The Interview:

This is one of the most challenging types of audio production to pull off,
especially when going to an unknown location to conduct the interview.

When this happens you are subject to noises your not aware of, an air conditioner
running in the background, street noise, or noise from other places in the building.

If it is your first interview, listen to some examples of quality interviews, I would
suggest listening to any NPR (National Public Radio) interview in the field. Listen
to how they use natural sound, and listen to the quality of the audio. NPR  interviews,
are the very best example of how to do it right.

This story is a great example of using natural sound. This is taken from The Weekend America
podcast for September 3rd 2005, hour 1. http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/ We also
have Weekend America  podcast listed on The Podcast Bunker.

Click to listen

This is a great example of using natural sound,
to "paint the picture" in this recording of a field interview, also pay close attention to the
mixing of the natural sound and the audio of the person talking and how clean her voice is over
the natural sound. This is an excellent example of near perfect audio. At the end of the interview
when it returns to the announcer notice how the natural sound is still there.

From now on when you hear an audio interview you will be listening
more closely to how it is recorded and mixed.


 The Location:

The most important part of conducting a successful interview is first to listen
to the room, if the room is noisy find a better location. Outside interviews can
be ruined by traffic and wind noise. Find the best location away from traffic and
out of the wind if possible.

Monitor,Monitor,Monitor.
Why ?

You should always monitor your audio when conducting a interview. And by that I suggest
a good quality set of closed ear headphones and keeping them on during the interview.
You should be able to control your levels on your recording device so that when the person
being interviewed raises or lowers their voice you can compensate for that, most people
start off talking loud then trail off at the end of a sentence.

If you are holding the microphone during an interview, make sure you don't move the microphone
and or cable too much, this rustling can ruin a good interview. Keep still. It is best
to use a microphone stand or boom when conducting an interview.

A windsock or windscreen should always be used (no excuses).
The microphone should be placed about 6 inches from the person being interviewed, slightly
to the left or right. This keep the plosions, that "P" & "B" popping down to a minimum.
Placement of the microphone also depends on the quality and type of microphone, you will
have to learn your microphones patterns and become familiar with its characteristics.

Microphone placement is crucial for conducting a quality sounding interview.
I have heard so many hollow sounding interviews in podcast due to the placement
of the microphone being to far away from the person being interviewed. This
is such a huge mistake. The reason it happens is mainly due to the interview
not being monitored. When you return to your studio to edit, you have to go with
what you have, and what may have is poor audio. Take the time to do it right, you
have one shot.

The Electrovoice 635A/B is a standard in the news world. It is cheaper, but cheaper in
the case of this microphone does not mean poor quality. This is one of the toughest
microphones around.

You can also use a shotgun microphone for interviews. These keep room noise to a minimum,
but you have to be careful in the placement of a shotgun. The Audio-Technica AT897 11"
Condenser Shotgun Microphone is an excellent shotgun mic for the price, coming in at around $250.00.

After the interview record a few minutes of "natural sound".
Natural sound is the background ambient sound. Make sure you record
a few minutes of it. You can always use it, maybe to insert during a pause
in the interview, or to fill a gap where needed. You can always use
the natural sound for the introduction that leads into, or for coming out of the interview.

Good quality audio during interviews takes time to learn and accomplish, it takes
practice, and understanding of the environment around you, pay attention to these
things when conducting an interview, and you will be proud of the production you
have when you complete you finished product.

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Bruce Chandley - © 2005 The Podcast Bunker - http://www.podcastbunker.com