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Microphones Take Flight

In the movie The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, legendary Howard Hughes spends 3 years of his life and a considerable amount of his fortune to create his aviation masterpiece Hell's Angels. At the wrap party, while talking with a comrade, the course of the conversation takes him to a movie theater that is showing the first "talkie", The Jazz Singer. The incredibly dramatic and entertaining sound recording technology pioneered by Thomas Edison stuns Hughes. The audio is so much more than just a piano accompaniment, and the audience is overwhelmed with the dramatic sound effects and the actual spoken word. Another dimension of the cinematic experience has been created

As the story goes, right then, and there, Howard Hughes decides to scrap the film, 3 years of his life, and a lion's share of his fortune, to start all over again. The result, Hell's Angels earns the very first Academy Award for Best Picture and makes this maverick director named Howard Hughes a star. Such was the impact of sound.

From its genesis over eighty-seven years earlier, to today, we celebrate that impact with our annual Microphone Buyer's Guide. Whether you are a seasoned video professional, a passionate video hobbyist, or merely a proud parent looking to record Junior's very first words on tape, a solid external mic will make the very difference in creating sound with impact and images that last in the mind's eye, and ears, of the audience. Let's, then, take a journey of our own into the realm of microphone awareness.

Nearly every camcorder on the market nowadays comes with a mic that can do an adequate job of recording the sounds of the moment. But to refine your audio recording abilities and take your video project to the next level, you'll eventually need to buy a mic or two and understanding what types of mics are available will help you make a better decision on your particular needs.

First, you need to start your journey recognizing the direction from which you want to record your sound. Whether the microphone employs an Omni-directional or Uni-directional pickup of that sound will send you closer to your destination.

Omni loosely means all, and Uni means one, so Omni-directional microphones, like lapel, boundary (A.K.A Pressure Zone Microphone or PZM) and hand held models, pick up sound from all directions. Whereas the one-way, unidirectional quality of the shotgun and parabolic microphones make for tighter, more focused recording.

The handheld mic is the stereotypical mic we all know. The workhorses of broadcast journalism, reporters use these mics for man-on-the-street interviews and to deliver reports in a personal format, often surrounded by the classic station I.D. mic cube, showing off the station's call letters or network affiliation. Vocalists also use handheld mics, using the mic's dynamic range by bringing the mic closer to and farther from their mouth to dramatically convey the emotion beyond their dulcet tones. The Shure SM58CN is one affordable durable option that sells for about $200. Electro-Voice, the company best known for amplifying astronaut Neil Armstrong's famous words as he first stepped on the moon, has the classic "Cobalt" series of professional handheld mics.

On the other hand, however sturdy and easy to use the handheld (or "stick" mic) is, due to its intrusive size, this microphone might not meet the needs of a studio interview, where a hand-held can cause the subject to be more tense, or ill at ease. For its more discreet quality, a lapel mic is casually held in place, and even out of view, by a clip to the lapel of a jacket or tie so that the subject is the primary focus of the interview, and not the medium by which it is being recorded. Some lapel mics are about the size of a button, or smaller, and some are wireless to allow for an increased range of movement.