Audio setup for man on the street interviews

[Derek Heeps]

Originally Posted by Greg Miller

I like it! Good idea, nice stand.

And I admire your optimism about pedestrians. I guess you've never seen the outtakes where "locals" come running into the frame when they see someone shooting video on the sidewalk, wildly waving their arms and making faces to get themselves on TV.


(Actually posted at 6:53AM EDT)

Ha , yes , I've. been 'photobombed' by passers by on occasion , but mostly I shoot fairly close to the subject with the camera only about 3 or 4 feet away from the talking head and usually try to stay away from the foot traffic .

Kathy , yes a lav may be your best bet for the desk shot , or a short mini rifle mic like the AKG C747 or AT 857 , which are about the size and thickness of a pencil , often seen as lectern mics or on news broadcasters desks , they work well from two or three feet away and can be positioned on a desk just out of shot - being hypercardioid they reject quite a lot of ambient noise and room reflections .

Some transmitters do provide phantom power , but entry level ( cheaper ) ones usually don't - for example the Sennheisser EW100 series don't although the EW500 does , as do the pro 3000 and 5000 series . However if my camera is only going to be a few feet from the subject and at most a mid shot with no possibility of the mic being seen , I'd run a cable to the camera every time : simpler and more reliable .

[Greg Miller]

Originally Posted by Kathy Smith

I will be using the microphone indoors in open spaces so there will be some level of noise were people are talking softly or walking by

Do I understand correctly that you will never be shooting outdoors? If that's true, and the description above is accurate, that makes things much less demanding.

Originally Posted by Kathy Smith

some ambient noise is acceptable. The person speaking needs to be intelligible.

Just "intelligible"? If realistic ambience is OK, and the actual ambience is not loud to begin with, again that makes things easier.

Originally Posted by Kathy Smith

The shots will be mostly medium shots let's say roughly from waist up). It will be a different talent each time.

In that case, the talent can't possibly hold the mic. No human has arms that extend far enough below waist level, and wrists with enough articulation, that they can hold the mic down that low and look relaxed on camera. Remember, the tip of the mic will need to be at waist level, so they'll need to grip the mic at least 6" lower than that (depending on the mic dimensions). And they'll need to hold the mic several inches in front of their body. Nope, unless your talent will be an octopus, you need the mic on a stand. (If it were an MCU, then the talent could hold the mic ... if the talent could reliably follow directions.)

Remember that if the mic is this far away from the talent, room acoustics (reflections) will become part of your audio. You know what that's like, right?

Originally Posted by Kathy Smith

Why can't the transmitter provide phantom power?

In theory, it can. But most transmitters are designed to be small, light, and inconspicuous. The additional electronic components needed, and the larger battery size needed, will make the transmitter bigger, more complex, and more expensive. Is that what you want?

Besides, it now sounds as if you are shooting in a more controlled and less chaotic environment (compared to your original description). Just use a wired mic, and be done with it! Get an AT-875, you won't regret it. It's a short shot, and it will have less problems with reflections from ceilings when you have to boom a shot.

Originally Posted by Kathy Smith

I like Derek's stand idea but on some occasions I will have the person sitting at a desk so I won't be able to place the stand in from of them. I think booming or lav are my only options at this point.

Why can't you place the stand off to the side, rather than below? If they're at a desk, you will be framed tighter than a short shot, so you should be able to get a good mic position off to the side. Only problem would be if the talent turns their head away from the mic frequently.

Originally Posted by Kathy Smith

And why do I always find clients that ask for impossible, well they find me I don't find them!

I want to see your business card. It must say "over ninety-nine years of experience" and show you wearing a superhero's costume.

(Actually posted at 12:50 PM, EDT)

[Jay Massengill]

Wireless plug-on transmitters that provide phantom power are generally more expensive.

The Sony UWP-D system plug-on transmitter has switchable phantom power and I've had good results with it.

