How I Record Sound in Urban Environments
The urban environment presents unique challenges to field recording. Read how I've learned to embrace and adapt to recording subjects in cities full of unwanted noise.
Tag field recording
Nascar! LOUD!
I went to my first Nascar race last weekend. It was LOUD! People had warned me about this, but I don’t think I quite understood it until I was there.
Irish Coasts and Waterfalls
I just got back from a nice week long trip to Ireland. It was definitely a personal vacation, and while I didn’t intend to record much, I always had my PCM D100 along for the ride. I’m glad I did!
The Sounds of Chicago When the Cubs Win the World Series
I don’t have to much to say about this post other than it’s a very special time in Chicago right now. After 108 years, the Cubs are now world champions once again. After the top of the 10th, I set…
Learning to Record on Two Wheels
One of the things I’ve had almost no experience in until this year is onboard vehicle recording. To be honest, I probably subconsciously avoided it for so long because of how difficult/time consuming it can be to get right. There’s a lot…
Lifting Michigan Avenue
One of the things Chicago is known for is it’s some what infamous river. The Chicago river (as beautiful as it is today) was once so sludged full of sewage and other waste that rats could run across the build-up on the…
Creating a Sound Effects Library – Lessons Learned
I’ve been running Collected Transients for almost a year now (wow!), and feel like it’s a good time to take a look back at my experiences in launching and running an independent SFX library so far. I’m going to try…
Grandpa’s Klaxon Horn
Every now and then when I visit my home town my Grandpa has some ideas of what might be fun to record. This weekend I went back and found out he had an old manual Klaxon horn in his basement.…
The Weirdos with Microphones
If you’re reading this post, chances are you’ve done some field recording. If you’ve done a lot of field recording, chances are you’ve had a few run ins with police, security, and the general public where they thought you were…
Distant Highway Sounds – Lake Shore Drive
I’ve been recording all over Chicago for an upcoming Collected Transients library. The other night, around 2:00 a.m., I went out with the plan to record in a tunnel that ran underneath Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive. I was hoping to capture…