Recording Audio

Here it is Thursday of Module 4 week 2 and I still do not have a mic. Time has really gotten away from me. I had a mic but it was not working effectively. Initially I was planning on ordering one from Amazon or some other online retail source, but here it is Thursday and still no microphone. I finally decided to go the Walmart to see what they have. I am hoping that I might find a mic I can use.  

There were many gaming headsets with mics so I really did not know which to buy. I found a salesperson who was an ex gamer. He told me that he had used several different headsets and although the sound quality can be different for the headsets, he really could not detect much difference in the sound quality from the mics. I found a Logitech set which has a filter over the mic. He said that type of design makes the audio smoother. 

The mic on the Logitech headset seems to produce audio that is not too loud. The audio is smooth, without the problem of sound distortion from being too loud or a reduction in the sound due to an inadequate mic. The problem of recording in segments is that the sound can be inconsistent from one sound clip to another. As I tend to stutter or leave long gaps of silence as I speak, I will have to practice quite a bit to come up with a good recording.I hope that I can get the audio to have a consistent tonality throughout the video.  

Now that I have a mic that will work, I have been looking into the process of adding audio to a video. I previously attempted to add audio to a Kickstarter video I made for a story that I have been working on. That attempt was unsuccessful as the audio did not upload onto the video that I made-not sure why-I do not think the software program that I used for that project was adequate. Or perhaps I did not convert the file into a format that could be uploaded onto the Kickstarter website.

As I was trying to get an idea about how to add audio to the video,  I watched several tutorials about the process. Obviously, a tutorial should be for the specific video software one has elected to use. Unfortunately, having used a PowerPoint to create a storyboard, I still had to find video software. The tutorial "Add Audio to Your Movie" focused on video editing software called VideoPad, created by NCH Software: http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/tutorial.html#audio  Adding audio seems like it should be fairly easy. I like the fact that there are individual volume controls for each audio clip as well as the fact that one can edit the audio in WavePad if needed and then import the files. Having the individual audio controls will hopefully make it easier to create sound consistency throughout the video. 

From the tutorials, this software is similar to the software I have used previously. The images upload easily and one can drag and drop them into the video or add them at the end by right clicking on the image and then adding it to the storyboard. The movie can be previewed as it is being developed. VideoPad software allows for file conversion into several formats, according the where one uploads the final video for viewing. It also allows for recording audio, with each audio segment added separately to the video track and then syncing with the images. Each image on the video timeline has a block where you can add a transition. It also allows the opportunity to change the time the image is displayed.

I loaded many of my images onto the program and ran a trial of the video sequence. Some of the images should be enlarged or reformatted. What the software does not do is give options about the type of shots so I may alter my images in Paint or Photoshop to have to the option of closeups or to be able to change the size of the images. I may use one image for several cells,focusing on details specific to the script. I think the audio will be somewhat wordy for each image so zooming in on focused details will add interest to the video. 

I tried several audio recordings which went very well. I am planning on rewriting my script and then beginning to record the audio segments for each image. After several attempts at recording, I finally figured out that if I add the music as one track first, I can record the narration over the music and have music in the background as I read. I tried to read first and then add the music but that did not allow for a layering of sound. If I record the narration over the music then I can have 2 tracks playing. Now I have to rewrite my script and make sure I rehearse it about 100 times at least so that I don't stutter which is a problem I have. Hopefully I will be able to have a decent audio track at the end of the semester.

References

DiCasa, S.,"Filmmaking 101 - How to Record High Quality Audio on a Budget," DiCasaFilm retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0rHak6aJl8

Nolfo, E., 2015. Sound recording tips: how to record awesome location sound, LAvideoFilmMaker.com
retrieved from: http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/location-sound-recording/location-sound-recording-shotgun-microphone-placement.html

Techsmith, "Create better audio: Mics, Recording, Audio FX", retrieved from: http://www.techsmith.com/tutorial-camtasia-mac-gs-12-better-audio-mics-recording-audiofx.html

VideoPad Tutorial, Add Audio to Your Movie, NCH Software
retrieved from: http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/tutorial.html#audio