After i received my grant i went online and looked back at the kit i had previously chose, and to see if the price had changed. I was surprised to see that actually some of the prices had decreased, this meant i could get my kit with limited input of my own money.

The essentials for sound acquisition are: the microphone and field recorder. For the microphone i got a Sennheiser MKE 600 shotgun microphone, this make of microphone is a well respected provider in the sound industry so i trusted i was getting a good quality piece of kit. Shot gun microphones act as the name suggests, when something is close it records very little, however as the distance increases so does the range of sound that can be recorded recorded. The field recorder i chose was the Tascam DR-60D MKll, i chose this as i have had previous experiences with it and i understand the settings and how it can be used. But now having this kit for myself allows me to read into more detail with the kit and fully understand its settings, as well as how each setting is suited for different conditions.

The other pieces of equipment i acquired are: a XLR lead, a SD card and a blimp for the microphone. For the XLR lead i just go a simple one from the internet, the key points for this are that it isn't too long that its unwieldy to use, but also that it is at a high enough quality that it can withstand a number of uses. I got a 16 GB SD card from amazon as it would need the space to store work however it doesn't need to be to large as the work would soon be uploaded to my computer. The final piece of equipment i got was a RODE blimp wind shield and shock mount system, this was the most expensive piece of equipment. The function of the rode blimp is to absorb and movement so the sound quality is the best it can be, but also to act as a handle to hold the microphone in a more optimal and comfortable position. The wind shield reduces the impact the wind has on the sound quality, however it doesn't eliminate it completely.

That is the equipment i acquired for my grant, i thank the trust for giving me this opportunity and allow me to extend my knowledge in sound and my equipment.