Rode SVM/ Mic Placement

[Ty Ford]

Justin,

I’m not sure why, but you seem to not to listen to advice. You were advised by more than one person that trying to record dialog with the mic mounted on the camera was a bad idea. Then (except by Sam, who, as I recall, liked the stereo mic better for sound, without making a specific choice for dialog) that mono is better for dialog.

So you buy a stereo mic and put it on the camera and then come back here when it doesn’t work out for dialog.

Since you don’t seem to follow advice, I think the best answer is to find out for yourself and then come back and tell us what you did and how successful it was.

Regards,

Ty Ford

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[Justin Leyba]

My bad guys but I just needed an all around mic and this is the one suggested. And I don’t put it on top of my camera as you guys said. I bought a boompole. And I don’t care if the mono is as good as the stereo as long as the Rode SVM is way better than the on board mic on my camera. I just wanted some suggestions on how can I make my dialogues better by using the Rode Svm.

And btw, the rode mono mic sucks at recording live bands so that’s one factor why i didn’t buy it.
My bad Ty.

[Ty Ford]

[Justin Leyba] “My bad guys but I just needed an all around mic and this is the one suggested. And I don’t put it on top of my camera as you guys said. I bought a boompole. And I don’t care if the mono is as good as the stereo as long as the Rode SVM is way better than the on board mic on my camera. I just wanted some suggestions on how can I make my dialogues better by using the Rode Svm.

And btw, the rode mono mic sucks at recording live bands so that’s one factor why i didn’t buy it.
My bad Ty.”

Justin,

Good for you for accepting. There is hope. 🙂

Recording bands with an on camera mic, mono or stereo is not the way to go. You will not be pleased with what you get; mono or stereo. I have both a VM and an SVM. These are very limited tools.

There really is no such thing as an all around mic. That’s like saying you’ll try and shoot a round of golf with one club. OK. Pick it. Putter? Not fun to drive or chip with. Driver? not fun to put or pitch with. Wedge? can’t put or drive with it. Got the picture?

Shooting bands requires a board feed plus a house mic or two and maybe a on camera mic on ONE camera if it’s in the right spot.

You stubbed your first toe. Welcome to the club. 🙂

Regards,

Ty Ford

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[Sam Mallery]

Justin – the person operating the boom needs to listen to the mic as they work. They should plug headphones into the headphone output of the camera and monitor what they’re doing at all times during a shoot. That’s how you determine where to position the mic. The boom operator should “roll” the mic (point it at the person speaking). So, if there are two people in the shot, instead of staying in a fixed position between the two and picking up one person on the left side of the mic and the other on the right, they should point the mic at the person who is speaking and pick them up with both sides of the mic. As to where to put the boom (above or below), that also depends on the shot. The boom op has to experiment and listen to what sounds the best. The boom operators job is to constantly follow and find the sweet spot. It’s an art, and it’s why booming is a challenge. A good rule of thumb is to point the mic at the speaking person’s chin, and to get the mic as close as possible.

How do you like the sound of the mic?

[Ty Ford]

Sam,

yes, but…..

The only stereo mics I know of that are used for dialog have Mid/Side capsules with the front capsule aimed at the action.

The Rode SVM is an XY array so there is no front facing capsule. As such, any centered dialog is off-axis to BOTH capsules. Not ideal at all.

Also, as the action moves, using a mic with stereo XY capsules results in very queasy movement of the stereo spectrum.

That’s why the SVM is very less than ideal for dialog.

I repeat. YOU ARE USING THE WRONG TOOL.

“When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail.”

Regards,

Ty Ford

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[Justin Leyba]

We don’t really have a sound guy around because our band normally plays in family gatherings.

[Justin Leyba]

So far? I like it. Way better than the on board mic of the FX7.