How to Record Clean Audio on Location for Video
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- You need
- A lav or boom mic, a recorder, closed headphones
- Works with
- Interviews, presenters, dialogue scenes
On this page
To record clean audio on location, pick the quietest room you can and switch off what hums. Then put a lavalier on the speaker's chest or a boom mic just above the frame, aimed at the mouth. Set levels with headroom, record a backup track, listen on closed headphones every take and record room tone before you leave. This guide is part of our video production guide.
You'll need at least one good external microphone, a recorder or a camera with proper audio inputs, and closed-back headphones. Not sure which microphone? Our lavalier vs shotgun microphone comparison helps you choose.
Why location sound goes wrong
Most bad location audio comes from three things: distance, noise and the room. A microphone on the camera is usually several feet from the speaker, so it hears the room as loudly as the voice. Noise from air conditioning, traffic and fridges goes unnoticed on the day because the brain filters it out, but the microphone records all of it. And hard, empty rooms add echo that no plugin removes cleanly.
Poor sound is usually more distracting than plain pictures. The fix isn't expensive gear. It's getting a microphone close to the mouth, removing noise before you roll and listening to what the microphone actually hears.
The location audio kit at a glance
You don't need a large kit. You need the right pieces, each doing one job:
| Item | Job | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lavalier mic | Close, hidden voice pickup | Best for interviews and moving subjects |
| Shotgun or boom mic | Natural voice from above the frame | Needs an operator or a stand |
| Recorder or camera inputs | Clean preamps and separate tracks | 32-bit float adds safety |
| Closed-back headphones | Hear exactly what is recorded | Never record without them |
| Windscreen and tape | Control wind and rustle | Foam indoors, furry cover outside |
Steps
- Scout the location by ear.
On the scout, stand where the subject will sit, stay silent and listen for a full minute. Note air conditioning, fridges, traffic, elevators, flight paths and nearby construction. Clap once and listen to how long the sound hangs. Rooms with soft furniture, carpet and curtains sound better than glass and tile. Note the noise sources on the pre-production checklist, so the fixes get planned.
- Kill the noise you can control.
Before rolling, switch off air conditioning, fans, fridges and anything with a motor, and leave a note on the fridge door so it goes back on. Silence phones, close windows and put signs on doors so people don't walk in. Move away from the noisiest wall. If you can't stop a noise, turn the microphone's back toward it and get the mic closer to the speaker.
- Choose the microphone for each shot.
Use a lavalier when the subject moves, when the frame is wide or when the room is noisy, because the mic stays close to the mouth. Use a boom when wardrobe can't hide a lav, or when you want a more natural, open voice. For sit-down interviews, many crews record both on separate tracks. The camera's built-in mic is a sync reference, not the main sound.
- Place the lavalier on the chest.
Clip or tape the lav in the middle of the chest, about a hand's width below the collarbone, pointing toward the mouth. Avoid the neck, where the chin blocks the clear upper frequencies of speech. Keep the capsule away from buttons, jewelry and stiff fabric. Tape a small loop of cable below the mic so tugs don't reach the capsule, and route the cable inside clothing.
- Boom from just outside the frame.
Hold the shotgun above the speaker, angled down toward the mouth and as close as the frame line allows. A couple of feet above the head is a good target. Higher than that, the voice gets thin and roomy. Ask the camera operator for the frame edge, then hover just outside it. Use a foam windscreen even indoors, a shock mount and the low-cut switch to reduce rumble and handling noise.
- Set levels with headroom.
Ask the speaker to talk at the volume they'll use in the interview, not a quiet "testing, testing". Set gain so normal speech sits well clear of the top of the meter and loud laughs still have room. With standard 24-bit recording, anything that hits 0 dBFS clips and can't be repaired. If your recorder offers 32-bit float, use it: the file keeps peaks above 0 dBFS, and you can lower them in the edit.
- Record a backup and sync.
Record each microphone to its own track, and send a backup to the camera if you can, so every clip has sync sound. If your recorder offers a safety track at lower gain, switch it on. When picture and sound are recorded separately, slate every take with a clap the camera can see, and name or number takes the same way on both devices.
- Monitor on headphones every take.
Wear closed-back headphones for the whole shoot, not just the sound check. Listen for rustle, wind, distant traffic, buzzing, and the speaker drifting away from the mic. Stop the take and fix a problem as soon as you hear it. A thirty-second retake on set costs far less than repairing a whole answer in the edit, or losing it.
- Record room tone before you leave.
