, these following steps will help you get the best you can out of a bad situation.

Shoot In Winter

Air conditioners are loud and will often drown out your dialogue. A/Cs run when it's hot and it's always hot in summer. Do your best to never shoot in summer. You can make cold look hot but it's hard for a sweaty person to look cold. Heaters are much quieter and generally don't need to run all the time, rather they run in short spurts which you can wait out. In an apartment will you be able to hear only a neighbor’s heater, but in summer you can hear the A/Cs of every apartment in your general area.

Deaden Echoes

Unless you are shooting in a cave or a cavernous location, you do not want echoes. Any hard surface is going to reflect sound and get you that dreaded delay effect on your recording. Wherever the camera is not pointed cover those hard surfaces with soft stuff. Thick blankets, a mattress, curtains, pillows and cushions are a few household items that can help deaden the sound in a lively room.

No Appliances

The major culprits will probably be your refrigerator and computer, though a TV can emit an annoying buzz even when the volume is muted and a ticking clocking can suddenly sound like a time bomb when you turn the gain up on your sound mixer. Fans of any kind should be turned off while shooting and that goes for A/C and any heaters. If you sit quietly in the place you will shoot in, all the offenders will turn themselves in sooner or later.

Let Lights Heat Room

On a cold night you may need a heater to be on all the time. Not everybody lives in California, I realize that. In this case consider using traditional quartz-tungsten lighting. This is the kind you have to handle with thick gloves on and can melt gels if they get to close to the lens. Just leaves these on instead of turning them off in between shoots and the place will stay pretty toasty.

Late Night, Weeknights

Shoot at times when it is quietest; when most people are sleeping, few cars are on the road and nobody is knocking on your door. Night time is the right time. Beyond that, weeknight time is an even better time. Most people have Monday through Friday jobs so that will keep it tolerable during the week, whereas people are prone to parties on the weekend.

Use Carpet On Hard Floors

One source of echo is the floors. Beyond just echoes, the floor may be the source of occasional noises that drown out the dialogue or just sound too loud to be realistic. Loud clicking heels are the worst offenders but not the only possible problem. A cane or something set down on the floor could make a sound where it should not. Many shots do not go beyond waste-high much less show people's feet so you could easily put down a layer of something thin but absorbent to help out.

Coat Bottom Of Shoes

Maybe feet are in the shot and you ca not put a rug on the tile, but you still need those shoes quiet. Use shoe repair gel to cover the bottom of the shoes, that should keep them from smacking the floor and ruining the sound. If even more desperate you could attach the squishy drawer liner stuff they sell in roles at most home stores. Cut out the general shape of the shoe and with a little spray adhesive you will have them on securely.

Fix Noisy Objects

You ever had a situation where you shut a door and something rattles? Or you sit down in a chair and it squeaks. You may have to do a lot of troubleshooting if you have a bunch of little noises like this plaguing your sound person. Mostly it will consist of tightening something or affixing one thing to another. Sometimes it requires keeping one thing separate from another, like you would with a bell and a clapper to make it so it does not strike the bell and make a sound.

Fix Floors

Hardwood floors creak. Shoes squeal on tile and linoleum. Tighten the nails in your floorboards to lessen the squeaks if you cannot put carpet on them. For noisy linoleum and sneakers that cannot help but chirp when they walk on them drop a little baby powder or flour to keep things quiet.

Everybody’s situation will be different, but with a little creativity you can conquer any adverse sound situation. You will have to come up with a lot of stuff on your own, but this will give you a firm foundation in the basic sound problems on a set.