The main thing to remember here is: garbage in, garbage out. Choosing to “fix it in post” will yield a chaotic final mix (and this will occur just when you need to submit your project to festival). A few tips to effectively record sound on set:

-Hire a professional location sound recorder. Often television sound recordists will do a film project for a decent price if they have time on their hands and are interested in the project.

-Include the sound recordist in pre-production meetings where the director and DP are discussing shooting locations. The sound recordist will be able to help you steer away from noisy environments, such as highly trafficked streets, locations near airports, and indoor locations with poor acoustics.

-If a sound recordist says a take is unusable audio-wise, do another take. It is much more painful to try to fix the dialogue later with ADR. A good recordist will keep the re-takes to a minimum.

-Reduce camera noise by putting a barney or a blimpy on the camera. These things insulate the camera. They reduce camera noise, but do not eliminate it.

-In addition to using booms mics, each actor should wear a wireless lavalier mic.

Aaron Diecker is a New York City-based sound designer for film, television, music, and multimedia. His clients include Nickelodeon, HBO Latino, CBS, and Lions Gate Entertainment. He also sound designed the popular children’s television shows Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go. His work can be viewed online at www.aarondiecker.com.