I am looking for a good book on audio technique, a book that covers most aspects from microphone choice to editing techniques etc. Can anyone recommend a good book?

Thank you

Try this one:

Ty Ford?s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide (http://www.tyford.com/Ty_Ford_Audio_Bootcamp_Field_Guide.html)

Thanks Tim

Jay Rose has two or three books out that are very valuable references.

"Sound for Digital Video, 2nd Edition." by Holman & Baum has a good balance of theory and operational practices and is my current favorite among textbooks.

Thanks the "Sound for Digital Video" book looks interesting

An old standard is "The Use of Microphones" by Alec Nisbett . Alec was a senior BBC engineer .

My copy is at least 30 years old , but everything in it holds true today .

Thanks Derek, , an expensive book at £76

Ouch !

I certainly never paid anything like that for mine . The library might be a good option then .

A good read nonetheless .

I just bought a used copy of the Nisbett book for $5.54 USD on eBay. Haven't heard of it before, but can't go wrong for the price.

I second the recommendation of Jay Rose's books, especially Audio Postproduction for Digital Video.

Of course the Audio Cyclopedia contains a wealth of information, but it's quite dated now... useful for an historical look at phono disc recording, optical sound on film, etc.

Also an excellent historical look at mics, speakers, and acoustics is anything written by Harry Olson, who was the leading designer for RCA back in the day (their well-known ribbon mics, etc.). It's amazing how many things that were expounded by Olson, and were subsequently forgotten, are being re-discovered recently.

Behind the Glass (1 and 2), Howard Massey.
They are music specific, but great information from the top producers/engineers in the field.

For a lot of technical info; The Microphone Handbook (Eargle) and The Recording Studio Handbook (Woram)

Also check out "Sound for Digital Video" and "Sound for Film and Television," both by Tomlinson Holman. Holman is the 'TH' in "THX" so he may know a thing or two about sound :)

Thank you for the information, I am looking up reviews for all the suggested titles.

Just remembered another Alec Nisbett title - 'The technique of the sound studio' .

However if 'The use of microphones' is now £75 , I dread to think how much this much larger volume will be .....

It appears to be much cheaper on amazon DOT com than on amazon DOT co.uk

I have been able to buy a book on the .com site even though I am in the .co.uk region. You could try it - it may well work OK. I signed into the .com site with my normal credentials - I didn't have to do anything sneaky or open another account. The book I bought was the Panasonic AC90 guide by Barry Green.

Pete

Thank you all , I purchased the "Great Sound for Digital Video" book by Jay Rose. Now to perfect my audio technique, and I might even replace my footer strap line too (might I said) :-)

Just remembered another Alec Nisbett title - 'The technique of the sound studio' .

However if 'The use of microphones' is now £75 , I dread to think how much this much larger volume will be .....

Two used copies presently on eBay.com: one for <$10.00 USD, one for <$15.00 USD. And a few other books titled only "The Sound Studio" which may or may not be the same thing.

These are more than JUST audio, but generally have some stuff about audio in them.
Some that I have and a few I've recently read:

Movie Making Course: Principles, Practice, and Techniques: The Ultimate Guide for the Aspiring Filmmaker, Chris Patmore c 2005 by Quarto Inc., Barron's Educational Series, Hauppauge NY. 144 pages, paperback. The main sections are: Before You Start, The Shoot, Post-Production, Projects, and Getting It Seen. The sections are broken down into subsections like an outline. Lots of fancy color pictures and diagrams. Basically an overview and summary of the movie making process. 8-3/4" W x 8-1/8” H

A really great overview of the entire process in very short segments. I’d give this 5 stars.


The Ultimate Field Guide To Digital Video, a National Geographic publication c 2007, 159 pages, paperback. Library # 778.59 The audience for this book appears to be for the beginner or novice and covers the topics: choosing a camera, shooting the video, capturing and editing, and sharing the video. I came out at the time that digital media was making the transition from tape to flash memory. Easy to read style. The section on capturing your video was interesting. The style is kinda "Kodak-ish" Has a little bit of audio coverage but don't buy.