I think in the situation you've described, and with the potential for picking up too much ambient sound already discussed, I might try an AT8031 on a short boomstand like Derek's. Either wired or if wireless it can go phantom or internal AA battery. It's a medium sensitivity cardioid that already has a vocal windscreen basket built in, but a small furry cover or extra foam windscreen can be added.
It would be less prone to positioning errors than a more directional mic, but would need to be as close to the edge of the frame as possible. It's $179 online everywhere and good at a lot of tasks.

I have a boom arm that I salvaged from a mic stand where the boom attachment zinc casting had shattered. Essentially it's a slim, 29-inch boom pole that can easily stow in the tripod bag.
If you couldn't use a small stand, then a small boom like this gives a few feet of extra reach for closely spaced interview situations.

Will you have an opportunity to test how much ambient sound you'll be shooting in?

Also keep in mind that if you put enough signal into your camera that it starts activating the limiter on vocal peaks, it can make the ambient sound more apparent since the interviewee's voice will be suppressed slightly but not the ambient sound in between.

[Gareth Watkins]

I saw on the web this week that Rode have just brought out a kit called their Newshooter kit.. you get a transmitter which provides phantom power which plugs into a hand held mic.. but has a jack for a lav and can be belt mounted.. looks pretty versatile.

I did a trade show as a oneman band.. a while back with loads of interviews... to remain mobile I used a monopod and a wireless lav for the talent. It was really easy to just clip the mic on a lapel and let them hold the transmitter or slip in a pocket quickly... None of the interviews were more than a minute and I could monitor it with earbuds so I didn't feel too cut off...

If you are on a tripod, a short boom with an ME64 or such like should get decent audio and be out of shot.
cheers
Gareth

[Richard Crowley]

I have recently discovered what may be my favorite stand after 50 years of using various stands. Manhasset is legendary for making music stands used by individuals, institutions and professionals around the world. They make a microphone stand with a (NA standard) 5/8-27 thread and a quick-fold tripod base. It uses the famous Manhasset friction clutch-lock which apparently lasts forever. I have used Manhasset stands for over 50 years and have never seen one with a failed clutch.

In fact I used it recently with a ball-head camera adapter as a mono-pod but with the option of quickly folding out the tripod legs. For me, it was far superior to any traditional photography mono-pod product I have ever used.

IMHO, it would be ideal for holding a hyper or shotgun mic in a highly portable application.

http://shop.manhasset-specialty.com/...stand-box-of-1

I ordered a couple directly from the manufacturer and got delivery in 2 days. Made in USA and Best in Class around the world IMHO.

[Slavik Boyechko]

If you're shooting alone and your goal is super fast and simple for a 2 minute interview, I think your best bet is to do what the news photogs do: either quickly attach a lav onto the subject and know that it'll be visible, or get close enough to the subject to use your on-camera shotgun, shooting with a wide lens. Both options are super fast and simple.

If you have a reporter who is conducting the interview while you shoot, then they could be tasked with different options like holding a mic, rigging up a boom or mic stand, or hiding a lav while you setup your camera, light(s), and dial in framing.

As others have mentioned here, having the subject hold the mic rarely, if ever, works like you hope it would.

Also I recommend getting a Sennheiser PZA900 to give you the option of using your lav both with a wireless transmitter or wired into your C100.

Cheers,
Slavik

P.S. There are cheaper hypercardioid alternatives to the Schoeps, if you end up going down that road for indoor interviews. The Audio-Technica 4053B and the Audix SCX1/HC are both around $500.

[Rob Katz]

Originally Posted by Richard Crowley

I have recently discovered what may be my favorite stand after 50 years of using various stands. Manhasset is legendary for making music stands used by individuals, institutions and professionals around the world. They make a microphone stand with a (NA standard) 5/8-27 thread and a quick-fold tripod base. It uses the famous Manhasset friction clutch-lock which apparently lasts forever. I have used Manhasset stands for over 50 years and have never seen one with a failed clutch.

In fact I used it recently with a ball-head camera adapter as a mono-pod but with the option of quickly folding out the tripod legs. For me, it was far superior to any traditional photography mono-pod product I have ever used.

