Like the new digital switchers and lighting boards, the latest generation of audio boards makes use of an LCD video display. A recent model is shown on the right. I f only one mic is needed in the field, it can simply be plugged into one of the audio inputs of the camera. When several microphones are needed and their levels must be individually controlled and mixed, a small portable audio mixer will be needed. The use of an audio mixer requires a separate audio person to watch the VU meter and maintain the proper level on each input.
Most portable mixers have from three to six input channels.
Of course, the number of sources that can be on at the same time is limited to the number of pots on the mixer. Most mixers also include a fader for headset volume. As we've noted, faders are also referred to as attenuators or gain controls . Linear faders are also referred to as vertical faders and slide faders. This is commonly referred to as riding gain.