zoom h1 handy recorder

[joescrivens]

I just got one of these and I plugged in my rode mic and recorded a quick sample and synced it with video i was recording at the same time.

The audio sounded great, but it was almost too good - and it just seemed so detached from the video, it was obvious the sound was recorded seperately if you know what i mean. Is it just because i'm not used to it or are there some secrets I need to know

 

[mrjames]

Think of audio in the same way you think of lighting. You don't just fill the scene with light, you create shadow- you expand the dynamic range

with audio you have to 'construct' reality, expand the 'dynamic range' of your audio track. You can record something called a buzz track, which is just a recording of all the low level audio going on at that time- people walking and talking in the distance, doors closing, just general noise. This helps to sell the realism as the zoom autolevels to what is being recorded, so often those quiet sounds aren't picked up on the recording when you're recording something specific like someone talking.

The second and more involved method is 'foley': the synthesis of sounds to create atmosphere. So you could record footsteps, or doors closing, or people chatting and then use this to create your 'buzz track'

Hope this helps

Just make sure that your audio reflects what's going on in you scene, try to recreate the feeling of being there

 

[4wd]

I just got one of these and I plugged in my rode mic and recorded a quick sample and synced it with video i was recording at the same time.

The audio sounded great, but it was almost too good - and it just seemed so detached from the video, it was obvious the sound was recorded seperately if you know what i mean. Is it just because i'm not used to it or are there some secrets I need to know

Holy thread revival, just been playing with a zoom H1 and this post mirrors my thoughts - as a test I was doing maintenance on a farm machine and the sound from zoom with lapel mic seemed like it was added in a studio afterwards.
Probably would have been better to just stand the zoom near the camera (GoPro in a case) without external mic, but need a windscreen for that really - on the way.

Wish I'd known before how good (free) Audacity is at removing background hum and boosting vocals.
Even a very cheap desk mic I bought about ten years ago sounds quite usable for youtube with a bit of work.
However the Zoom works great as a desk mic too - very useful thing to have and £74 from Amazon now.