Studio Sound Equipment and Software
In this section I will be listing the different Equipment and the software used at DCAS the recording studio we did our radio dramas at.
Space + Microphone set up
This is an image of the studio area at DCAS where we recorded the two radio dramas.
In this image we also see the microphone set up
Those two
wires connect the microphone to the panel that links to the patch bay in the
control room, it’s important to have the wires as straight as possible for
safety.
Microphone
This is the
style of Mic we are going to be using during our sessions at DCAS. It is a type
of Condenser Microphone, these microphones are more sensitive to sound and are
more often used in studios.
This
particular microphone has different modes on it to chance the area of sound the
microphone pics up for example a figure of eight around the microphone a
circle, and oval.
The
condenser microphone has a cradle the microphone sits in. This helps reduce
vibrations and gets a clearer sound.
Health and Safety
When
setting up the microphone t's important to make sure all the sound equipment is off while plugging everything
in, this is to avoid an accident caused by phantom power. Phantom power is
power that travels through wires to power microphones, if you were to set up
equipment while having the sound equipment on you run the risk of electric
shock. This is the same when putting equipment away you need to make sure the
power output to the microphones and sound equipment are off before unplugging
everything and putting the equipment away.
When
setting up the stands for the microphones it was important to make sure
everything was screwed as tight as possible in order to avoid the stand
collapsing or a bar falling down. We also needed to make sure the microphone
was at the correct height for the person using them, this is so their voice is picked up clearly
Because the
microphone is sensitive it's important to remember that you need to
be quite if you are in the recording space just before recording.
This is a
picture of the set-up in the control room, we have speakers on both sides of
the computer that feed the sound from the recording space to the control room,
there is a button on the main control desk in the centre this button is
labelled 2 slate. On the upper left hand side we have a 1960 pre amp on this
pre amp, we have two gain dials connected to both microphones.
Gain: This helps optimize the input signal levels in
order to maximize the signal strength while minimizing the noise. During the
recording process when one of the mics peaked we would have to tell the people
recording to step away a bit from the microphone or decrease the Gain for that
microphone. When someone was too quiet we would increase the gain.
this is an Image of the patch board. In audio recording you 'patch in' or 'patching in'. Patching in is when you connect wires from and input to an output. This allows the microphones in the recording space to work efficiently and also connects the headphones which allows the actor to listen back to what's been recorded as well as hear what the people in the control room have to say in terms of feedback.
How I set up
While working at the studio, we would first have to set up the equipment in the recording space so that we were ready to record.
The first thing to be set up were the microphone stands, this is because we need to set them up before we can set up and plug in the mics, which we need to place in the stands.
When setting up the stands I had to set them to right height for the performers (us). I had to ensure that the joints which allow me to alter the height were then tightened and secure when at the right height. This is to ensure they do not suddenly drop in the middle of the recording, ruining the recording and possibly causing the microphone to fall and receive damage.
when attaching the microphone's crib to the stand, I had to first screw it onto the end, I was advised by the people that worked there to turn the top part of the stand where you can adjust height as a pose to the crib as this ensured the crib would remain in the correct place.
I had to ensure that the crib was tightened and secure to prevent it from turning or tilting during recording, as this could cause the microphone to drop and possibly become detached from the wire. If this happened with the sound equipment on then the actor(s) would be at risk of being shocked with phantom power.
Microphone(s): when setting up the mic themselves I first had to make sure they were facing the right way when placing them in the crib, if I did not place them in the right way, then the sound it picked up would not sound as good as the sound would be picked up from behind the mic, this could cause the sound to be distorted and might not pick up the sound properly throughout the recording.
I then had to cover the mic with a foam cover, this acts as a pop shield and helps to prevent peaks and pops from happening. Pops are sudden pops in volume and could cause a moment of sound with a clip, this makes the recording less smooth and can cause a sudden peak in the volume, which would require the team recording to alter the gain.
Once the microphone was in place, I plugged to microphone in. Before plugging them into the power board in the room, i first had to (after being advised by Rachael) to make sure the wire is wrapped around the top part of the microphone before lying it across the ground keeping it as straight as possible before plugging it in. the reason the wires had to be compacted and kept as straight as possible was to avoid
the wires swinging everywhere, and have an actor get tangled in them and pull them free, again resulting in the possibility of someone getting shocked as a result of phantom power and effectively holding up the entire recording. And wasting the time of the director and producer who have everything set to a time-table.
Headphones
Headphones, like the mic's were plugged into the board on the wall, we had to ensure they were properly plugged into the wall securely, and had to check to make sure the headphones worked. If the headphones did not pick up what the people in the control room were saying then, they either, not attacked at the patch board, not plugged in properly or the headphones simply did not work. If a pair of headphones didn't work, we had to change them for another set. this is because as an actor they need to be able to hear the people in the control room when their speaking to them, they do this in order to listen for instruction and feedback, this could include how they want the line or scene to be done or, offering something to try out so they can hear how it sounds instead, and for the audio personal to make any comments they wish in regards to microphone technique, asking them to be closer to the mic or a little further back, maybe even twisted to the side slightly.
Script stands
When setting up and placing the stands we had to make sure they were in a position where we as performers could glance at them but also not touching the mic stands or being right in front of us, this is because they could get in the way should we be asked to go closer to the microphone, as the script stand would be in the way and I could accidentally create background noises that the mic would pick up and as a result cause us to have to record that section again.
In a professional situation small things like this can waste the directors time and place him behind his time-table.
Using the Software (editing)
In these videos Rachael from DCAS is talking me through adding sound effects and how to add them into the track. She also tells me how to zoom in to get a better look on a single audio file so I know exactly where I can cut. I also do a bit of fading in and out.
