What microphone for street recording / protest coverage?

[Richard Crowley]

[Tom Brown] “disappointed with the built in camera audio “
The built-in microphone on virtually ALL cameras is good for almost nothing. High-end cameras don’t even include a microphone because they know nobody will want to use it.

[Tom Brown] “I have read that it is not wise to combine shotgun and lapel audio”
That only applies to combining two microphones on the SAME subject. As you say, a shotgun mic will have essentially no coverage to the back, so recording shotgun (front) and lav (rear) is successfully done by many people. It would be quite beneficial to record the two microphones to SEPARATE channels so that you have control over gain and balanced in the final mix.

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Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder.

[Tom Brown]

So are you saying a shotgun on the front and lav for rear is the way to go? What about decent bi directional microphones which have a narrow pickup on the front and rear (but nothing from the side) Do these exist?

[Richard Crowley]

I don’t know what is “the way to go” for your particular situation. Only you can answer that question for yourself. but I am saying that a forward-pointing shotgun (or hyper-cardioid) of some kind in one channel, and a lav (or headset) mic for the camera operator is a popular solution for many people. Remember that you should ALWAYS monitor (and meter) your audio while you are recording. A solution may be a pair of good headphones with a boom mic attached. There are a growing variety of these available at popular prices, made popular by the gaming crowd.

Figure-8 microphones exist, but they are note really suitable for your application. For one thing they are rather fragile, made mostly for controlled conditions in a recording studio. Expensive and not likely to survive well in a “run-n-gun” field situation. And for another, you get exactly the same pickup pattern and sensitivity forward and backward. That is almost certainly NOT what you want for a camera operator inches away from the “back” of the microphone, and a subject perhaps several feet away from the “front” of the microphone. You are practically guaranteed significantly different sound levels, and with a figure-8 microphone you are stuck with a 50/50 mix of “front” and “back”. AND you are stuck with BOTH front and back recorded on the same channel. A terrible situation for mixing in post-production.
And even worse if you need to use the video live or with no editing. Not suitable on several levels.

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Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder.

[Robert Withers]

It’s hard to say what will work best for you. Depends on results you want. Sounds like to want to prioritize the people speaking to you. I’ve been happy with the RODE – VideoMic Pro Supercardioid Shotgun Condenser Microphone on top of my mirrorless RX10 Sony camera. It’s limited but better than the built-in for sure. You can pick up people talking to the camera from a few feet away, though that might not work the same in a noisy crowd. How important are your questions? The mike might pick them up if your face is close to the camera. Best would be to work with a sound mixer person with a couple of different mics and a portable mixer. Can you rent some different mics/rigs? Try working with a sound person?

Stereo might be interesting in a demonstration if you had a big-screen showing.

Robert

Robert Withers

Independent/personal/avant-garde cinema, New York City

[Ty Ford]

Hello Tom and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

I like Richard’s ideas.

A countryman E6 on your cheek and maybe a camera mounted super or hyper out front.

Yes, ear buds so you can hear EVERYTHING with the camera on your shoulder. Shure makes a wide variety from $99 to $999.

I’d say Sony MDR7506, but they may bang into the side of your camera if you’re going shoulder mount.

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog

[Richard Crowley]

Remember that the microphones in DSLRs are little 73-cent omnidirectional capsules buried inside the body behind a pinhole. Even worse than the kinds of microphones built into “proper” video camcorders. In fact the same “technology” (or lack thereof) as you find in a cell phone (which is expected to be used a few mm from your mouth.) That is why you see a variety of small, lightweight microphone products that mount in the camera shoe of your DSLR. Particularly the line of range of on-camera mics from Rode.

Note also that most hyper-cardioid and “shotgun” microphones actually have a small lobe directly to the back of the mic. And some people exploit that lobe to capture camera operator speech. It might be worth trying as the rear lobe is much less sensitive than the forward lobe and that somewhat equalizes the dramatic distance difference. But you would be much better off if you recorded the camera operator mic on a SEPARATE channel from the primary mic.

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Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder.

[Tom Brown]

Would this be a crazy idea to have two Rhode videomic pro mounted on the camera (one pointed front and one pointed rear) Is there any reason not to do this? Or am I better with the Rhode videomic pro for the front and a lav for the rear?

[Richard Crowley]

It might be an interesting experiment. You might want to buy from someplace that will let you return one of them if the back-to-back scheme doesn’t work.

There may be three issues with doing this:

[Robert Withers]

The Rode camera-mount cardioid I have sounds decent but the plug is wired to send to two mono channels to the camera. So that is a limitation.
I opened it up to look at it and is has a sensor buried at the back of a tube. I guess that would make a sensor more directional and less omni but I didn’t imagine cardioids were built this way. I remember the Sennheiser shotgun had these “canceling”ports all down the side. But was it just a big tube too?

I’ve seen cardioids that are similar in size and shape to omnis. I always thought the electronics were designed differently.

R

Robert Withers

Independent/personal/avant-garde cinema, New York City

[Ty Ford]

Robert,

What makes a cardioid a cardioid are the ports behind the capsule. Omni’s don’t have any ports behind the capsule.
A cardioid with ports behind the capsule at the end of an interference tube is a shot gun.

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog