Technology

Microphones -
There are three main microphones that are used when recording sound, some are better suited to certain situations than others and some are used very little in animation however dependant on the available resources, prodominantly money, some companies may only be able to afford very cheap all round mic's.

Handheld Dynamic Mic's (Handheld) - These Mic's are your standard, run of the mill, handheld microphones. They're good at recording the sound directly in front of them, this enables you to lose a lot of the irritating background noises. There are a number of very cheap versions of these mic's that do an adequate job of what they need to do. These mics are for recording voices in interviews etc... In relation to animation they'd be great for recording actors vocals, voice tracks etc...

Shotgun Mic's - These Mic's are the most useful and versatile, they allow you to easily pinpoint the source of the sound that you are trying to capture. With the addition of other pieces of equipment, including a Boom pole and a shock mount, all vibrations and other uneccisary sounds can be completely expelled. These Mic's are ideal for most situations and can be especially handy when recording foley as it's easy to pick up just the one sound you're after without getting background noise that will later require editing. 

Lavelier Mic - This Mic is a small, hands free piece that can be attached to an actor, or an object and will pick up a lot of sound both from the thing which they are attached to and any noise in the surrounding area. The application of this for an animation is probably fairly limited however it can be used to pick up ambient noise or room tone to make the animation more realistic, just picking up the sound of the wind, birds tweeting, a car going past, the addition of this, though subtle, could make a huge difference.

Technology

Software -
There is a number of various softwares available for sound recording and editing. There are however, a number of variables that affect what software a compony/studio/person uses. Naturally the first of these is price, a large company who produce animations on a regular basis may have the capital to invest in professional sound editing/recording software such as 'Sequoia sound editing software'. This programme is used by sound engineers, music producers and other members of the industry worldwide, examples of its use can be found in Major League Baseball and on German Public Broadcasting. Being so high end this software costs aroun $2,979, a cost that is simply not realistic for smaller companies or independant companies. At the other end of the spectrum is free software like Audacity, whilst it may be free, Audacity has many of the capabilities of larger, expencive pieces of software, it is excellent for both recording and editing sound. A very popular piece that falls somewhere in the middle of the two is Pro Tools, costing around $699 it is mid range software at a fairly affordable price for succesful companies. Pro tools is a complete product that includes recording and editing features along with virtual software instruments. Pro Tools isn't just used for sound production for films and animations but is also used when producing albums and soundtracks etc ...