Tips For Location Sound Recording In The Time Of COVID-19

Here are a few tips when recording sound on location.

- Protect yourself: don a mask and possibly gloves, else wash your hands regularly, stay 6ft apart.
- Do not use lavaliers microphones.
- Use directional "shotgun" type boom microphones.
- Position yourself upwind.
- Protect and clean the equipment.

The best equipment at the moment is a shotgun microphone on a shock mount with a long enough boom to be 6ft away from the subject.

Outside you must use a windscreen, that's difficult to clean, so wrap it loosely in a soft plastic bag or a large piece of plastic cling-wrap. The hit on sound quality is not too bad.

Stay as far as your microphone allows (most long shotgun have more reach than short ones), and boom from above. The largest particles fall on the floor, so miking from below is not a good idea.

Try to keep the air / breeze in your back, so that it doesn't carry the particles towards you.

At the end of the session, remove and throw away the plastic wrap.
Before packing, clean the boom and hard surfaces with alcohol or soapy water (check manufacturer guidance.) Remove and discard your gloves or sanitize/wash your hands.

Stay healthy!

Check out the Schoeps Covid-19 page.