danielsaltman

The Importance of Good Audio

George Lucas once famously said “The sound is half the picture.”  He isn’t wrong, but you don’t have to be making multi-million dollar blockbusters to be able to use his advice.

It doesn’t matter how good a movie or video might be, if the audio is bad, it isn’t going to do well.  We can be quite harsh in our judgments against other people, especially through the anonymity of the internet.  We seem to be much more judgmental and rude when we know we are a couple of thousands of miles away from the object of our ire.

So with that said, any criticisms you receive over something like bad audio on one of your productions has the potential to escalate out of control.  It isn’t fair, but it’s much easier to improve the audio on a production than change the way the internet works.

The single best way to improve audio in most situations is to use a separate microphone.  The ones built into many camcorders are okay, but will pick up any other ambient noise in the scene.  This can often detract from it rather than enhance it.  Unfortunately, most cheaper cameras don’t have them.  It’s only on the more expensive ones that includes an audio in, so it’s something to look for when shopping for a new one.

By using external microphones they can be directed to only pick up the sound you want for the scene.  They can either be attached to the top of the camera, or better still placed near the action.  You can even take the feed from a sound board if one is being used, like for a conference or something.

To collect audio from a soundboard you will need a line level adapter, which is an inline widget that reduces the sound level down to what a microphone can cope with.

If you film a lot of interviews or monologues, then it may be worth investing in a wireless microphone.  These are small and unobtrusive but offer decent audio without interference.  Being wireless also aids portability and freedom of movement for the subject.  They are used extensively in professional studios, just look for the telltale bulges of the transmitter in the lower back of the subject.

You can get wired versions but they are much clunkier than wireless.  It’s definitely better to go wireless if you can afford it.

If all you have is the microphone built into the camera, you will need to move closer to the subject to get better audio.  Preferably between them and the interfering noise.  It doesn’t work better than a remote microphone, but it’s better than nothing, certainly if you can’t afford the other equipment.  Not everybody films people or interviews enough to warrant the expense.

Remember, good video is the most important, but it’s nothing if the audio isn’t any good.  You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on the best equipment around, but you should spend some if you have it.  If not then use technique and placement to make up the shortfall.  Getting yourself, and the camera between the noise and the subject will enhance the overall audio no end.

Video content is very popular and is a great way to promote your product or business. The key to making video content work for you is to drive viewers to your video, entice the viewers to watch and share the video, and finally to get the viewer to take the desired action.

Following these tips for successful video marketing will boost the effectiveness of your video content.

Tip 1: Create interest in the video before it is released

Talk about the video before it is released by posting in social networking sites, your own blog or website, forums and the like. If you have a list of subscribers or followers who you can email, then build an email campaign of 3-4 emails and send these to your list. Your goal is to build interest in the video and have a audience waiting to view the video when released.

Tip 2: Use humor, inspiration, or motivation for the tone of the video

Humor is a great way to keep viewers engaged in your video and not clicking away after a few seconds. A message of inspiration or motivation can also be applied in place of humor. Decide which would work best with the message and desired action of the video and create the video in that tone. The goal is to hook the viewer and keep the viewer watching the video to the end.

Tip 3: Keep the video relatively short

The attention span of the typical visitor is not very long. You need to pull the viewer in and get your message across before the viewer decides to leave or is pulled away by work, children, an email, and the like. If your video is more than 2 minutes in length consider breaking it up into multiple videos. At the end of the first video you can prompt the viewer to continue to the second video, instead of losing the viewer part way through a longer video.

Tip 3: Video Title

Spend time to research when creating the title for your video. The title must be attention grabbing to pull viewers in and likewise must be relevant to the content of the video and what you are marketing or promoting. Include the word 'video' in the title so the search engines will be able to more easily identify it as video content. Basic keyword research, as with text content, will make your video more discoverable.

Tip 4: Video description, keywords, and tags

Just as with the video title, create a great description of your video describing the content of the video. Use the keywords selected for the video title in the description as well.

Tip 5: Add subtitles to the video

Using a tool such as URUsoft.net's Subtitle Workshop create subtitles for the video. These subtitles can be translated into a variety of languages giving the video a broader reach.

Tip 6: Submit the video to multiple video sharing sites

Instead of simply uploading the video to YouTube or Yahoo Video, submit the video to as many video hosting sites as plausible. You can do this manually as well as through a submission tool. It will depend on how much effort and time you are able to commit vs. the cost of the submission tool. The key though is to get the video onto multiple sites with the goal of reaching more viewers.

Tip 7: Build back-links to the video

As with all website content you need to build back-links. Post on your own blog as well as add comments on other blogs linking to your video. Make it easy for visitors to share the link to your video and even add a 'Tell a Friend' button if possible.

Tip 8: Add annotations to the video on YouTube

If the video is on YouTube take a little time and add annotations to it. YouTube is the only video hosting site which currently offers annotations. Annotations come in three flavors at this time: speech bubble, note, and spotlight. Annotations can be used to highlight specific parts of the video as well as embed links in the video to your blog, website, or another video.

By applying these tips for successful video marketing you can boost the reach of your video.