Advice please - surreptitiously recording audio of a lecture with my iPhone 5

Hi,

I will be attending a conference soon, that I have attended several times in the past. One of the speakers is a brilliant man who talks very quickly. In the past, when I tried to write a quick note, I usually missed something important. So I want to record to the talk for my own personal use, nobody else will even know I made it.

The speaker normally announces "please don't record this talk". I have a good relationship with the speaker, and I don't want to ruin it, but I would really like to have a copy of his talks.

This year I intend to record the talk with my iPhone 5. I plan to turn on the iPhone recording before I enter the room, and turn it off after I leave the room. His talks are about 2-3 hours long.

The room has a decent PA, but the main problem I foresee, after a brief test at home, using the built-in Voice Memos app, is getting sufficient volume on the recording. The man I want to record will not be speaking until the second day so I will be able to do some testing before I start recording the material that is important to me.

My first question is which software app should I use?

Is it possible to increase the volume on the recording with better software?

My preferred choice would be to leave the iPhone in the holster on my belt. But I don't think that will provide sufficient volume.

My next choice would be to lay the iPhone flat on the table in front of me.

My final choice (unless someone has a better idea) would be to have the iPhone upright, upside down, in an open cloth sack, that will contain some snacks, a binder and pens etc. I would put the iPhone in a rigid container like a cardboard tube, so that nothing will block the microphone.

Will the built-in microphone work better, upside down in an upright position rather than flat on a table?

I am sure that the best way to do this, but I really prefer to avoid it if I can get a decent recording without doing it, is to use an external microphone. If this is necessary my inclination would be to use a microphone that fits on the phone as inconspicuously as possible, with the phone upright in the sack. I think I should buy one and take it with me in case I need it.

Any recommendations for an inconspicous iPhone microphone?

Any other suggestions or recommendations?

Thanks!

Mike

Mike

We really can't help you here. You are asking us to help you covertly record something without permission. Get the guys permission.

Michael Horton
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