Starting your own successful YouTube channel can prove to be a challenging endeavor. YouTube is filled with talented and creative people that create amazing videos. At first, it can seem overwhelming, but don’t be deterred. With the right gear, some practice, and a bit of creativity, your videos can stand out amongst the crowd. Once you have an understanding of the content you are going to produce, you need to record videos that will grow your YouTube account and benefit your YouTube analytics. In this video, we will go into depth about the audio gear that can give you the best opportunity to achieve a high-end cinematic sound for videos on your new YouTube channel.
Audio Quality Will Set Your Videos Apart
Many people overlook audio quality when recording YouTube videos, and that is a mistake. Great sound quality can make or break how your video is received by your audience. When thinking about audio, it is essential to think about the location you will be shooting, where you are going to set up your equipment, and what audio equipment to use. All of these factors are important to think about in the planning stage of your production.
Where will you be shooting?
The location of your shoot plays a massive factor in what audio gear you will be using. For example, if you are shooting your video in a busy city, then it is vital to use a microphone that will drown out exterior noise. On the other hand, if you are shooting during an outdoor wedding event with less background sound, it is less critical to eliminate some of those noises. In some instances, you may want to capture some ambient noise to give your audio more character that relates to the location.
Recording vocals can be tricky to capture in certain situations as well. When using studio mics, you want to think about the volume of the speaker. If too loud or too soft, you want to be able to adjust your audio input level. Also, it is important to think about how close you are setting up your microphone from the speaker. Being closer will give it more character, but can sometimes cause problems with unwanted breathing sounds if placed too close.
Where should you set up your audio equipment?
Positioning your audio equipment is critical to capturing clean sound. When using a shotgun mic, you should place it directly in front of the speaker, slightly above their head. Shotgun mics are great at capturing clean dialogue without too much noise coming from the surrounding area.
If you are using a lavalier mic, it is important to think about how close or far away you want your subject’s voice to be while recording. Lav mics capture voices clearly, but can sometimes sound distant and unauthentic if placed too far away. If you are only capturing the dialogue with a lav mic, you want to place it directly on the speaker’s shirt as close as possible without actually touching their skin.
It is also important to think about where you place your boom pole when setting up a boom pole mic. Placing it in the center of the shot can cause issues with distortion if you are using a shotgun microphone. You want to place your boom pole slightly off-center, still recording dialogue, but avoiding any unnecessary noise.
When planning your audio, it is important to think about what background noises you might encounter while shooting in certain locations. If you are shooting on a busy street, it is important to think about how you will block out that noise. If you are shooting outside during an outdoor wedding ceremony, it is important to think about what noises you might encounter at the location from the audience.
Take your time when setting up your audio equipment and make sure everything has been tested before recording begins. Save yourself time in post-production by eliminating as much background noise as possible before you begin recording.
What audio equipment should I use?
There are many types of microphones. The best microphone for YouTube can vary by type and need of your own YouTube channel. The most common microphones used for YouTube productions are shotgun mics, lavalier mics, or lavs, and boom pole mics.
Shotgun mics are very directional microphones that do best when pointed directly at the source of the sound they are trying to capture. They can also be used in some cases to pick up audio from a wide area, but this will result in lower-quality audio. Shotgun microphones are the best type of microphone to use when shooting interviews, vlogs, and tutorials where you want to capture the sound from one person speaking. They also work well for live events like weddings or conferences where there is a single speaker on stage during most of the presentation.
Shotgun mics come in both wired and wireless versions. You want to make sure you can hear your audio when using a shotgun mic in case the battery dies or there is interference with your transmitter. Interference can keep it from sending an audio signal to your camera.
Lavalier mics are small microphones that attach directly to the subject’s clothing, and they work great for recording dialogue between multiple people. The sound quality of a lav mic is very natural, and they are easy to hide underneath clothing.
Boom pole mics are best used when you want to capture the audio of someone speaking while capturing a lot of other sounds around them, like background noise at live events or general room tone at an office location. Lavs and boom pole mics work together great because you can attach a lav to one person while using a boom pole mic on another to capture all of the audio in an interview, for instance. Doing research in advance can help you determine what type of audio equipment to use for your video.
In Conclusion
When learning how to start a YouTube channel, it is important to have the right audio gear to produce high-quality videos. This article has outlined some of the most common types of microphones that can be used for a YouTube video to capture fantastic audio quality. It is important to do your research in advance and determine what type of equipment will best fit the needs of your specific project. By using the right gear, you can ensure that your videos look and sound great.
