Can anyone help with recording in a noisy environment?

C

coliwob

I Love YTtalk
I have been recording a cooking show in my kitchen which hasn't gone too badly thus far.
I record sound using the on board mic on one of the cameras. I can do noise removal in audacity if there is something constant - like a gas hobs hiss. Apart from that I am stumped.

First off it is a reverby room because of the linoleum floor and the bare walls... so reverb is a problem though I dont think its too bad.

Secondly when things are cooking the noise levels can get to irritating levels.

Third, I am not rich by any standard, so super expensive is out.

Just wondering if there are any sound peeps out there who have any ideas about improving my audio.

Thanks
 
Close all doors / windows , if needed and not bad , turn off you fridze , add a noise gate on yyour voice recorder and hope or the best
 
Get a lavalier Microphone, They're not that expensive (unless you go wireless). But you can run a wire to something that records audio. If your camera has an option for an external mic you can plug into there. Or you could record it separate with a laptop. You may have to check the mic levels, but those mics are made to pick up sound from a single source, so if you pin the mic to your shirt then it will mostly pick up what you say. You can then use the internal mic to record background noise. Then mix them together, adjusting for what sounds best.
 
Your problem isn't noise, its' distance from the mic. If the pot boiling is closer to your microphone than your face, of course its' going to be louder. So you either need to bring the mic closer to you, or buy a more expensive mic designed to block out a bunch of that noise.
 
What I do in situations like this is grab my Zoom H1 and plug a Sony ECMCS3 lavalier mic into the input. That way I don't have to worry about wires or anything but I do have to sync the audio in post. The Zoom H1 isn't cheap so you could instead grab a lavalier mic and some sort of extension cord for it (if you camera has audio input).
 
I would use a microphone connected to a laptop. This would greatly improve your quality.

If you can't afford a mic or a laptop well I'm sorry. Integrated camera mic will always sound bad.
 
Don't know why I didn't get any notifications of you replies, thanks.

Lavailier mic looks just the ticket.

I have a canon700d that has a mic in and I also use a panasonic hc110v which doesn't

I don't think the audio is completely hideous but I do need to improve it.

Thanks again.[DOUBLEPOST=1454979604,1454979555][/DOUBLEPOST]
BoozeandBS said:
Get a lavalier Microphone, They're not that expensive (unless you go wireless). But you can run a wire to something that records audio. If your camera has an option for an external mic you can plug into there. Or you could record it separate with a laptop. You may have to check the mic levels, but those mics are made to pick up sound from a single source, so if you pin the mic to your shirt then it will mostly pick up what you say. You can then use the internal mic to record background noise. Then mix them together, adjusting for what sounds best.
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I think my brother tried something like this, only he useda phone as a recorder. I take it a phone is a bad idea?
 
Definitely go the external mic plugged into your camera or laptop route. Phone audio wouldn't be best for quality control (I've only heard one good on board phone mic and the rest sound like garbage imo). I'm not sure how much lavalier's cost, but you could also just buy a somewhat cheap USB mic (say 30-70) and have it setup in one stationary place that you would be close to so it picks up your voice well, but if you're cooking you'd be moving around more so probably a lavalier would be your best option. And yeah, like everyone else said sincing up the audio in post production if need be.
 
coliwob said:
I think my brother tried something like this, only he useda phone as a recorder. I take it a phone is a bad idea?
Click to expand...

A phone turned mic side up in the breast pocket of a shirt is an awful lot like a Lav mic. ;) Could be worth a try before spending money.
 
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