Red Carpet events - stick mic help
 

We are new to covering red carpet events mostly awards shows and premieres. This is my planned setup.

- (2) cameras
- (2) interviewers, man and woman, each wearing countryman B6 lav
- (2) Sennheiser G2100ENG kits with plug on transmitter
- (2) dynamic ENG mics

Interviewers have some experience in interviewing. Having trouble deciding which mic to use for these events. Will be using plug on transmitter and Mic Flags.

either

- EV RE50NB
- Sennheiser MD46 (seems too long and heavy)
- AKG D230

Any other recommendations or cheaper alternatives.

Thanks

I think you would do well to pick one of those 3. They basically represent the top of the line for that activity. You might consider the Sennheiser e835, which is available in a 3-pack at a good savings, but it would have less room for a flag and a shorter physical reach for interviewing more than one person.

I remember Surfguru.com using a lapel mic and a screwdriver, so that they had something to put the mic flag on. The VJ wore the lapel mic, and would swivel towards the interviewee, when it was their turn to respond. I almost fell to the floor laughing, as I was editing the footage, and the VJ was pointing her chest at the guest.

Hello? Are those things on?

How is the e835 with handling noise and durability. Isnt that mic more for stage use rather than ENG? It seems like would sound similiar to the Md46. Should I buy the version with the on/off switch?

Handles well, pretty durable. I'd not hammer nails with it, which I'd consider with an RE50 if there wasn't a rock handy. It is a cardoid pattern (slightly directional) vs. the classic interview mic which is omni directional. Lots of people are using cardoid for interviews, though. It's a great value mic with good sound and you'll get three of them for the cost of one RE50, but if you want one of the standards and want omni and have the money for it then...

Omni is good when the interviewer isn't quite keeping the mic where they should, or isn't quite moving the mic as fast as the conversation is going. It won't fix all these sorts of problems, but it helps reduce the effects. BTW the EV and AKG are omnis, the Senn. is cardoid.

NO ON/OFF SWITCHES! (oops, did I shout that out loud?) The only thing such a switch does is guarantee that sometimes when the mic should be "on" it will be "off." OTOH, I have some mics with switches - a piece of gaff tape assures that they are always switched on. I use the same technique with handheld wireless. And some mics with switches have little plates next to them that you unscrew and replace in a reversed position that holds the switch "on."

I use an EV RE50B (an omni) because I don't want to take a chance on it pointing the wrong way during an interview. I have the interviewer just hold the mic in one place between himself and the person being interviewed rather than trying to move it back and forth. It's less distracting visually that way and it really sounds fine. One thing I did was to put a black foam bicycle grip on the mic. It really works well for minimizing handling noise.