field recording 

Field recording seems to be a dark art to many sound designers and composers, yet it is one way to create rich libraries of original material. Through some simple guidance and advice, this 2 part tutorial will give you a brief introduction to field recording. In Part 1, we looked at tools of the trade, some tips and and tricks for having a successful session, and a walkthrough of a recording session. In Part 2, we will examine one of my field recording sessions, address some post-processing techniques for captured sounds, librarianship, and what to do with your recordings once you've got them back in the studio.

A Brief Look At A Session

I recently went on a field recording session with a friend, capturing various ambient sounds from Seattle. We had prepared a list of the places we wanted to visit, and scheduled the trip so that we could hit the maximum number of spots in the most efficient manner. As with any field session, things didn't go 100% according to plan, so several stops were cut from the trip. Our first stop, however, was generally a success, and the steps below outline what we did.

Step 1 - Location and Setup

Our first stop was the beach at Golden Gardens, an area with lots of people, boats, planes, and surf from the Puget Sound. Our recording setup consisted of the following:

- Zoom H2 mobile recorder with 8GB storage
- Tascam HDP2 mobile recorder with 2GB storage
- Audio Technica MH50 headphones
- Matched pair of Oktava MK-012 microphones
- Homemade windscreen
- Boom microphone stand with 2-microphone adapter
- Spare cables and batteries

The Oktava microphones were setup up in ORTF fashion, connected to the Tascam, and guarded with the windscreen. The Zoom was used to get up close and personal with the surf and shoreline, while the 'big rig' setup was about 50 feet back from the waterline... 

https://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/a-beginners-guide-to-field-recording-pt-2--audio-1877