Recording the sound of the rain is tricky, and as usual, there are many possible approaches. Here's a method I tried.
My idea for recording the rain is to try to combine a number of goals:
My solution was to use reticulated foam glued to a waterproof board over the mics. Reticulated foam is a very "open" foam — it's kind of like regular foam with all the bubbles popped — and the idea is that it would slow down and stop the raindrops gradually, without splatting. It will also drain. Regular foam would get waterlogged quickly, and make splats. I used three layers of foam, with gaps between, to try to isolate raindrop sounds more; this sort of worked.
The board underneath was just foam core; since this is paper-covered, I sprayed it with laquer to waterproof it. A strip of wood was glued under this, with a threaded insert glued into it to attach the tripod plate. The rain shield is placed on one tripod, and then the mics on a separate tripod underneath it, for the best sound isolation.
This worked pretty well. Large drops still made an audible thump; the best solution to this was to avoid being under a tree, as trees collect the water into big dollops.
Here's a sample recording made with this setup. The mics were 2 MKH 8040s, in an ORTF blimp, under the rain shield.
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The rain shield and blimp, from the front. You can just see the two separate tripods. |
Side view of the rig in use. |
