Tips for Buying a Camcorder by Bill Olson

This is your first time before the camera. You're nervous and excited. Suddenly, a technician shouts, "Quiet on the set for a mic check!"

Before you can ask what a mic check is, the technician looks at you and says, "Talk." He listens intently into the headphones, stares at a gauge and has his fingers ready to adjust a knob. You reply, "What should I say?"

This is the mic check. Its purpose is to set the audio equipment so it records your voice just right. If it's too low, you won't be heard, and if it's too high, the sound of your voice will distort.

When the director or audio technician tells you he's doing a mic check, you'll have to talk with the intensity you'll use during your performance until you're told to stop.

Never talk during someone else's audio check unless instructed to do so.

When asked to do a mic check, or to check audio, here are some ideas of what to say:

1. Count up to 100 (With feeling!).

2. Recite the alphabet (Cyrillic or Rune are acceptable).

3. Describe the weather (forecasts are optional).

4. Tell about your family (make us jealous).

5. Repeat your lines (if working from a script).

4. Quote from a play (or a “Star Trek” episode).

5. Just ramble about anything (the sign of a true professional).

6. Tell who and where you are (with a little of No. 5 thrown in): “This is Bill Olson at Iconostar Studios in beautiful Eau Claire, Wisconsin. I’m sitting here talking away, sounding like a total idiot, but who the heck cares….

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