Recording ‘Found Sounds’

Anyone familiar with my soundtracks will know that I am a huge fan of using field recordings to add a layer of everyday realism to live performances. This can be anything from a recording of an empty room to enhance claustrophobia (as in The Enormous Room), helicopters flying overhead in (Weightless), traffic lights beeping (A Readiness), or the endless rain and thunder of (The Deluge).

Most of the time I use portable recorders to capture the sounds of objects or places, and below are three options which list some equipment that i recommend for field recordings.

1. Microphones for iPhone

If you don’t fancy learning how to use a new piece of kit, there are some excellent microphones that turn your phone into a mobile studio. They are small, super portable (so you can always keep one with you) and very affordable. The downside is that its fiddly to get them off the mobile and onto a computer to edit, and you will inevitably run out of storage on your phone.

In my opinion, the best mic for iPhone is the Rode IXYL, which is mae up of two condenser microphones in an XY position (90 degrees from each other) which allows you to accurately capture a wide sound, or two people in conversation. Rode make excellent microphones, including the VideoMicro which I plug into my camera to improve audio when filming dance shows.

I also recommend looking at the cheaper Blue Mikey, and the 30pin connection Tascam iM2X.

2. Portable Recorder

If I want a quick, but still high quality recording of a place or environment then I like to use the nifty little Zoom H1. It’s quite cheap at around £75 (UK) and you can simply point it in the direction of the sound you want to capture. Just make sure you use a wind shield if you are outside, the foam ones are ok, but no where near as good as a proper windjammer from Rycote. Check out this recording of a choir at Charing Cross Station. As soon as I heard how great the choir sounded on top of the train announcements, I whipped the zoom out of my bag and recorded it.

3. Portable recorder + Professional Microphone

When I need a really professional recording that I can set up anywhere, I use my Tascam DR-40. It has XLR inputs which means I can connect professional microphones to it and get maximum control over what I record. I also use this to record film audio, because using a separate microphone on a boom pole lets me get much closer to specific sounds, or record individual sounds on separate tracks.

Let me know if you have any questions I might b able to help with in the comments below, or if you have a great piece of kit you recommend.

Dougie Evans is a composer for dance and theatre companies, read more on my Biography page, or continue to browse these blog posts for an idea of what I do.