Record To High-Quality, Easy-to-Edit Medium
In order to obtain a quality recording of your church service, make sure you’re recording to a high-quality and easy-to-edit medium.
It’s safe to say that the majority of recording today is in the digital realm. However, for reasons of convenience (and our audiance!), our church records the service audio to both analog and digital mediums.
While we’d hoped that cassette tapes would have gone the way of other past recordable mediums, some of the elderly still use so we’re happy to make the accomodations.
Therefore, we always make a cassette master tape of our church service and make duplicate copies the same day.
Even though cassette recording is inexpensive and convenient, it falls far short in providing high-quality audio. For that reason, we also record to both a CD and a digital multi-track recorder.
From the CD master, we can make CD copies for anyone interested, and the digital multi-tracked audio gives our team the ability to remix the audio for our television and radio broadcasts.
Also, it’s easier to edit audio recorded to a digital format. If something in the audio needs to be fixed, we simply digitize the audio into a DAW such as Pro Tools.
Editing is accomplished easily when you’re able to reference the audio visually as well as aurally.
Master The Stereo Mix
If your church has the capabilities, always master the stereo-mixed audio.
One of my favorite pieces of audio equipment is my mastering unit. By simply including it in the audio chain, the final audio quality is taken to another level sonically.
This unit provides limiting, compression, expansion, and EQ all in one program. When it’s applied, the audio becomes clearer with more separation between the different elements.
It also makes the audio louder and closer to industry standards.
The final audio is then at a more acceptable level for broadcast on radio and television.
Additionally, mastered audio provides a higher quality sound for the audio masters from which the duplications are made.
Prepare Your Audio Team For Excellence
I’d like to leave you with a few points I’ve mentioned previously.
One of the primary elements in producing high quality audio and recordings is proper preparation. Make sure that the entire audio chain is not only set properly, but that it is also free of any technical problems.
I like to think of audio recording and production as a subtractive process. Simplify the process and subtract any potential problems.
Also, always rehearse when possible. This allows the audio team to properly set levels as well as all channel settings.
Additionally, it’s important to anticipate audio events. Write down cues if necessary and always label your channels.
Great recordings depend on attention to every detail. Invest plenty of time in preparation and posture your audio team for excellence.
Your final recordings will always reflect the extra effort put forth.