When our busy professional clients rush off to record that celebrity interview, Tedex talk or merger meeting with their DS9500 or other equipment, they sometimes miss a step and can kick themselves afterwards. Here is a helpful checklist.
Preparation Checklist For DS9500 & Others
Louis Pasteur, who extended our lives by discovering vaccinations, microbial fermentation and pasteurisation, once said: “Le hasard favorise l’esprit préparé” (Chance favours the prepared mind). So start your recording with preparation.
- Test your equipment by making a recording, with time to spare, before your scheduled interview. Make sure no gremlins have crept into the equipment. Do this earlier enough to allow you to activate a Plan B if necessary.
- Always insert a new set of batteries and keep a spare pack on hand. You know Murphy’s Law.
- When planning the interview, try to choose a controlled environment that is reasonably quiet.
- A crashing, banging restaurant background is suboptimal.
- Depending on the quality of your equipment, fans and air circulation vents might be a problem too.
- A hard floor produces poorer quality sound than one with a rug.
- Using top-of-the-range equipment, like the new DS-9500, will benefit you from low noise omnidirectional microphones and triple-layer pop-filter that block wind noise. This is highly beneficial for outdoor recordings or blocking out fans and aircon. Its beamforming function will suppress noise and enhance the voice aspects, while its dual-mic system will proactively monitor the phase differences and adjust accordingly. You can select a Quiet Environment, Noisy Environment or Conference Recording setting.
Setup Checklist For DS9500 & Others
Once you arrive at your location, the next checklist kicks in:
- Test your recording levels and move the dictation equipment to different positions closer or further away. Find the sweet spot.
- It is advantageous to wear a set of headphones as this lets you proactively gauge volume levels.
- In addition, it is advisable to keep an eye on the volume meters of the dictation equipment. Loud is not always good as this can lead to distortion. Tip: what you hear on the headphones is what you will get on the recording. The DS9500’s shock resistance will eliminate any noises of hand touches or equipment bumps.
- Always check that the recording HAS started and keep checking that it is still running. Again, reference Murphy’s Law. Is the active light on? Is the timing counter ticking over?
- Help yourself long-term with efficiencies by audio tagging your recording files. This means starting each recording with a standard way of verbally naming and identifying them. For example, you could state your and the celebs/company’s name, the date/time/location and the project or topic name. Doing this also means that your colleagues or assistants can correctly file or distribute the audio files.
Now you are ready to record your award-winning interview. Press record!
If you want the best quality interviews and recordings, use the best quality equipment. Get your DS9500 dictation equipment here!