Recording audio from 8 people

[Jack Kelly]

Originally Posted by Giroud Francois

frankly , your camera has inputs for 2 mics and it is well enough.
just use sensitive omni condenser mic, each mounted on a small tripod (at knee level) in front of the guys.

It would be great if we could make this work. However, I fear that 2 omnis would pick up too much background noise. It's best to assume that these locations will be far from acoustically ideal - there will probably be reverb, traffic noise, dogs barking down the street etc.

I am actually planning to put 1 or 2 MKH40 cardioid mics on stands and record these to separate tracks (it looks like we'll usually only have 5 subjects... so my 8-track recorder would recorder the subjects' 5 lavs; the interviewer's lav and the 2 MKH40s). If the location is suitably quiet then maybe - just maybe - I will be able to use just the signal from the MKH40s and ignore the lavs. But it's unlikely. Especially as the MKH40s will be about 5 meters away from the subjects because mic stands aren't allowed to be in shot.

Originally Posted by Paul Cascio

How about 1 handheld mic passed around?

Client has vetoed this option because it will disrupt the flow of conversation too much (with I agree with).

[Ty Ford]

Hello Anna,

I try never to imply anything in forums because of the high possibility of not being clearly understood.

This thread, like a creek through a cow pasture, has meandered quite a lot.

All I'm saying is that if great audio isn't required and it's just a low down dirty shoot with some folks in a semi-circle and someone behind a podium, fageddabout doing it "right" and put up two room mics; one to each track of the camera, point and shoot.

You could use two locked down booms, provided you could put 'em out of frame. Seven people is a lot to cover with one mic, but you will hear them, and if that's all that's needed, you're done. I wouldn't do it that way, but that's just me.

Jack has the gear to iso the mics. He'll get better sound after he edits out the unneeded parts. It'll sound much better than two mics and his in house client will never really understand the lengths to which he went to make it sound as good as it does. They'll just take it for granted.

Regards,

Ty Ford