Audio clinic: fix the thing everyone notices first

Bad audio is the first thing anyone notices and the last thing most people fix. Bring a clip with sound problems and we'll work on it together. All levels, phone footage counts. FIRST TIME? This is a small, friendly group that meets twice a month on Saturday afternoons at Schuler Books on 28th Street, in the Chapbook Cafe. Free, no cover, nothing to prepare. Bring headphones. WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON Room echo and why your dialogue sounds thin. Getting usable levels without a mixer. Cleaning up hiss and hum after the fact. Where to put a lav or a shotgun mic when you only own one. Music and dialogue fighting each other. Matching audio across cuts so it stops sounding stitched together. WHAT TO BRING A clip whose audio bothers you - two minutes is plenty. Headphones. Your laptop if you want to make changes on the spot. Nothing at all is also fine. Listening to other people's problems teaches you more than you'd expect. WHO THIS IS FOR Editors, filmmakers, actors recording self-tapes, podcasters, and anyone whose footage looks fine and sounds rough. No gear snobbery. HOW THE AFTERNOON GOES 1:00 - coffee, introductions, who brought what 1:20 - first clip up, listen and diagnose 2:15 - fixes: what we can improve now vs. what needs a reshoot 2:45 - pair up on anything worth continuing Schuler Books, 2660 28th St SE - big parking lot. Look for the cowboy hat in the cafe.