In each location, ask everyone to freeze where they are, with the equipment as it was during takes, and record thirty to sixty seconds of silence. Announce "room tone" at the start so the editor can find it. Editors use it to fill gaps between lines and to smooth cuts, so the background never drops out. Note it in your sound notes.
If you'd rather leave the sound to a crew, our in-house video production team records, mixes and edits every project, with no handoffs. Picture and sound share one plan, so see our guide to lighting an interview for the camera side.
Recording outdoors
Outdoors removes room echo but adds wind, traffic and changing noise. Wind is the main enemy: even a light breeze can overload a microphone's capsule and the sound it makes can't be filtered out cleanly afterward.
Use a furry windscreen over the shotgun outdoors, not just foam, and switch on the low-cut filter. Lavaliers need their own small wind cover, and hiding the lav under one layer of clothing helps. Position the subject so a building, vehicle or wall blocks the wind. Use the same shelter for traffic: put the noise behind the microphone's back, not in front of it.
Plan for noise that comes and goes. Aircraft, buses and leaf blowers will interrupt takes, so build a little extra time into the schedule and pause for them rather than hoping the edit can remove them.
Troubleshooting
Rustle and scratching on the lav track
Cause: the clothing is rubbing against the microphone capsule or the cable. Stiff fabrics, jackets, ties and jewelry are the usual culprits, especially when the speaker gestures or shifts in the chair. A lav clipped to a T-shirt can also flap as the fabric moves. Cable that isn't secured carries every tug straight to the capsule.
Fix: fix the mic so it can't move against the fabric. Tape it inside the outer layer or to skin with a protective cover, or use a purpose-made lav concealer. Secure the cable with a small loop and tape above and below it. Remove necklaces near the mic or tape them down. Ask the speaker to keep hands away from their chest, and listen to a playback before you start recording.
Wind noise outdoors
Cause: moving air hits the microphone's diaphragm directly, causing low, rumbling bursts and pops. It overloads the capsule and the recorder, so it's not just background noise; it distorts the voice as well. Shotgun mics on a moving boom pick up wind even on still days, and a lav at the neckline catches the speaker's breath.
Fix: use a furry windscreen on the shotgun outdoors, and a wind cover on the lav. Switch on the low-cut filter, which reduces rumble without touching the voice much. Shelter the subject behind a wall, car or building, and keep booming moves slow. Hide the lav under one layer of fabric. If the wind still wins, move indoors or reschedule outdoor dialogue, and record any voiceover later.
Hollow, echoey dialogue indoors
Cause: sound bounces off hard, parallel surfaces like glass, tile, bare walls and concrete floors, and the microphone records the reflections with the voice. The farther the microphone is from the mouth, the more echo it hears relative to the voice. Long, tight shotguns make this worse indoors, because they emphasize the reverberation of a small room.
Fix: move the microphone closer. A lav on the chest, or a boom brought just outside the frame, reduces echo more than anything else. Pick a smaller room with soft furniture, or add soft surfaces out of shot: blankets, rugs, sound blankets or even coats. Turn the subject away from large windows. For tight interiors, many sound recordists switch from a long shotgun to a wider, shorter microphone, which picks up less reflected sound.
Common questions
Is the camera's built-in microphone good enough for video?
For reference audio, yes. For anything people need to hear clearly, usually not. A built-in mic sits on the camera, often several feet from the speaker, so it records the room, handling noise and wind along with the voice. Use it as a sync track and a backup, and put a lavalier or boom microphone close to the person speaking for the sound you'll actually use.
What is room tone and how long should it be?
Room tone is a recording of the location with nobody talking: the hum, air and space that sit under every line of dialogue. Editors use it to fill gaps and smooth cuts so the background doesn't drop out. Record it in each location with the crew still and the equipment as it was during takes. Thirty to sixty seconds is a common length.
Does 32-bit float recording mean I don't need to set levels?
It removes most of the risk of digital clipping, because the file keeps signals above 0 dBFS and you can lower them in the edit without added noise. It doesn't fix a microphone in the wrong place, a noisy room, or distortion from a wireless transmitter or preamp that overloads before the recorder. Placement and monitoring still decide the quality.
Should I record audio in the camera or on a separate recorder?
Either works if the inputs are good. A separate recorder usually offers better preamps, more tracks and 32-bit float, and keeps sound running when the camera stops. Recording into the camera saves syncing time. Many crews do both: the main mics go to a recorder, and a mix or backup feed goes to the camera so every clip has sync sound.