Tales From The Script, a DVD, Library # 808.23, non-fiction. This is a very interesting DVD about script writing, script writers, and their opinions, with an emphasis on how the script story fits into the movie, and also how some directors and producers under-rate or even missuse the script. Very interesting video but really nothing on audio. If you can get it from your library it would be good.


How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck, Steve Stockman, c 2011, paperback 248 pages. Library # 777.6 “Like two years of film school in 248 pages” says Steven Pressffield. *Other quotes:*“How do you shoot video somebody else will want to watch?” *and*“Steve is one of the smartest media inds in the game. This book is the perfect gift for any would-be filmmaker.” Whether you’re filming a child’s birthday party, business promo, video for what ever, this book will help you make it better.*
77 Ways to make your video better NOW! Including: Entertain or die, Make every picture tell a story, why a bit of planning makes all the difference, Keep your shots under 10 seconds long, Your video should always be shorter than you think, etc….. Some on audio but mostly the same stuff as is covered in a comprehensive audio book. This is a FUN read. I liked it Check it out from the library.


Producing Great Sound for Digital Video, [Mentioned earlier] Jay Rose c 2003 CMPBooks, San Francisco The priniples of sound obey the laws of physics so they will never change. This book is an excellent resource. Sections include Audio Basics, Planning and Pre-production, Production Sound, and Postproduction. This is worth buying.


Audio Postproduction for Digital Video, [Mentioned earlier] Jay Rose c 2002 CMPBooks, San Francisco All about editing, sound effects, Equilization, dynamics control, time and pitch manipulation, noise reduction, the mix, and more. This is worth buying.

Cinematography, 3rd edition, Malkiewicz & Mullen, 2005, 260 pages, paperback. Library # 778.5 The cover toots the book as*“The Classic Guide, Updated for the 21st Century”; however, Malkiewicz is an optimist. Since it is from 2005 there is a lot of it that is out of date. On the plus side, the section on lighting, although geared for Hollywood productions, has good information with regard to how to light a scene or the talent. There is a good but very short section on special techniques, Chapter 9*“Production” covers scheduling, costs, and contracts. Page 194 covers a bit on Editing Concerns and helps to explain the difference between 24 fps, NTSC 29.97 (which is actually 29.976) fps, and PAL 30 fps.* Except for the things mentioned, don't waste your time.

Thanks Tim!


Regards,

Ty Ford

Another vote here for Jay Rose. Get it from his site and he'll get more $$$$ out of it. Note the Blueline mic pictured on the cover of his book. He was an early champion of that line, and I think it's the main reason they are so popular on this forum.

How-to books about Sound for Digital Filmmakers (http://www.dplay.com/book/index.html)

Ty fords book is smallest and best first read. Jay rose has good books. I am really liking ric goers location sound bible right now. Very well written and up to date.

Thanks Tom!

Regards,

Ty Ford

Its not a book but a 37 class video course on location audio by Dean Miles (he wrote the book "Location audio simplified". I would highly recommend his site on vimeo. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/locationaudiosimplified

Make that: I am really liking Ric Viers location sound bible right now.

Another vote for Jay Rose. Anybody can understand them. And they come with a CD so you can listen to what he is pointing out in the lessons. Read them both several years ago. Funny this thread popped up because I dug them out again last month and have one of them on the nightstand.

They will not put you to sleep nearly as fast as the Yamaha Book on Audio Theory. Can't claim I read it but I tried a hundred times. Never got to the end.

If someone would compile and publish all of Rick Reineke's posts in this forum it would be a book I would read.

Steve

For lots of sound physics - and detailed explanations
The Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook

Not an easy read but good for study.

For a really clear and thorough explanation about magnetic recording, get an old Nagra IV manual. Sadly, most people won't have any present-day need for this knowledge. But it's a good illustration of what technical writing should be. (At least that's how I remember it from ca ~ 1970.)