IMHO, it would be ideal for holding a hyper or shotgun mic in a highly portable application.

Model 3000, Microphone Stand (Box of 1)*| Manhasset

I ordered a couple directly from the manufacturer and got delivery in 2 days. Made in USA and Best in Class around the world IMHO.

richard-

sounds great!

would love to see a pix ;-)

thanks in advance.

be well.

rob
smalltalk.productions

[Greg Miller]

Originally Posted by Richard Crowley

I have recently discovered what may be my favorite stand after 50 years of using various stands.
Model 3000, Microphone Stand (Box of 1)*| Manhasset

Richard, thank you for that link! I have often pondered the possibility of modifying a folding music stand ... and now someone has done the work for me. Excellent recommendation, thanks again!

[Richard Crowley]

I just used one of these adapter gadgets (from Ebay) to mount a small "handicam" on the Manhasset (or other) mic stand.

On-Stage CM01 - 5/8" 27-thread to 1/4" Camera and Microphone Stand Adapter | eBay

I originally got these adapters so I could use them for fixed "spot coverage" (like a spot microphone) for small cameras. (Handicam, GoPro, etc.) Small cameras aren't much bigger than some microphones, and they are quite convenient for things like "reverse-angle" coverage of the conductor, etc. Nobody notices just another "dress black" mic stand in the middle of the orchestra.

Sometimes I use the cameras "iso" where they are just started before the concert and left to run on their own. Video can be "synced" with the on-board microphone audio track as a reference. And sometimes I use the cameras wired to the video switcher for live streaming, broadcast, or just "image magnification" (IMAG) on the large screen(s) for the live audience.

But that is rather off-topic for Kathy's MOS interview thread. Sorry for the hijack. We now return you to the original topic.

[Roger Gunkel]

As your client doesn't seem to be concerned about a lav mic being in the shot, why not just take the simplest and quickest option of a lav mic straight into a voice recorder in the inside pocket of the interviewee. I use them all the time for weddings where it takes a few seconds to mic up the groom and also use them on occasional corporate work. Sometimes the simplest option is the best.

You won't have to wear headphones as you can use a standard setting which you know works. No worrying about wireless signal dropout and interference, so again no monitoring necessary, just check it's recording before putting it in their pocket. Also no problem with distance from mouth as it is always the same with a lav.

Roger

[Kathy Smith]

Roger, do you just leave the mic cable hanging loose?
My H4N hardly fits in a pocket, I would need to get another recorder, what do you recommend?

[Roger Gunkel]

I use Zoom H1s, and I also use a couple of Sony PCX-312 recorders and a later model which is identical but with more onboard memory. The Sony's are much smaller than the Zoom and there are various other models on the market by Tascam and other manufacturers.

The Zoom has level meters and records wav or MP3 format but is a bit big for pocket, whereas the Sony's are MP3 only but I find the quality is excellent for voice recording. I use a short lead on my lavs, which are clipped close to the interviewee's lapel, or wherever you would normally clip a lav. The cable is concealed in the normal way en route to the recorder, so if the interviewee is wearing a jacket, the cable is hidden under it. If a shirt, then the cable goes inside the shirt, all normal lav stuff whether you are running a recorder or a transmitter.

Roger

[Rick Reineke]

Though this is probably out of budget, but Lectro just released the PDR. Very small, jams from ext. TC, records to micro SD media and runs for about 6 hrs on a single lithium AAA battery. I'm sure the sound quality and build is top shelf, typical of Lectro. It is not a transmitter/recorder like the Zaxcom.

[Kathy Smith]

Do you know the price of the Lectro PDR? I can't find it.

EDIT: found it $900

[Greg Miller]

Tascam DR-03 is perfect for this application, if you are now deciding to use a lav. The Tascam PR-10 is very similar, but seems to sell for a higher price. Both are available now on eBay.

Also, some of the Philips "Voice Tracer" line are good options, but others are not. You really need to read the specs closely before buying on of these.