{"id":1180,"date":"2020-03-20T11:41:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T10:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.freesound.org\/?p=1180"},"modified":"2020-04-29T15:12:46","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T14:12:46","slug":"recording-foley-for-beginners-on-a-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.freesound.org\/?p=1180","title":{"rendered":"Recording Foley for Beginners on a Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[Guest Blog post by Jo?o Janz]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we Start…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this post I?m aiming to try and help anyone who wants to start recording foley sounds and doesn?t have a huge budget. It?ll be a simple list of do?s and don?ts that I?ve gathered from my experience on the field. I?ll try to be as down to earth as possible because I realize that there isn?t a lot of organized information out there on this subject. If you?re a beginner, besides the ?best mics? or ?coolest sounds? articles on the internet, you?re not going to have much luck finding good foley recording tips unless you scour dozens of old forum threads. But don?t worry? I already did that for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the sake of timekeeping, I?m going to assume you?re already acquainted with the basics of sound recording and editing, so I won?t have to explain what recording a sound is or what a Digital Audio Workstation<\/strong> (DAW) is. There are already a lot of great threads and articles on the internet about the basics of audio production you can educate yourself with. So let?s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note<\/strong>: All prices listed from Thomman.de except where stated and are correct as of time of writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Marcel Gnauk from Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Equipment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The biggest concern of recording foley on a budget is the cost of the specific equipment itself. If you?re a beginner and you already have some kind of a home studio set-up, you probably already have a microphone lying around somewhere, so you?re all set if you want to record something in your studio. But the challenge here is when you want to record something outside<\/strong> your studio, which realistically is what you?re going to do the most unless you have a big studio and budget, which if you do, I don?t know what you?re doing reading this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recording Gear<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For field recording on a budget, what you want to do is get a portable recorder<\/strong>, which is a device that?s usually battery powered, with built-in microphones, preamps, and internal memory storage. Pricing usually ranges from relatively cheap to very expensive. The best-bang for your buck is going to be the Tascam DR-series<\/strong> and the popular Zoom<\/strong> recorders. For the entry-level models, prices start at around 100$ and can go up to 200$. But you have to be careful when choosing one of these recorders because sometimes the product specifications you find online don?t tell the whole story. You should look for a recorder that can record stereo at a 48 kHz \/ 24-bit quality because that is the industry standard. You should also look for one whose preamps generate a low self-noise<\/strong> level as it can make a world of difference especially later during the editing process. You?ll find it described as EIN A-Weighted<\/strong> (check this list out: http:\/\/www.avisoft.com\/recorder-tests\/<\/a>). The lower the number the better, for example -120 dB is better than -110 dB. This is what sets apart the cheaper recorders from the mid-range recorders in my experience. You might spend a few extra bucks on a recorder – but trust me – it will be worth the extra sound quality. In terms of the type of microphone itself it doesn?t make much difference because most recorders have internal small diaphragm condensers<\/strong> anyway. Later on, you might think of expanding your field recording arsenal like getting a shotgun mic<\/strong>, which has an extremely unidirectional polar pattern useful for recording very specific sounds in a ?crowded? area. If you want to future-proof yourself, get a portable recorder with extra XLR mic inputs, so you can record using your devices internal mics, pre-amps with potentially any other consumer microphone, all at the same time! Just be wary that some microphones (typically condensers) require extra voltage power to operate so you?ll have to get a portable recorder that comes with a 48V Phantom Power<\/strong> switch. Besides these, any complementary features like internal mixing options, effects or wireless file transferring are just welcome bonuses. And in practical terms, storage and battery life shouldn?t be a concern. Just keep an extra SD memory card and batteries on hand if you?re out in the wilderness recording hours of ambience or if you?re using more than two mics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Recommendations:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n