USING DIALOGUE

Dialogue is whenever the characters speak to one another to move the plot along in a work of fiction. Dialogue is usually written out and rehearsed long before the cameras roll. Dialogue is primarily used in relatively big-budget stuff since typically, dialogue has to be written, memorized and recited.

SHOULD I USE DIALOGUE?

If your project is less staged than the big-budget stuff, natural dialogue can be captured and used. People who can ad lib and say something usable are a low-budget producer’s best friend! Find someone with great conversation skills and let ‘em go.

Most people will be “better” hosts if you edit out the irrelevant stuff that’s bound to occur.

RECORDING "NATURAL SOUND" DIALOGUE

To shoot decent natural dialogue, you need:

• Attentive camera operators
• Attentive sound operators
• Blabber-mouthed on-camera people

As you shoot, listen to what people are saying and keep the camera rolling during the good parts. When they stray off subject, take that opportunity to move to a new shot, then prod them to resume the conversation that you felt was good for your story.

THINK AHEAD

While you're shooting, think about how their unscripted dialogue will fit into your overall story-telling. Are they describing something relevant to your message? If so, go in for a close-up. (Remember, walk closer, and don’t rely on your zoom unless you're on a secure tripod, other wise your shot will be shaky.)

Make sure you have adequate sound recording. This will probably take more than just relying on the microphone attached to your camcorder. One of the best ways for a low-budget situation to get good sound is to have your main subject wear a lavaliere microphone.

WHAT'S A LAVALIERE MICROPHONE?

A lavalier microphone is a tiny mic that clips to your collar or lapel so it’s easy to hide. I got a decent lav for my high school students at Radio Shack for $25. It make a huge difference in their sound quality. Buy an expensive mic like this, it will undoubtably come with a short cable. Spend five bucks and get an extension cable for it so the umbilical cord isn’t too short.

GO WIRELESS
If you can afford it, a wireless lav will allow for greater freedom of movement while shooting. A wireless microphone consists of two parts. One part is the microphone/transmitter, the other part is like a radio receiver and it plugs into your camera , which puts the audio signal on your tape.

NEXT TIME YOU'RE WATCHING TV

Many professional shows will use multiple wireless lavs for each person. Next time you watch a show like the ones where they remodel houses, or anything else that captures people in off-the-cuff situations, notice they’re all wearing small black boxes, about the size of a big deck of cards, stuffed into the back of their pants. This is the wireless microphone transmitter.

They hook that onto their back belt loops, run the wires under their clothes and the microphone itself, which is smaller than the tip of your pinky, is penned onto the outside of their collar.

Tip! Never put the mic itself underneath clothing or you’ll get lots of rustling sounds. Hide the wires under clothes. Use scotch tape if necessary.

Multiple wireless mics get pricy and complicated. Wireless signals can cross. Each one needs its own input into the camera, which would probably take a portable mixer. One decent wireless will cost at least $200, an adequate one could be found for $75. Great ones are at least $500 and up.

I ONLY GOT ONE MIC

If you only have one mic, let the person who is doing the majority of the speaking wear it. If other people stand fairly close, they’ll pick up well enough and you can boost their level during editing.

Listen to everybody talk and determine who has the most powerful voice. This person probably SHOULDN’T wear the mic since a truly powerful voice can be picked up well from several feet.

Lavaliere microphones pick up incredibly well for their tiny size.

USING BOOM MICROPHONES
If you have a large enough crew, you can have one person operate a boom microphone (one that picks up sound from a distance). A boom mic used by a large crew is usually on a long pole and the operator constantly moves the pole around in order to pick up whoever starts speaking. Gotta be careful about bashing people in the head though.

ON-BOARD CAMERA MICROPHONES

One-man crews use a boom mic attached to the camera, similar to how home movie cameras are set up, the mics are just better quality.

Adequate sound for dialogue can be picked up just using the on-board camera mic, but that’s not recommended. If this is your only option, going in close has the advantage of ensuring better quality sound. If someone is speaking loudly and there's no distracting background noise, a distance of about five feet from the on-board camera microphone is optimal. Using your camera mic is easy, but unless you have the conditions just described, relying on your on-board mic probably will result in poor quality sound, perhaps even sound that is too bad to use.

AUDIO QUALITY HIGHLY IMPORTANT
When evaluating the quality of your audio, remember that poor quality audio is bound to make your viewer say, “forget it!” and quit watching long before poor quality video will. No viewer is going to strain to hear your video, they’ll simply walk away. Viewers are much more forgiving of poor quality video than crappy sound.

Evaluating the “hear-ability” of your audio is often difficult because you know what’s being said. Your viewer doesn’t. So it’s much harder for a viewer to understand the mumbled audio than it is for you to understand it. If you don’t think your viewer can understand it, either don’t use it or add subtitles.

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