How do YOU use realtime audio monitoring?

[Roman]

Hey guys.

Just something I've been pondering. What are some examples of actual use of live audio monitoring, in a way that you find doing so useful?

When you're listening to the live sounds, you cant hear if it's clipping, you can only see that via tha bars on screen anyway so seems more worthwhile to monitor that.

I can see the benefit of using it to set up initially, I just dont understand the benefits of continuously monitoring through a shot.

I can understand if you're using a narrow focus shotgun mic or something, but I cant see the benefit of sitting there with headphones on listening to... whatever?

I've got an external audio setup, I'm incredibly novice admittedly, but I've found once it's set up initially there's not much more that needs doing.

Perhaps as per above it's a lot more useful with a shotgun mic compared to cardioid pattern or 360 degree pickup.

Can anyone here can give some examples of their process for continual monitoring audio, and how it benefits them.

As I feel there might be something I'm missing!

Thanks.

[ZeroUnityGain]

If  you're talking about headphone monitoring -- although I haven't had a great deal of DSLR experience -- I've monitored cameras way back to the analogue Betacams, and you certainly can hear if you are overloading, clipping, distorting, square-waving or whatever you want to call it.  Distortion is heard in different forms. Often if you overload a signal it will become quite shrill ( sharp in the high-mids). 
First thing that comes to mind about monitoring via meters is that you constantly have to watch them, when perhaps you should be focused on the visuals.  Another point is that meters don't always accurately reflect the sound -- and there are different types of metering, like PPM and VU etc (some averaging, some reflecting peaks).
And speaking of trusting meters, I recently used a JVC camera with balanced XLR inputs -- and meters, and those meters are absolutely useless -- even after lining them up with a slate  tone.
The professional way to monitor audio that's going direct to camera is usually done via a mixer that's connected via a snake cable to the camera. Part of that snake is a connection to the camera's own headphone jack.  You plug your headphones into the mixer but you can also switch to listen to the camera's headphone output -- that's because the mixer might sound fine but you may have overloaded the camera's input and as I've said, you certainly can hear that.
There's also that other thing that always amuses me about audio: I was once told by a filmmaker that a good audio recordist had to "listen for certain things".  Ah yes, that's the mystique of an audio guy, he can hear "certain things" that lesser folk can't -- and that's a big load of BS, but always good for a laugh.  I've been on shoots where actors drag their chairs across the floor whilst delivering their lines, and even one next to a railway line where nobody noticed that a train was passing (and let's not talk about aeroplanes).  Of course sticking a pair of headphones on simply keeps you in-tune to those "certain things"  that shouldn't be on the audio track: air conditioners, generators, refrigerators and even the talent slurring their lines.
Lastly, I'm fastidious about room reverberations. Reverberant or 'echoing' audio -- like empty rooms-- is the true mark of the amateur.  Very often the human ear (my preference) will subconsciously filter out room resonance: have you ever seen those  audio guys that walk into a room and clap their hands?  They're really not sure are they?  But you soon get the feel for troublesome rooms, and stick a pair of headphones on and you'll wonder how you missed it in the first place.
   

[1%]

Why monitor audio? Completely pointless  Might as well turn off your camera screen too, right? You set the shot up initially, didn't you?

the talent slurring their lines

Or the one guy who talks away from the mic. But you sound like you'd have everyone lav'ed.

[Roman]

Thanks Z.U.G. that's a great answer and makes sense to me, cheers.

1% I'm just learning as I go, so thought I'd consult some others with more experience than me, hope that's not too much a problem.

[Led]

THere's an option to turn audio up or down if you cover the sensor and use the arrows, so if you see the levels getting to hot you could use it to know to turn it down.