Recording screams
 

Hi all,
I have a short film coming up. It's a parody of B grade horror films ( stalker and girls).
The director has mentioned, several times, that he wanted "lots of screams". I wonder if anyone here has any tips for recording screams? Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
Jon

Just get you some girls, all ages, set up a couple mics, and have 'em start screaming.... maybe introduce some spiders or snakes or mice so the screams are more realistic!! :-)

Limit, limit, limit... You're going to have to make sure you use the limiter on your mixer or recorder. If it ends up anything like what I've done in the past where screams were part of the script, then people are talking right up to the point where they started screaming. With a limiter enabled, you should be able to keep the volume down so it doesn't start clipping.

You can also do the same thing with a compressor, if you have that available.

Wayne

I don't have a compressor, but will enable the limiters on the mixer. I was considering using a dynamic mic, as I thought a condenser might be overloaded.
Cheers
Jon

Yes! Limiter/Compressor is a must. And if you're going for close micing, then yes, definitely use a dynamic mic. If you're going for a wider micing with more ambient noise and natural reverb, then a condensor would be your best bet.