 | | My Job: What does a sound recordist actually DO? This page is only intended for those *not* in the TV and Film business: On a documentary, I would be the person who holds the long fluffy thing, sometimes on the end of a long pole. Looks easy doesn't it? Well, apart from aching arms that is.
A Documentary Sound Recordist works closely with the Cameraman or Camerawoman and friendly teamwork is essential. When working with film, a format hardly ever used on documentaries these days, the sound is recorded onto a separate analogue tape machine or digital recorder. The use of a clapper board at the beginning of a 'take' is not just a quaint ritual; it is used to provide a visual and audible reference point for the film editor to keep the sound and picture in synchronisation. When working with the more common video tape formats, the sound is usually sent down a cable from the sound recordist's mixer unit to the camera and is recorded onto the same tape as the picture, so no clapper board is needed.
Sound recordists have a wide range of professional equipment to choose from; the quality of the equipment is most important. Getting the right microphone into the right place at the right time** and avoiding wind noise, handling noise, clothing rustle, and other unwanted noises are just some of the things that make the job much harder than it looks. Production companies that try to economise by not using an experienced sound recordist might regret it later. This is why you sometimes suffer muffled, distorted, hissy, distant or 'echoey' sound on programmes recorded on lightweight DV (digital video) cameras; as far as sound quality goes it is not so much the format which matters, it is the skill of the people using it. However, the use of lightweight cameras has opened up many recording possibilities in "video diary" or certain undercover situations where a real film crew would not be welcome, so it certainly has its uses and the quality can be really good. I say *can* be really good but that depends on whether anybody actually cared (or knew what they were doing) at the time. Start listening out for those low-budget programmes where you can tell that some people within the picture are wearing radio microphones and sound close to you, while others are not and therefore sound as if they are further away. It's cheap and it's unprofessional. Acceptable in an undercover situation but not otherwise. More and more "dumbed down" TV programmes are being made in this way; one person does the camerawork, the sound and even attempts to direct it too. It keeps the financial controllers happy but the resulting programmes; technically substandard; full of 'padding', repetition and artificially created inter-personal pressures and conflicts are one big switch-off. On a TV Drama or a Feature Film, my job would be known as the Sound Mixer and somebody else would assist me and do the boom operating. My job then would be to mix and balance the output from one or more boom microphones with any other sound inputs as required, such as radio microphones worn on the actors or hidden microphones placed on the set. This is where getting the right balance and perspective is important; especially if the actual location sound is to be used, always the best option if possible.
** I hold copyright on this phrase or slogan. Coined by me before the year 2000, it is on no other website (verified with Google & other search engines in 2007) and is attributable to me.
| Some of the sound on feature films is entirely replaced afterwards, with variable degrees of success. This is because few directors or productions will let the requirements of getting useable location sound hold up the proceedings of getting the visuals right, despite the fact that the soundtrack carries most of the actual information to the viewer. This explains why certain sound recording people feel undervalued. The worst ones are bitter and they show it; they really should consider some other job instead. The rest of us just get on with it and do a great job as far as the circumstances will allow. This way, the productions get the best sound quality possible at the time (though the cynics would say "whichever location sound quality they deserve"). As for me, I think we have to be realistic about the pressures on directors to get the visuals right, which is why I say that if people are bitter and feel oppressed then they might be happier changing jobs.
Stereo effects are sometimes created later but experienced sound recordists can capture good stereo dialogue and effects on location. This often requires recording in what is knows as MS (Mid-Side) Stereo; a system which uses a forward facing directional microphone picking up the main sound, which is recorded onto one of the two tracks. Next to it there is a sideward mounted "figure of eight" microphone which only picks up sound from left and right and very little from the front. The output from the second microphone goes onto the other track. It would sound strange if played on a conventional stereo system but with a bit of clever electronics the full stereo image can be decoded using phase differences between the two outputs and this gives the dubbing mixer greater flexibility later. In an ideal recording situation this system provides excellent sound but the frequent need to use radio microphones worn on the actors or presenters (as a way of getting better sound on wide angled camera shots where the boom would have to be too far away) means that using the MS stereo system on location is not always practical. It is useful to remember that if you think for a moment that "anyone can do the sound" you might come terribly unstuck if you ever make a TV programme. Sound people tend to be quiet, leaving all the brash ego trips to the camera department and they also might worry about seemingly trivial things on location but they are a huge asset to any production and there are far too many instances of films and TV programmes being spoiled by shoddy sound recording done by inexperienced people with no training. Occasionally the sound is made even worse by poor final mixing; that is if any proper mixing is done at all. Messing around with the virtual knobs on the screen in a video editing suite is not a final mix. Oh, and apart from all that; film crews travel a lot and work stupidly long hours, sometimes in terrible weather conditions. However, it's still a great job if you can cope with variety; can get on well with everyone; can think on your feet and can react quickly and professionally to the ever changing situations. © Anthony Wornum 2000. Revised and updated in 2005 and 2007. |
