The Necessity of an External Microphone

If I were to give one piece advice that would help raise production values for beginners in the video space, it would be about the necessity of an external microphone. They say that you can’t have good video without good audio. It’s the reason that sound guys and audio engineers are part of film crews.

Gear Considerations

While almost all video-capable cameras (including smartphones) have microphones built-in, these mics are generally not useful for picking up anything except ambient or background sound. If you’re recording “talent” (a speaker or actor) on camera, You need that person’s voice to be clear and audible.

With all this in mind, I recommend you purchase a camera that has an external mic input jack and a microphone that works with that type of input. Alternatively, lots of pro videographers included an external audio recorder like a Tascam or Zoom in their kit and will sync their audio and video in post.

Video Samples Showing the Necessity of an External Microphone

Rode SmartLav+ Lavalier Mic

Here is a sample video where I filmed sample clips outside near a fountain both with and without using an external mic. You can really hear the difference.
For these smartphone videos, I used my iPhone 5S and a Rode SmartLav mic. You can get one here (affiliate link). This makes for a lightweight, mobile video capture solution with the possibility of decent audio.

Below is a recommendation video that I shot of myself at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB15) convention in Nashville, Tennessee using the same set-up. Although the background noise is definitely present, it is fairly easy to make out what I am saying.

For these smartphone videos, I used my iPhone 5S and a Rode SmartLav mic. You can get one here (affiliate link). This makes for a lightweight, mobile video capture solution with the possibility of decent audio. I hope you now understand more about the necessity of an external microphone.

Trying to Set up a Video Studio?

I talk more about the necessity of an external microphone in my downloadable pdf on how to set up your own video studio.