Improve sound quality in your online videos with these microphones
As teachers across my network are suddenly being thrust into the practice of creating online instructional videos, one of the common concerns I have heard throughout the week was how much people hated the sound of their own recorded voice.
If you can relate, let me first say that you are not alone. Few people actually enjoy listening to the sound of their own recorded voice. However, that does not mean your audience has the same reaction. If your audience already knows what you sound like, they recognize your voice and are not bothered by it. In fact, for your students at home who are just missing you and school, they may find it quite comforting to hear their teachers.
And if they do not know you and are watching your video, well, then you are Internet famous! So, who cares?
One question I have been asked a few times this week was how to improve the audio quality when recording a video. I have been on the pursuit of better sounding audio for years. I have tried different microphones, sound boards, software applications. I have spent stupid money on recording products that sit on my tech shelf downstairs.
With that hard-earned experience, I am happy to tell you that with a slight investment (and not a lot of technical know-how), you can get better quality audio in your video recordings.
Buy a Better Microphone
Simple as this may sound, the solution to better audio is to purchase a better microphone than the one built into your device(s). This is not to say that the microphone in your devices is bad. Some are really good, actually. But they are designed for a wide variety of situations. They need to be easy-to-use, reliable, and somewhat cheap to manufacture. They are meant to capture audio in the room, audio to the side of them, and audio directly into them. They are a multi-purpose microphone intended to be a jack-of-all-trades, but master of none.
Buying a better microphone means buying the microphone that is intended for your key audio purpose. For this post, my assumption is that you are an educator individually speaking into a microphone. (If you have a different purpose, these recommendations may not be most appropriate for you.)
Desktop Microphone Recommendations
If you are looking for a microphone to place on a solid surface while you record, I have a microphone that I absolutely love and would strongly recommend. The Shure MV5 is a microphone that I use several times a week, whenever I am recording instructional and support videos. I plug it into my Mac laptop, change my input in whatever program I’m recording in, and I press record. The quality difference when using the Shure MV5 will be obvious immediately. Trust me, my videos sound so much better when I record using this microphone. For me, the slightly more expensive price point is worth it.
A feature I love about the Shure MV5 is the stand that comes with it out of the box. Positioning a desktop microphone for comfort can be challenging, especially a microphone that you need to speak into directly. The stand on this microphone is small, but its unique positioning system makes the mic incredibly flexible (without having a permanent mic trapeze setup on your desk). Additionally, the stand makes the mic incredibly portable, which is particularly useful if you are not lucky enough to have just one place you work in your home.
Listening back to your recordings is critical to creating better instructional videos. The Shure MV5 has a built in headphone plug, making listening to playback even easier. With this setup, pick a single audio input/output source, your Shure MV5 mic. I like simplicity, especially when I am working with people new to technology. Nothing makes it easier than picking a single setting on your device.
I truly love this mic, and I guarantee you will hear better quality audio in your recordings as soon as you use it. The price point is higher than many beginners may be comfortable with for a mic. I totally understand that, but if you are seeking truly high quality audio, I find this mic to be a bargain compared to other high quality microphones on the market.
If the price point of the Shure MV5 is a little out of your comfort range, I do have another good recommendation that cuts the price in half. This is a microphone we purchased for use at school, and it is our favorite mic to offer when a teacher needs to check out a desktop microphone. The Samson Meteor Mic USB Studio Microphone is easy to use, well designed, and will definitely give you a boost in your audio recording quality.
This handy little desktop microphone has a truly unique design. I hate a lot of desktop clutter, and I love mobility. Some of the microphones that I have tried have complex adjustable arms, pop-screen filters, and wires coming out of them. While those types of setups may make your desk feel like a mini professional recording studio, they are far from being neat, tidy, or portable.
The Samson Meteor Mic, though, has legs that fold up to protect the microphone, and flip out to serve as its stand. This makes the stand incredibly adjustable to allow for a comfortable recording angle while you talk directly into the microphone. It is a handy mic that is well designed.
The audio quality from the Samson Meteor Mic is notably better than the microphone built into your device. The setup on my Mac is incredibly easy. And this mic also has a headphone jack on the back for easy audio setup and playback. Overall, the Samson Meteor Mic is a quality microphone that will offer a noticeable improvement in your audio for a smaller price.
Lapel Microphone for On-screen Appearances
As much as you might not want to, sometimes you just need to show your face on camera (or you want to interview somebody else on camera). When that happens, you still want better audio to improve the overall quality of your video. In these cases, a desktop microphone may not fit the need. After a long search and several iterations of solutions to this issue, it has come down to this solution for me: a lavalier or lapel microphone.
You have noticed these mics before for on-stage speakers, on-air television hosts, and others. I avoided them for a time because they seemed like an expensive solution. However, about three years ago I finally decided to make the purchase and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the wired, lower quality version of these mics are actually very reasonably priced. They are also easy to set up. And for a tool that I do not use regularly, those are two key factors to make the purchase worthwhile.
I am going to share a microphone of better quality than the one I purchased, but in the same price range. The PoP Voice Professional Lavalier Lapel Mic is a good choice. There are so many options on the market in this category, so there are a few things to consider when buying one.
The wire on this microphone is a little thicker than some of the other cheaper options. Especially for a microphone that spends a lot of time coiled up and out of the way, a slightly better cable that does not break quite as easily is something to consider. Additionally, you want to pay attention to cable length on a wired lapel microphone. This cable is roughly 6.5 feet. That should be long enough to get your iPad or phone far enough away to set up a decent shot of your subject while also capturing better audio.
The plug on these types of microphones is also important to note. Even though my iPhone no longer accepts a standard headphone jack plug, I still buy accessories with headphone jacks on them. I like the versatility of being able to use it on a tablet, on phones, and also on computers. If you are planning on using the PoP Voice Professional Lavalier Lapel Mic on your phone, you may want to consider purchasing an adapter to allow it to connect. Again, there are many on the market, but I tend to stick with the official Apple adapters as they are always supported.
Finally, buy one with a small wind screen or pop filter on it. This does reduce some of the “p” sound popping on camera, but more importantly, it provides a little wind and moisture barrier for your microphone. Nothing can ruin the audio on an outside interview like a nice breeze.
So, there you have some of my strongest product recommendations to improve the audio in your online videos. Remember, even the best video paired with poor audio quality will leave the viewers underwhelmed. Consider these upgrades to give your online recordings the boost they desire! And if you have an educator in your life, consider giving these microphones as gifts for teachers who would otherwise not buy these kinds of tools for themselves.