Record some Ambient Noise

Another useful idea I got from the Videomaker conference.

When filming on location record 30-60 seconds of the ambient noise. If it's a room full of people, have them sit quietly for that time period. This little bit of static noise is great for when you have a sound glitch in the editing room and have to cut it out. If you leave that sound hole it will be noticeable when you play it back as even the quietest location has some kind of ambient noise.

In the past, I have cut out bits of quiet background from other parts of the video to cover this kind of glitch. Having this band aid bit of background noise makes so much more sense. I'll be adding this to the list of things my students need to do when they are filming on location.

[Original Image: Flickr: "Listening during a TA development Session": Uploaded on July 11, 2008 by k. erickson: http://www.flickr.com/photos/iskr/2658978480/: Modified by Al Gunn]