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This episode of The Basic Filmmaker is sponsored by:
A tiny blinking pixel.
So, we all know that in camera sound sucks, right?
And we also know that having a shotgun or lapel mic close to your mouth is the best
sound you can get, right?
OK.
Let's say you're ready to shoot, and, you've forget, or don't have, anything but your camera.
Your in-camera sound is going to be terrible.
So what do you do?
Well, if you have something like an iPhone, just do this:
Get the original headphones that came with your iPhone, they're free.
See this little plus minus thing on the headphone cable?
If you turn it over, you'll see this is also a microphone.
So plug these headphones into the headphone jack.
Wire up your talent up just like you would with a lapel mic,
start the Voice Memos app -
that also comes free with the iPhone -
and hit the record button.
Now start your camera recording.
Don't forget to clap your hands, so you can sync the sound later in post, and record your
shot.
There's all sorts of things you can do with this,
Such as wrapping the headphone mic and wires in black or colored tape so it's no so obvious,
and hiding this on your talent like you would a lapel mic,
so you can't see it.
You can also cut off the headphone wires,
tape this to a lapel mic clip,
and use this as your dedicated lapel mic, if you choose.
And, as with any sound you record, you can do some post audio work to make it better.
For iPads and iPods, I believe there are recording apps that allow you to also do this.
You can also download apps that record sound at a higher quality.
I don't know if the Android or other phones can do this.
If you do, please leave a comment below for everyone else.
If you don't have the money for an audio recorder or lapel mic, or,
you're in a bind because you don't have your audio recorder or lapel mic with you,
this will work, and will always be better than trying to record in camera sound.
How do I know it works?
Because I just used it to record the sound for this entire episode.
I hope that helps, and, thanks for watching.