Films can be ruined with unintentionally poor sound. If dialogue is unintelligible, so will the film be. We all know recording good sound is important, but the confluence of lack of experience and the variety of devices compounds the situation. Often we hear about expensive, difficult to obtain machinery that is "a must have" to get good sound, but this is not the case.

Image by Lee Gumienny

Good sound is not a binary situation. In fact two people using the same equipment can get widely different results. Instead of buying some equipment and hoping it will save your production, use something you have on-hand to the best of your ability and upgrade when you have exhausted its capabilities and have developed a good ear for quality.

Portable Recorder

iPods, iRivers, mini disc recorders, harddrive records, and the like are all perfectly able to record decent sound. They usually accept only 1/8 inch phone cables, but at short lengths this does not affect sound too much. These kinds of machines are not only readily available, but cheap. They can fit in your pocket and do not take a lot of training to get started using.

Computer

Nearly all computers these days have sound cards that can record CD-quality sound, and nearly every household has a computer. If you do not have access to a portable recorder you can just run some cable to the nearest computer and use free software to record your audio. You may find computers are noise makers that can ruin your sound, but with a little creative pillow placement you can mitigate it.

Camcorder

Most camcorders have inferior microphones and the placement of them on the body of the camera picks up camera noise. Although camcorders do not have great microphones, they often can still record decent, even CD-quality, sound. If your camcorder has a microphone input and has 16bit audio recording capabilities, you have a pretty good shot at it being a good recording device. Even an old, broken camcorder that no longer can record good video, might still be useful for audio recording.

Miscellaneous Gear

There are many other machines you might have in your house or in your circle of friends that can record acceptable audio. A hifi, four head VHS recorder could be rigged with some cables to be able to record only audio. A standalone CD recorder would work fine. A high-end cassette tape recorder might even work. Do not overlook the stuff laying about in your life, it might work for filmmaking as well as dust collecting.

The device that records the audio is important, but the lack of a great one should not stop you from going ahead with your production. Microphone placement, level control, and noise suppression all contribute to the quality of audio and can even make up for an inferior recorder. Take what you have, make the best of it, and do it better with your next film.

Have you ever recorded audio with an odd recorder? How did it turn out?