The Hidden Opportunity in Every Take - Field Recording

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One of the many lessons that field recording and recording sound effects has taught me is to look for the opportunity in every moment.

Because we all know the meme circulating the net: everything is quiet before we roll… until you press record. Then suddenly everything changes.

Sirens wail…

people shout…

a dragon flies overhead...

a neighbour fires up a chainsaw.

Or, as I always tell my partner when the neighbours throw a loud party:

“Don’t worry, I got this. I can make them go quiet.”

And I show up with my microphones.

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But here’s the thing: the opportunity isn’t always obvious and right in front of you. You have to look for it — and when you do, it’s there. If I go out to record nature sounds for a film, and suddenly a digger shows up out of nowhere and starts tearing up the ground, I don’t pack up — I shift my attention, frustrated yes, to a new target. That’s a new texture, a new sound, a new possibility.

I remember one vehicle recording session I did with the team a while back. We scouted the location the week before. We had to stay local, so we were close to a train line — timed 15-minute gaps, no cars around, no birds, no traffic — it was the best solution we had for that session. Then the day of the session came… trains doubled their frequency. Road closures rerouted traffic right by us. And to top it off, it had rained the night before, so our runway was reduced. Classic.

But instead of calling it off, we adapted — and looked for the opportunity. I used the long, forced pauses between takes for something else. I placed a mic near a massive puddle. Cars were hitting it just right, giving us beautiful water splash textures. That same mic picked up some lovely clanking train passbys. And to add more goodies to the bag, at one point, a police helicopter drifted overhead — perfect, clean pass. We still got the vehicle recordings we needed. But we left with a bonus set of unexpected gems.

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Even when everything goes wrong, there's always something to be learned. It’s in those moments — the unexpected, the unplanned — that we often find the real treasures, both in sound and in life.

Sound has taught me this over and over: the plan almost never holds — but there’s always something worth hearing if you know how to listen for it.

Whether you're out recording or just navigating a slow patch in work or life, that mindset still applies. Look around. Listen closer. There’s always something unexpected waiting to be captured, even if it’s not what you came for.

That’s where the magic is.

That’s where the work begins.

Would love to hear how others deal with those moments, when things fall apart but something surprising shows up. Did you run when you saw the dragon or did you pick up your 'mic' and roll?

**Big shoutout to Matt Waites. Ben Chick, and Clive 🐶 ;)

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