Meet Your Engineering Bestie 🎙️
Michael Castañeda's going to take you on an audio nerd's fantasy trip
Hello again, Besties!
Mike here. I had a blast talking with Courtney back in January about tape syncs, and I’m STOKED to now be a contributor and wax both practical and poetic about all things audio with you.
I’ve had some great opportunities to record, mix, and do sound design since I started working in the industry in 2016, and in that time, I’ve gained a lot of experience and made a ton of mistakes.
Twice a month, I’ll be writing a column about nerdy audio stuff for beginners and professionals alike — I want to help new podcasters get good audio from day one and turn audiophiles like myself on to my favorite gear recommendations + recording and editing techniques. I'm going to do Q&As with some colleagues and mentors from the industry and also tell you about current projects I’m working on.
And speaking of what I’m working on: I’m about to make the biggest change of my career, and I’m taking you along with me. For the past few years, I’ve become obsessed with field recording, and early this year, I decided to go all in on monetizing my recordings.
I had a goal this year of releasing my first sound library of Southern California beaches. After doing several test recordings, I realized: 1) This is going to take WAY longer than I initially thought, and 2) while my 2002 Ford Focus is fine sitting in L.A. traffic, there ain’t no way it can get me across the country, over mountain roads, and through trails covered in mud and snow to gather my SFX.
So in a couple weeks, I’m going to order a brand new Subaru Crosstrek with a rooftop tent and bring you along as I travel the states recording audio!
Starting next year, I’ll be traveling up and down the California coast, recording the unique environments around beach piers for my first library. I’m bringing a backpack full of mics and a GoPro, and I’ll be documenting these trips and sharing what I’ve learned along the way.
Here’s a pic of my stereo rig that I took with me to Santa Barbara a couple months ago for some test recordings. I spent nine days there house sitting for some friends who live right on the cliffs. I learned a bunch about my equipment and how to approach recording in a new environment. I’ll go over the whole trip and share some recordings I captured when I do my Intro to Field Recording for a future post. One thing I’ve been thinking about since that trip is: where is the best perspective to capture the sound of waves crashing? 3 feet away? 50 feet away? Changes in mic placement will make a massive difference in how a recording sounds.
🚨 Gear Alert 🚨
On these trips, one piece of gear that will get heavy use is the Zoom F3. Now, I know what you’re thinking “What the heck Mike, this is just your intro, and you’re already talking about 32-bit recorders!?” Yes. Yes, I am.
Don't sweat it if you aren’t familiar with what they are yet. I own three 32-bit recorders, and I’m still trying to figure them out. The nice thing about tools like this is that you don’t have to fully understand how they work to get great results.
The important thing, for now, is that you are aware that they exist and that it plays a huge role in the dynamic range of your recordings. If you’ve ever set the gain too high on your recorder and when you listen back, you hear constant clipping, 32-bit essentially fixes that problem.
I’ll be talking about how and when I use 32-bit recorders a lot more in the coming weeks.
I’m SO excited to bring you along on these adventures, help you get better recordings, and dial in your mixes. Community feedback is important to me, so don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any suggestions for topics you want me to cover. And please reach out on Twitter and Instagram, or you can email me at plasticaudiopa@gmail.com.
Talk soon!
Michael Castañeda, Your Engineering Bestie
Editor’s note: Normally these delightful dispatches from Mike will be for paid subscribers only, but we wanted to give his column a proper introduction to everyone first. I hope you’ll take this ticket to ride in his new Subaru Crosstrek. Not to mention: I’ve just completed my first paid marketing experiment, and you’re gonna wanna see the results!
Script Writer / Missing Pages (contract) at Podglomerate | Remote
Producer / Missing Pages (contract) at Podglomerate | Remote
Director of Podcasting (full-time) at YR Media | Oakland, CA
Podcast Producer / Reporter (full-time) at Getty | Los Angeles, CA-based Hybrid
Producer II, Criminal Productions, Vox Media Studios (full-time) at Vox Media | Remote
Executive Producer, Your Undivided Attention (full-time) at Center for Humane Technology | Remote
Various Roles (full-time) at Vermont Public | Colchester, VT
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So… ROLL CALL! 🗣
Let’s get started! What questions do you have for Mike about sound editing, engineering, mixing, or mastering?
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.