connecting lapel mics...

[Rishi Kumar]

Originally Posted by Steve House

You said "voices" - plural. If you mean there'll be more than one person on the set speaking, one mic is not going to work. A single lav mic can only record one person at a time properly, the person wearing it. Any other voices around him will not be close enough to picked up properly- you'll hear 'em but they will sound like cr*p.

It depends on the make of the receiver - what wireless unit do you have? The popular Sennheiser G2, for example, has several output cables available - on both of them one end is a 1/8 plug that goes into the receiver itself. The other end is either an XLR male to go to a balanced input or a 1/8 stereo plug that goes to a minijack input. The cable that comes standard with the kit is the 1/8 to 1/8. You'd simply plug it into the input on your laptop. The receiver menu has settings that select whether the out is at mic level or line level. You'd use whichever is appropriate for your setup.

sorry there is only 1 voice I am goin to need to record

i dont have any wireless unit or reciever, i am lookin at differnt brands and still quite confused on what to get or what am i looking for. All I know is im doing a cooking show with one person talking. I am goin to need to record the audio seperatly from the video because im goin to be using my digital camera until i get the money to get an actual videocamera(unsure at the moment which one to get). So i did a bit of research and found out that lapel mics is what i need. now i need some information regarding how it all works and what connections i need.

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Rishi Kumar

sorry there is only 1 voice I am goin to need to record

i dont have any wireless unit or reciever, i am lookin at differnt brands and still quite confused on what to get or what am i looking for. All I know is im doing a cooking show with one person talking. I am goin to need to record the audio seperatly from the video because im goin to be using my digital camera until i get the money to get an actual videocamera(unsure at the moment which one to get). So i did a bit of research and found out that lapel mics is what i need. now i need some information regarding how it all works and what connections i need.

You asked earlier about articles to read - One good start is a book by Jay Rose titled "Producing Great Sound for Film & Video" Producing Great Sound for Film and Video: a book.

[Rishi Kumar]

Originally Posted by Steve House

You asked earlier about articles to read - One good start is a book by Jay Rose titled "Producing Great Sound for Film & Video" Producing Great Sound for Film and Video: a book.

Thing about these books are, wont they get outdated?

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Rishi Kumar

Thing about these books are, wont they get outdated?

Not that quickly - audio technology is pretty stable compared to cameras. Purchased wisely, audio gear and reference materials will outlast 3 or 4 video cameras. For example, last year I purchased a particular professional microphone that has been sold essentially unchanged for at least the last 25 years. And on the resale market one of those mics that is 5 years old and in good condition will sell used for very close to what I paid for one brand new. And to both formulate your questions and understand the answers you need to understand some of the basic principals - "How to connect a wireless to a laptop" means understanding some basic concepts such as balanced versus unbalanced circuits, the differences between mic levels, pro line levels, and consumer line levels, a bit about the analog to digital conversion process, what a mixer is and what its role in audio production might be, and bunches of other stuff as well. It's not a simple matter of "buy this and plug it in here" because there are many options to choose from and they have plusses and minuses depending on what you need to accomplish.

[Jeff Harper]

Rishi, go to a pro audio store and tell the salesman what you are trying to do and see what they show you. They can explain it to you much better in person.

[Bryan Daugherty]

Rishi- I would also give some serious consideration to using a boom mic instead. With a boom from overhead you can get the great audio you are seeking and capture the cooking noises that the lav might miss (or at least attenuate), chopping, sizzling, pouring, etc. Good luck.

[Daniel Epstein]

Originally Posted by Bryan Daugherty

Rishi- I would also give some serious consideration to using a boom mic instead. With a boom from overhead you can get the great audio you are seeking and capture the cooking noises that the lav might miss (or at least attenuate), chopping, sizzling, pouring, etc. Good luck.

I would add a boom to the mix but I wouldn't give up the lav to do it. Cooking is a very quick activity and people often talk while working and moving around. A Wireless Lav will stay with them as they go. As for the cooking noise the lav often picks it up just fine.

[Rishi Kumar]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

Rishi, go to a pro audio store and tell the salesman what you are trying to do and see what they show you. They can explain it to you much better in person.

I took your recomendation and i WAS able to use a XLR female to 1/8 inch male to hook into the line IN of my computer, i just used acoustica mp3 mixer to record what was comin though the mic...

[Steve House]

I'm confused - you said yesterday you didn't have a wireless to try.

[Mark Boyer]

I purchased a 1/8 plug lavaliere that used a small battery and a long cord for a camera with only a 1/8th inch audio input. The sound was allot better than the on camera mic for interviews. My next step was a Beachtec adapter that converted 2 XLR inputs into a 1/8th inch plug, this was mounted ionto the bottom of my consumer DV camera. Now with my JVC HD100U I use Trams and hard wire a direct XLR line to my "A" side and a wireless Lectrosonics to the "B" side doubling up on all interview audio setups.