A 360 degree microphone ?

[Arthur Gannis]

I have been using an omnidirectional mic all along, I never use a shotgun mic, where do you get the impression that I have used a shotgun mic ? At the ceremony. I use the wireless on the groom and the omnidirectional on the other channel. It is not really an omnidirectional, even though it is classified as such, it has a pattern of around 90 degrees and picks up very little from the rear but mostly from the front. I have a shotgun mic but never used it in 20 years. I have tried using 2 omnis on the camera, one facing front and the other facing the back but there are voids in that also as I hear loudness differences as I spin around. There are only 2 solutions that I see. One is placing a wireless microphone, one of my omnis in the far wall of the reception facing the DJ's speakers on a tripod out of reach and recording "live" into my cam.
The other solution is designing that "hat" that diverges all the sound from every direction into the mic element. It only has to be like a V cone that has has a 2 inch top diameter and 45 degree sides and made of plastic. Something like a paper water cup you see everywhere.

[Colin McDonald]

Not sure you have grasped some of the fundamentals of mic design.

Have a look at Understanding & Using Directional Microphones and see if that helps clarify why your hat will not work as you imagine.

Or build one, and prove us all wrong. :-)

A parabolic reflector does work, but the audio quality can be fairly iffy due to the uneven frequency gain.

[Adrian Tan]

Arthur, have you seen the 3D Mitra mic? Would give you a different sound as you move around the dance floor, but maybe it's something that would interest you.

3D Mic Pro and immersive audio Vincent Laforet's Blog

The demos sound pretty good to me, but what do I know?

Here's some audio guys ripping into it:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-thin...ophone-vs.html

They all seem to prefer a solution like this for stereo recording:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/146368-REG/Neumann_KU_100_KU_100_Dummy_Head.html

[Bruce Watson]

Originally Posted by Arthur Gannis

I have been using an omnidirectional mic all along, I never use a shotgun mic, where do you get the impression that I have used a shotgun mic?

From your original description, which sounds suspiciously like what a shotgun mic does under the circumstances you describe.

[Paul R Johnson]

An omni, is what you keep describing as this mysterious 360 degree microphone. Quite common in lavs, and available in conventional designed mics in handheld and studio configurations.

It is not really an omnidirectional, even though it is classified as such, it has a pattern of around 90 degrees and picks up very little from the rear but mostly from the front.

If it doesn't pick up from the rear, then it's not omnidirectional. What model is it? Sounds like a cardioid to me. Omnis for general pickup are not that useful because normally we want to record what the camera sees. In a loud environment with sound sources all over the place, the snag or benefit of omnis is that the loudest source, wherever it is gets recorded. If you use a cardioid or short shotgun on your camera., then it picks up sound that changes timbre and volume as the camera moves. In a location where there are PA systems with perhaps music or spoken word, then omnis do let you wave the camera around without the sound changing too much.

Maybe you just don't have a proper omni?

[Arthur Gannis]

This is what I use, I have 2 of them, It says omni but it picks up much less in the back as compared to the front. I have the mic facing directly front with the lens. I once aimed it directly up to the ceiling and the audio was even but seemed to lack the high frequencies of the DJ's music. I tried both mics, one facing front and the other facing back but there were gaps/voids. I will try 4 mics facing left.right. front and back. That should work.
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wi...65a/index.html

[George Kilroy]

Artur, you seem to be trying to find a fairly complex solution to what is a readily remedied problem. Use your radio system with either the tx plugged into the DJ desk or with the mic/transmitter in close proximity to the speakers. Quick, easy, job done. You can point your camera wherever you like and the sound quality will stay consistent and in sync whenever you switch on/off so no extra work in post. The idea of building cones or parabolas or using quadrilateral mics on the camera seems weird and unnecessary.

[Arthur Gannis]

Will try, thanks. Close proximity to the DJ is extremely loud, that is how I lost 70% of my hearing, Here they really blast the audio. I will try other wireless mic locations and see which is best. Plugging into the DJ board may be met with rejection depending on who the DJ is. Thanks all for suggestions.