I’m sure a lot of YouTubers are trying to create eye-catching videos. If you want to get thousands of LIKES or have more subscriptions, you may need to improve the video quality including video content and sound. Generally, SLR cameras and even mobile phones can meet the needs of picture shooting, but the really tricky problem is the recording of sound, which is also a lot of video production exposed. Today we are going to talk about the sound production of YouTube video, with the choice of microphone as the starting point.
A microphone use is related tightly to your video content. You need to be clear: What do I want to shoot and record? A movie, a dialogue, ambient sound or anything else? Different production and scenes need various microphones. And microphones can be classified into three types according to functions: shotgun mic, lavalier mic and USB mic.
Shotgun Mic
Features
Shotgun microphones adopt a long barrel with “interference tube” structure which produces horizontal interference on the diaphragm, and the circuit generates signal pressure difference, thus picking up human voice signal. Shotgun mics use cardioid or hyper-cardioid polar pattern, which is more compact and finer than other ordinary polar patterns. It strongly picks up sounds from sound source while sounds from other directions will be attenuated.
Usage
Generally speaking, shotgun microphones are connected with DSLR cameras or camcorders to use, flexible to pick up target sound source that changes or moves quickly. Or you want to shoot a wide range of scenes and capture some natural sounds at the same time. It does a good job in recording the sound of the scene. Therefore, it is ideal for YouTubers who aim at shooting mid/short distance outdoors video, such as quick street interview, vlogging, sports video like skateboarding, street biking, etc.
Sometimes, it also tends to include undesired noise outdoors. If the distance is long or surroundings is too noisy, its clarity of voice will be reduced. Considering this, you could choose a microphone with more advanced functions. High-pass filter could reduce low-frequency noise. Gain adjustment could improve the voice quality. Using a shock mount and windshield is a quick and effective way to prevent vibration and wind noise.
Lavalier Mic
Features
Lavalier microphone can be classified into wire and wireless type. Wireless lavalier microphone uses UHF and 2.4GHz wireless technology, transmitting the voice from the transmitter to the receiver. Lavalier microphone mainly adopts omnidirectional polar pattern. The mic head picks up sound signal from 360°direction.
Usage
Lavalier microphones are compatible with mobile phones, computers, SLR cameras and video cameras. It is clipped on the collar or concealed under your coat, closer to the sound source, suitable for capturing clear human voice in shooting unboxing video, product review, makeup video, mukbang, etc. Besides, wireless lavalier microphones are not limited by scenes and distance, so it is perfect for producing micro film, travelling vlogs, tutorial video, etc.
To sum up, lavalier microphone is a good choice for YouTubers to make videos with high-fidelity, original voice and less background noise.
USB mic
Features
USB mics, as its name saying, integrate USB sound card and microphone components together though internal digital to analog conversion circuit, and realize microphone recording, live broadcasting. USB microphones mainly adopt omnidirectional polar pattern or cardioid polar pattern. Some advanced USB microphones equip two polar patterns at the same time, which can be selected according to the actual conditions.
Usage
USB microphone is easy to setup and can be connected to your computer, tablet and smartphone via corresponding cables. Due to its shape and size, USB microphone is generally placed on the desktop or hung by a stand, for relatively fixed recording occasions such as recording and dubbing indoors.
Therefore, it is more suitable for YouTubers who produce game/movie commentary video, cartoon dubbing, talkshow video, monologue video, etc.
Conclusion
There is no microphone perfect for every occasion. For YouTube video, there are many choices of microphones, depending on what type of video you exactly want to make. Most importantly, show the charm of your voice through your imagination and creativity in the video as best as possible, and a good microphone will add more a layer of glamour to it.
