What kind of mic did they use? at DVinfo.net

Brock Burwell · June 9th, 2015, 06:30 AM

Could they be using something like a Rode Video Mic Pro mounted on the camera or would it be a boom mic here?

Jay Massengill · June 9th, 2015, 06:40 AM

Of course there's no way to know for certain, but my guess is a camera-mounted mic. The wind noise is apparent in the clips of the student who submitted his application 3 minutes before the deadline but other than that it's not too bad.

Richard Crowley · June 9th, 2015, 06:59 AM

My first guess would be that they had a sound person with a proper shotgun on a boom. But they may have had the shotgun mounted on top of the camera in some cases. All the shots were rather close-up.

The quality of the sound (actually the level of the background noise) is quite varied from shot to shot. Some of them are quite good, while others have a lot of background noise. And especially the low-frequency noise could have been easily filtered out without affecting the dialog frequencies.

The quality was pretty good. It makes me think it was a professional production and not a student experiment.

Chris Harding · June 9th, 2015, 08:09 AM

Bear in mind too that a camera mounted shotgun would be terrible if the cameraman was 20' away and zoomed in tight but he/she could also be a mere 2' or 3' away so a camera mic would be quite effective. When I'm doing guest comments at weddings I just use the shotgun on the camera but use a 10mm lens (on an APSC sensor) so I'm close enough to get a decent signal from the mic even in a noisy environment .. I'm probably closer (in terms of the mic) than a boom operator could get so the audio is usually excellent and as a solo operator I couldn't try and hold a boom at the same time and camera is handheld. I would suspect the cameraman is wide angle and "in their faces" so the on cam shotgun would do a good job!

Jim Andrada · June 9th, 2015, 10:25 PM

It doesn't look to me like such a really wide angle lens was used. I didn't see the kind of wide angle perspective effects (big nose etc) I'd expect if the camera was in their faces. In one case a guy is moving toward and away from the camera and it just doesn't look "wide and close" because there isn't any change in his face as you'd expect with a wide lens.. Background isn't that wide either - I'm more inclined to think the camera was 10 - 20 feet away and zoomed in and in that case the sound guy hypothesis feels right. Also noticed that the backgrounds were more out of focus than I'd expect with an "in your face" wide shot.

Just my guess, probably wrong!

Paul R Johnson · June 9th, 2015, 11:59 PM

The thing is that the real problem that results in the 'camera mounted narrow pickup mics are bad' advice is where people are off axis, or where the subjects move in the frame, or when the camera pans in a noisy environment and you get the spotlight audio effect. In this example, the subjects are in the right place and the camera movement is minimal, and of course, there is little else making a noise close to the camera.

It goes wrong when there is somebody on axis a bit further away with a drill, or the church bells are ringing, or some other loud event happens.

On camera mics can do quite well in the right circumstances. Shift those people and the camera placement to a busy nightclub, football stadium, shopping centre and it would fall apart, here, it's fine.

June 9th, 2015, 06:30 AM	#1
Brock Burwell Major Player Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Charleston, WV Posts: 385	What kind of mic did they use? Ask a Husky \| The Application Experience - YouTube Could they be using something like a Rode Video Mic Pro mounted on the camera or would it be a boom mic here?

June 9th, 2015, 06:40 AM	#2
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Re: What kind of mic did they use? Of course there's no way to know for certain, but my guess is a camera-mounted mic. The wind noise is apparent in the clips of the student who submitted his application 3 minutes before the deadline but other than that it's not too bad.

June 9th, 2015, 06:59 AM	#3
Richard Crowley Trustee Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,238	Re: What kind of mic did they use? My first guess would be that they had a sound person with a proper shotgun on a boom. But they may have had the shotgun mounted on top of the camera in some cases. All the shots were rather close-up. The quality of the sound (actually the level of the background noise) is quite varied from shot to shot. Some of them are quite good, while others have a lot of background noise. And especially the low-frequency noise could have been easily filtered out without affecting the dialog frequencies. The quality was pretty good. It makes me think it was a professional production and not a student experiment.

June 9th, 2015, 08:09 AM	#4
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: What kind of mic did they use? Bear in mind too that a camera mounted shotgun would be terrible if the cameraman was 20' away and zoomed in tight but he/she could also be a mere 2' or 3' away so a camera mic would be quite effective. When I'm doing guest comments at weddings I just use the shotgun on the camera but use a 10mm lens (on an APSC sensor) so I'm close enough to get a decent signal from the mic even in a noisy environment .. I'm probably closer (in terms of the mic) than a boom operator could get so the audio is usually excellent and as a solo operator I couldn't try and hold a boom at the same time and camera is handheld. I would suspect the cameraman is wide angle and "in their faces" so the on cam shotgun would do a good job!

June 9th, 2015, 10:25 PM	#5
Jim Andrada Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Tucson AZ Posts: 2,211	Re: What kind of mic did they use? It doesn't look to me like such a really wide angle lens was used. I didn't see the kind of wide angle perspective effects (big nose etc) I'd expect if the camera was in their faces. In one case a guy is moving toward and away from the camera and it just doesn't look "wide and close" because there isn't any change in his face as you'd expect with a wide lens.. Background isn't that wide either - I'm more inclined to think the camera was 10 - 20 feet away and zoomed in and in that case the sound guy hypothesis feels right. Also noticed that the backgrounds were more out of focus than I'd expect with an "in your face" wide shot. Just my guess, probably wrong!

June 9th, 2015, 11:59 PM	#6
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,016	Re: What kind of mic did they use? The thing is that the real problem that results in the 'camera mounted narrow pickup mics are bad' advice is where people are off axis, or where the subjects move in the frame, or when the camera pans in a noisy environment and you get the spotlight audio effect. In this example, the subjects are in the right place and the camera movement is minimal, and of course, there is little else making a noise close to the camera. It goes wrong when there is somebody on axis a bit further away with a drill, or the church bells are ringing, or some other loud event happens. On camera mics can do quite well in the right circumstances. Shift those people and the camera placement to a busy nightclub, football stadium, shopping centre and it would fall apart, here, it's fine.