right mic for the job

[Heather Walters]

Ok now I have to backtrack. My boss just informed me that lavalier mics suck and I am required to use a boom mic. So I guess my whole question is now moot!

[Will Salley]

[Heather Walters] “My boss just informed me that lavalier mics suck”

Tell us how your boss really feels!

Seriously, lav mics suck no more than any other mic. They just have specific uses that other type mics simply cannot match. If your on-camera talent is walking around a wide framed shot with a lot of headroom, you have no choice but to use a lav mic. On the other hand, if your shots are in multiple locations that may not allow for a boom pole being wielded around, again, you have no choice but to use a lav.

An overhead boom mic usually does provide a more natural, “open” sounding track, but if your situation means you can’t get within about 18-24 inches of the talents mouth (using the appropriate mic pattern), again, you may be better off using a lav.

Also consider this, when utilizing a boom, you need a boom operator, or a really good sound man to be able to handle the mixer and the boom at the same time. Either way, you’re going to spend a whole lot more than your $300 budget in crew fees.

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD SOUND.
Bad sound or sound issues can blow a budget and get people fired.

I would suggest you go split-track. Record a boom on one track and record a lav on another. That way, you can mix between them for the best result.

And lastly, there are very few decent boom mics for $300 although someone here may be able to suggest something in that range – from their own experience.

P.S. – Have your boss read this!

Mac Pro 2×2.8 Quadcore – 10.6.2 – QT 7.6.3 – 22 GB RAM – nvidia8800GT – SATA internal & external storage – Blackmagic Multibridge Pro – Open GL 1.5.10 – Wacom Intous2 tablet – AJA io
SONY XDCAM EX3 – Letus Elite

[Heather Walters]

Thanks so much for your quick response! I will be using a boom mic as I was told that a lav is completely out of the question, and that the mic MUST be boom-mounted. There will be no one to hold the boom, and they will hire no sound man. So I will have to use a shotgun mic, mounted on a tripod stand boom that the actress will stand under. I also will have to record the audio directly into our EX3. I am going to choose the Audio Technica AT875R (with some cabling, tripod boom stand and mic clip), which apparently stands up really well against its much more expensive counterparts, or so I’ve read. I hope, with what I have to work with, that this is going to be my best solution.

[Richard Crowley]

Making a logical decision about using a shotgun vs. lav really needs a lot more information than we know about here. Shotguns “really suck” for exactly the same reason that lavs “really suck”, but just under different conditions and applications.

In particular I don’t recall that you mentioned whether this is outdoors or inside? Shotgun mics are NOT the choice of most sound professionals when shooting indoors. Unless you are in a very large studio with treatment for reducing reflections, a hypercardioid is virtually always the preferred pattern vs. any kind of shotgun mic. Nearby reflections from walls, floor, ceiling will make most shotgun mics sound like a $10 toy from Radio Shack.

I haven’t read anything here that actually suggests that a lav is NOT the right microphone for your shoot (except the prejudice of your boss). Now if your boss is an experienced sound person, then your should certainly trust his/her evaluation of the situation. But if it is just a blanket generic statement, it doesn’t hold water.

If this is really important, and on a low budget, you should consider renting the proper mic for the job.

[Ty Ford]

Hello Heather and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

Will and Richard have given you good advice. There is no way to tell which mic may be best. These decisions are normally made on site by a professional location audio person with a mixer and a choice of mics.

Your boss is right in a general sort of way, but not all boom mics are alike. The 875R is a good mic for the price. It is not the mic of choice for an professional location audio pro.

Given what I’ve seen here, my best advice would be to hire a professional audio person and allow them to do the job correctly if this job is important to you. Among other things, fact that you have not mentioned the use of a mixer tells me that you are not adequately prepared for this job. Making audio sound natural is not trivial.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Watch Ty play guitar

[Alan Lloyd]

For your budget I think you’re better off renting for the gig.

[Heather Walters]

Thank you all for your good, sound advice. I would love to take it. My boss is the one insisting that a boom mic is what we will be purchasing and he does not believe we need a mixer, a boom operator, a sound tech, rentals, or anything that would make this shoot better audio-wise. Until yesterday I didn’t even know about cardioid, omnidirectional, etc, that is how unqualified I am to do sound. Neither one of us do, but this is how he wants it done. (by the way, the commercial will be shot indoors, inside our conference room. The actress will speak in front of a greenscreen, so no worries about scenery at all. I’m going to try to talk him into at least putting up some egg crate on the walls or something). He wants to buy the shotgun as it’s more versatile than a lav, I guess. I posted the question before I found out his final word. It was my bad. Given all of my restrictions, I understand I’ll probably have off-axis noise (humming of the lights overhead, building noises, etc) and the actress’s voice won’t be true, correct? Does anyone know of some basic tutorials on the internet where I can find maybe “how to bring up bass in voice, how to reduce hiss on a track” kind of stuff? I know I’m going to run into problems, I am just wondering where someone can point me right now so I can be more prepared for it when I go into post. I will be using Sony Vegas Pro 9 in post. (Yep, no standalone audio programs either. This commercial is kind of a one time deal for us. Our other commercials generally have no audio whatsoever, or there is a music track playing. Not sure why we’re buying a mic and greenscreen instead of renting and hiring a sound person, since this is not our usual workflow, but I’m not the decision maker.)

[Ty Ford]

Hey there Heather,

Great, so you can be the one to say, “I told you so.” 🙂

Given your description of your boss, that’ll probably guarantee you a new job.

There really is nothing I can offer at this point. “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” — Paul Simon

The other aspects of your inquiry require way more space and time than this forum allows. Especially since, he’ll not likely take any advice anyway.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Watch Ty play guitar

[Heather Walters]

Ok, thanks anyways for your time and advice!

[Ty Ford]

Heather,

for your personal consumption..and not his.

https://web.mac.com/tyreeford/Site/Ty_Ford_Audio_Bootcamp_Field_Guide.html

Regards,

Ty

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Watch Ty play guitar

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