shotgun mic « Videomaker Community Forums

Latch
Member

Hi,
I'm using a Sony HDW 700a to shoot out in the field, almost entirely home remodeling and construction. The equiped shotgun mic is decent, it picks up fairly well with noises like circular saws and drill drivers, but is poor at picking up speech. I never use the mic for on air talent, but say if two carpenters are discussing how to remove a beam with each other, it'd be nice to have a better quality pickup in those situations.

I'm looking at the Sennheiser ME66, but was hoping some of you pros could throw in any suggestions for mics that would fit this application.

Thanks!
Latch

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

You didn't say how close you're holding the shotgun to your subjects. In general, about twenty-four inches should get you decent sound, but outdoors the shotgun is going to pick up a lot of ambient noise and, of course, you always have to watch for wind noise.

Have you tried using lav mics? I recently found a source for fur muffs for lavs, which should help in higher winds. (Foam windscreens aren't much good for strong breezes, etc.).

Posted 5 years ago #
ishootparties
Member

hank, whats the source? url?

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

On ebay, they are:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ200QQsassZhappyforever

Their "website" is:
http://www.thewindcutter.com/

I think their fur muffs for lavs are $22 and come in various colors.

- tell Rebekah that Hank, the OKVideoGuy, sent ya!

Posted 5 years ago #
Latch
Member

We have several lav mics we use for on-air talent, but this is strictly for run-and-gun situations. For example, if I'm following the progress of an addition to a house and I have to rush to get the concrete poured, I won't have time to mic up the guys with the floats, I just have to get what I can. And distance will never be a constant. I could be on a tight shot at 18 inches or 10 feet away. I just need something that can cover all the basis at a decently high-quality.

Thanks

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

I don't know of any mic that can get quality audio outdoors from ten feet away on a construction site. In fact, from ten feet away, on a studio set you'd have to be flexible with your interpretation of "quality".

I think what you're wanting to do is to flaunt the laws of physics. For that, you may need to investigate quantum relativistic microphone theory. :)

Posted 5 years ago #
Latch
Member

Ok, maybe I should reword that. I'm simply looking for a good quality mic that can pick up coherent speech from a distance. Surely there's something out there. I'm not talking about on air talent talking to the camera, just bits and pieces of conversation. Anyway, any resources or forums that you guys could point me in the direction of would be appreciated.

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

Like I said, I don't believe you're going to find your magic answer - not on another forum, not in a book - maybe on another universe.

You simply have to get the mic closer. Use a boom pole or handheld mic. You may get audible voices at ten feet if there's not much background noise, but you're pushing the envelope.

Posted 5 years ago #
On a Roll
Member

Hank's got a good point there, the microphone just has to be closer.

When you see those shows like "This Old House", "Extreme Makeover:Home Edition" and other popular construction shows, the reason they catch the sound so well is that they have a boom pole operator holding a mic literally inches from the heads of the talent, just barely out of frame. That's the only way you'll get a good sound. You can have the nicest unidirectional Shure or Sennheiser shotgun mics out on the market (I'm a Shure man, myself), but bottom line: unless you can get that mic in their faces as much as possible, you're going to have to live with pretty crappy audio quality.

If you can get the mic close, you won't need as much of a mic. I mean, seriously, I sometimes use my old SM-58 mics on a boom pole for sound, and even those omnidirectional monsters built for stage performances do a good job at audio. Personally, I'd rather spend $100 on a mic and place it 10 inches away than to spend $1000 on a mic and try to place it 10 feet away.

BUT if you insist on it, the mic you mentioned is a nice mic, and despite the fact that I'm a Shure Evangelist, I can say that you'll still probably get better results with that mic than the onboard shotgun setup you've currently got.

Posted 5 years ago #
paulears
Member

It isn't clear from the OP if you have an assistant to look after sound. You really need a second person with, as has been said, a boom, and set of cans to monitor - if they can mix your wireless too, thats ideal. I'm a firm lover of Sennheisers, and use an 816 (old, I know) as my main mic with furry windshield and long pole. The on camera mics are a compromise - wider than cardioid but nowhere near as directional as you need. A real rifle mic needs careful aiming, so pointless trying to mount them on the camera - you can't pan from side to side as they speak, and it's really easy to go off mic with a long rifle. The only rule is get in close for decent quality sound.

Posted 5 years ago #