Individual Research Project. Fazakas Áron: Professional recording of speech sound in low-budget filmmaking

From among the different sound phenomena that constitute the sound sphere of talkies (human communication, foley, film music and silence) the present research aims to examine the professional but low-budget possibilities of sound recording verbal communication.

Thanks to the numerous festivals that aim at young professional and amateur filmmakers to promote very short (max. 3 minute-long) and/or short films (e.g. Très Court International Film Festival), one can notice that more and more people are interested in presenting their artistic/creative ideas with the means of audiovisual language/communication. 

Beyond the considerations relating to content, a good competition film must nonetheless present excellent picture and sound quality. But what is the use of high quality (HD or Full HD) image resolution in case of DSLR cameras and/or smartphones if the built-in microphones cannot guarantee the same sound quality?

In such cases the solution lies in single system sound recording (with an external microphone attached to the camera) and double system sound recording (with a set of devices that are entirely independent of the film recording camera).

The present research will find the products with the best price/sound quality ratio in the case of both recording systems.

The careful preparation of the practical fieldwork (following methodological, content related and technical considerations) will ensure the quality and the value of the research.

The project will include both outside and inside recordings (with different acoustics) that exemplify the most common situations of filmic verbal communication.

With regard to the sound recording of low-budget films, the study summarizing the findings of the present research will supply both professional theoretical knowledge and easily applicable vocational know-how.