#557 in Arts & photography books
Reddit mentions of The Location Sound Bible: How to Record Professional Dialog for Film and TV
Sentiment score: 5
Reddit mentions: 5
We found 5 Reddit mentions of The Location Sound Bible: How to Record Professional Dialog for Film and TV. Here are the top ones.
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- Focal Press
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| Release date | October 2012 |
As someone who has been in the industry for almost 20 years, has run music recording studios, worked out in LA, who now works in post production and as an on set production recordist, and who currently runs live sound at more than a few venues in my town, I cannot stress this enough.
Do not waste your time, energy and effort going to college if you want to be an audio engineer.
Now, I didn't say don't go to college...but if you do go, go there for a career that actually requires a degree. Don't put yourself in debt to get a degree in a field that nobody requires you to have. I did not go to school, and I've never not gotten a gig because of it.
If you want to be an audio engineer, then start by actually doing the thing you want to do. If you want to work in a recording studio, then start applying for internships. I know of no studios that won't accept an intern who didn't go to college. Oh, buy a cheap 4-track and a SM57 and get to work. I'm sure you've got friends who are in bands, offer to record them.
If you want to work in post production, get an internship at a post house.
If you want to be an on set audio recordist, contact a local production company and ask if they have any contacts to any local sound mixers. Call them, and ask to be a sound utility. The last guy I hired I met this way. Maybe ask if there are any low budget productions that you could be a boom op on.
If you want to work in live sound, start by going to bars/clubs/casinos, where ever there are live sound guys, and ask if you can intern / wrap cables / get coffee / whatever else. Or, call a local sound rental house. We have 2 major ones in even my small town of Baton Rouge, La.
If you go to church, then ask to learn from whoever runs that sound system.
The possibilities are endless. The point is, with the current state of both the career field of audio engineering, not only is it a real struggle to make a living, being in debt makes it that much worse. To put it to you this way, I'm 32 years old, and last year I bought a house. If I had gone to Full Sail, you can bet I wouldn't be buying that house until at least 40.
Lastly, read. There are tons of great books available that will not only help you narrow what you'd like to do in the field of audio engineering, but that will teach you exactly what you need to be doing.
Now, my usual book list.
The Daily Adventures of mixer man - Mixerman
http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Adventures-Mixerman-ebook/dp/B00BFUNZ9C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408230831&sr=8-1&keywords=Mixerman
Zen and the art of mixing - Mixerman
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Mixing-REV-2-ebook/dp/B00JZNNC8K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408230831&sr=8-2&keywords=Mixerman
Zen and the art of Producing - Mixerman
http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Adventures-Mixerman-ebook/dp/B00BFUNZ9C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408230831&sr=8-1&keywords=Mixerman
Behind the Glass vol. 1 and 2 - Howard Massy
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Behind%20the%20glass
Recording Engineer's Handbook - Bobby Owninski
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Engineers-Handbook-Third-ebook/dp/B00FN57064/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-1&keywords=Recording+Engineer%27s+handbook
The Sound Reinforcement Handbook - Gary Davis
http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reinforcement-Handbook-Gary-Davis/dp/0881889008/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408231033&sr=8-1&keywords=yamaha+sound+reinforcement+handbook
Guide to Sound Systems for Worship - Jon F. Eiche
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Sound-Systems-Worship-Eiche/dp/079350029X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408231033&sr=8-2&keywords=yamaha+sound+reinforcement+handbook
The Practical art of Motion Picture Sound - Daniel Lewis Yewdall
http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Art-Motion-Picture-Sound/dp/0240812409/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361733899&sr=1-1&keywords=practical+art+of+motion+picture+sound
Sound for Film and Televison - Tomlinson Holman
http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Film-Television-Tomlinson-Holman/dp/0240813308/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1408231326&sr=8-4&keywords=Production+sound+book
The Location Sound Bible - Ric Viers
http://www.amazon.com/Location-Sound-Bible-Record-Professional-ebook/dp/B00ATOUXBI/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1408231585&sr=8-30&keywords=Production+sound+book
That should be enough to get you going. Remember, I didn't say not to go to college, just not for this. And Remember, whatever you do, don't go to fullsail.
/u/solas_ - sadly, even the best mic or recorder attached to the camera won't improve your sound quality very much. Microphones have to be within 2 to 3 feet of your talent or audio source to capture decent sound.
In your situation, I recommend you put a couple of [$28 JK MIC-J 044 lavs] (https://www.amazon.com/Lavalier-Microphone-MIC-J-044-Macbook/dp/B01ARB4O6W/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=battleforthew-20) [Referral Link] on your talent, record to a couple of phones (with the [$5.99 Rode REC app] (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/r-de-rec/id528642521?mt=8&at=1000l8mT) [Referral Link] if you have iPhones) and sync your sound in post, as seen here (example is for the Rode SmartLav, but the concept would be the same for the JKs):
Lavs combined with smartphones will give you much better audio than a mic mounted on your camera. The audio in both of these short films was recorded with lavs, XY mics and iPhones:
You might also want to read Ric Viers' [Location Sound Bible] (https://www.amazon.com/Location-Sound-Bible-Record-Professional-ebook/dp/B00ATOUXBI//ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=battleforthew-20) [Referral Link]. Investing in this book will save you a lot of time, money and frustration in the long run.
Hope this is helpful, good luck with improving your audio and best of the holidays to you and yours!
The best microphone in the world will not give you "great audio quality" if it is plugged into a noisy recording device.
Reading a book on sound recording may be the best way to answer your questions. You can download [The Location Sound Bible] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ATOUXBI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ATOUXBI&linkCode=as2&tag=battleforthew-20) to Kindle for $15 as of this post.
Good luck!
This:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ATOUXBI/
...is one of the best starter resources I have read. Covers almost everything.
Hi /u/breyvinclaw - and welcome to the world of digital filmmaking! I would spend $15 and download [The Location Sound Bible] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ATOUXBI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ATOUXBI&linkCode=as2&tag=battleforthew-20) - or, if that's too much, I'd spend $8 for ["Roll Sound" - A Practical Guide for Location Audio] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HO5USC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004HO5USC&linkCode=as2&tag=battleforthew-20) [Referral Links].
These books will save you a lot more money than they cost.
Good luck!
Bill