How do i ensure good audio in event videos?
We Answer Video Questions on Our HAV Podcast
Create a Clear plan on what sound will need to be captured
“Hi, I’m Barry from Hire a Videographer, we make great-looking videos sound great too.”
“Today we’re answering: How do I ensure good audio in event videos?”
Industry overview: what’s common, what varies, why.
“Clean sound is half the story. At events, audio quality swings based on three things: source, environment, and signal chain. The source is your speaker, performer, or interviewee mic choice and placement matter. The environment could be a quiet breakout room or a reverberant hall with air con and chatter that changes our mic strategy. And the signal chain venue desk feeds, recorders, radio mics, and backups determines reliability. This is why ‘one camera, one mic’ rarely cuts it for conferences, concerts, podcasts, or vox pops. Pros plan for redundancy and adapt when reality shifts on the day.”
Practical advice for the viewer.
“First, brief your videographer in detail: number of speakers, panel formats, Q&A mics, walk-ons, live music, and whether you have an AV team. Share agenda timings, stage plans, and any playlists or walk-in music. Second, agree a soundcheck window even ten minutes to set levels and kill hum makes a huge difference. Third, decide your deliverables: desk-clean audio for talks, audience ambience for atmosphere, and separate tracks for editors to mix later. Finally, build in redundancy: a desk feed and at least one independent mic recording, so a single failure doesn’t ruin a keynote.”
Our specific Hire a Videographer offer.
“At HAV, we start with a quick audio discovery so we know exactly what needs recording. We bring cables to plug into your sound desk when you have in-house AV, and we also carry a range of handheld and lapel (lavalier) microphonesfor interviews, vox pops, and podcast-style setups where there’s no AV. We routinely run parallel capture for example, a balanced feed from the desk plus a backup mic at the lectern — and we keep options ready: lapels with internal recorders, shotgun microphones for focused pickup, and discreet lavs that can be hidden for on-camera confidence. If the plan changes on the day, we usually have a solution in the kit to keep audio clear.”
Caveats / tips (VAT, travel, editing, social content, etc.).
“Audio wins are in the detail: confirm XLR access to the desk, output level (line vs. mic), and whether it’s a mono bus or separate channels. For music acts, ask the engineer for a post-fader mix plus room mics for crowd energy. For windy exteriors, budget time for wind protection and mic hiding. Always wear headphones during capture and set safe levels to avoid clipping. For accessibility and social media, consider captions we can supply clean transcripts or burn-in captions on vertical reels. As with any booking, we’ll confirm what’s included, any travel/parking, and if VAT applies.”
