A Checklist for Sorting Out Sound and Light Before You Shoot

Why decide before you arrive

Most audio and lighting problems on location are decided before the camera is switched on. A reporter who arrives at a car park with a rough idea of where to stand and a hope that the wind will drop is already behind. In our sessions I ask people to treat the recce as part of the shoot, not an optional extra, because ten minutes of looking and listening saves an hour of apologising in the edit.

This checklist is for the moment of choosing: which spot, which microphone, how much light, and whether the setting is worth the trouble at all. Go through it in order. If you cannot answer a question, that is usually the question to solve first, and it is far cheaper to solve it standing in the street with a coffee than in the middle of an interview.

It suits reporters working alone, small crews, and newsroom managers who sign off a location without visiting it. None of it needs special kit, only the habit of asking.

Listen to the place first

Before you look at the view, close your eyes for a few seconds. Traffic, a refrigeration unit, a school bell, distant building work: the camera will not hear these as you do, because your brain filters them and the microphone does not. A steady hum is often worse than a loud one-off, since you cannot cut around it.

Walk the space and note where the noise is lowest. Often a few steps toward a wall, or behind a parked van, drops the background dramatically. Indoors, switch off fans and fridges if you can, and ask politely first. Note anything with a timetable, such as a church clock or a passing train, so you can plan around it rather than be surprised mid-sentence.

If the only quiet corner has an unflattering background, that is a trade worth making. A slightly dull wall with clear speech beats a lovely backdrop with muddy words, because viewers forgive plain pictures far sooner than they forgive audio they have to strain to follow.

• Is there a constant hum from machinery or traffic?
• Is there a predictable interruption such as a clock or a bus stop?
• Is there a quieter spot within a few steps?

Choose the microphone for the job

The microphone decision follows from the setting, not from habit. A handheld stick mic suits a busy street where you need to be close to the speaker's mouth. A clip-on lavalier suits a seated interview where you want both hands free and a steady distance. A boom held just out of frame gives the most natural sound, but needs a second person and a quiet room.

Whatever you pick, check it works before the guest sits down. Put on headphones, speak, and listen for crackle, handling noise and clothing rustle. Check the batteries and carry spares, because a flat battery is the most common reason a good interview is lost. Bring a windshield for any outdoor work, even on a day that feels calm.

Think about distance too. Sound weakens quickly as the mouth moves away from the microphone, and a few extra inches can make speech thin and echoey. If you are unsure, move closer and keep the mic out of the picture rather than leaving it far away and hoping the level will cope.

• Handheld for noisy streets, lavalier for seated talks, boom for quiet rooms
• Wear headphones and listen before recording, not after
• Carry spare batteries and a windshield

Read the light you already have

Good lighting often starts with doing less. Look at where the light is falling, and where your subject will be standing relative to it. A window is a fine source if the person faces it, or sits at an angle to it, so the light falls softly on one side of the face. A window behind them turns them into a silhouette, and that is the mistake I see most often.

Notice the colour as well. Daylight through glass and ceiling lamps in the same room will not match, and mixed sources can give faces an odd tint. If you can, switch off the overhead lights and rely on one source, or add a small portable light to lift the shadows on the side away from the window.

Outdoors, bright midday sun makes harsh shadows under the eyes and nose. Moving the speaker into open shade, or turning them so the sun sits behind you, gives a calmer picture. Check the shot on the monitor, not just with your eyes, because the camera sees contrast differently.

• Face the subject toward the main light, never away from it
• Avoid mixing daylight with room lamps where you can
• Use open shade rather than hard midday sun

Questions to ask before you commit

Pull the points together into a short list you can run through in a couple of minutes. Is the background noise steady, and can I reduce it? Which microphone suits this room and this speaker, and have I tested it? Where will the light fall on the face, and is anything competing with it? Do I need a second person to hold a boom or reflector, or can I manage alone?

Add the practical items. How long will the guest be available, and is there somewhere to plug in or charge? Do I have permission to film here, and has anyone mentioned a time when the space becomes busy? Is there a second, quieter option if the first fails?

Writing the answers down, even in a phone note, makes the decision easier to defend to an editor. It also gives the next person on the shoot a record of what worked, which is how a small team slowly stops repeating the same avoidable mistakes.

• Can I reduce the noise, or should I move?
• Is the microphone tested and the battery spare packed?
• Is the light behind me or beside me, not behind the subject?
• Do I have permission and enough time?

When to walk away from a location

Sometimes the honest answer is that the spot will not work. A beautiful square beside a building site, or a flattering room lit only by a flickering tube, costs more effort than it returns. Knowing when to relocate is a skill in itself, and it comes from having tried and failed a few times.

If the guest has chosen the place, explain briefly that you want the best sound for them, and offer an alternative close by. Most people are happy to move ten metres if they understand why. Keep a fallback in mind before you leave the office: a quiet corridor, a parked car, or a side street can all rescue a shoot.

In our location sessions at the Shrewsbury classroom and on outside shoots, we practise exactly this decision, so it becomes quick and calm rather than a worry on the day.