The Microphone picks up everything but the actors in front of camera

P

PhilipD

Well-known member
I don't understand, all of a sudden, me behind the camera, the traffic behind a building are louder than the 2 actors sat on a bench in a courtyard...:huh:
 
All microphones have what is known as a pickup pattern. You use different mics for different circumstances in order to isolate the sounds you want to record and reject the ones you don't. Some mic patterns are actually omni-directional and distance alone is used for isolation.

You've already discovered the built in mics are all but useless for day to day production but at least provides a platform to demonstrate the audio circuits within the camera are functioning or as an emergency backup if external audio gear suddenly ceased to function.

DVX cameras accept external microphones as well as direct line inputs from devices known as field mixers which are the preferred way professionals take external mic inputs and feed them to the camera.

ie. In the case of capturing dialogue in the street the pickup pattern of a short shotgun mic which is very narrow would be up on a boom pole and surrounded by a wind protection system. Held between 2 to 4 feet from the subject it isolates the voice while rejecting the noise from the traffic which would come from the sides. A boom operator rotates the boom to point the mic alternatively from subject to subject.

Location audio is a specialized field within film and television production. Its a combination of technique and equipment.

Go to the audio section on the board and read all the information in the yellow stickies. Get a DVD instruction guide or pick up a book like Location Audio Simplified.

You can setup a good location audio kit for your DVX for under $10K.
 
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Thanks Craig, :)
I have a shotgun mic off ebay, it seems like the guy makes them himself, the reason I mention that is that when I tried it on a windy day looking at the sound meters i didnt see any difference between that and the normal mic, both of them peaked at red...
I'll take your advice and use that mic again and listen to what it sounds like, that particular day with the shotgun was rather windy so i guess they both just had the problem as an isolated case :)
craigbowman said:
All microphones have what is known as a pickup pattern. You use different mics for different circumstances in order to isolate the sounds you want to record and reject the ones you don't. Some mic patterns are actually omni-directional and distance alone is used for isolation.

You've already discovered the built in mics are all but useless for day to day production but at least provides a platform to demonstrate the audio circuits within the camera are functioning or as an emergency backup if external audio gear suddenly ceased to function.

DVX cameras accept external microphones as well as direct line inputs from devices known as field mixers which are the preferred way professionals take external mic inputs and feed them to the camera.

ie. In the case of capturing dialogue in the street the pickup pattern of a short shotgun mic which is very narrow would be up on a boom pole and surrounded by a wind protection system. Held between 2 to 4 feet from the subject it isolates the voice while rejecting the noise from the traffic which would come from the sides. A boom operator rotates the boom to point the mic alternatively from subject to subject.

Location audio is a specialized field within film and television production. Its a combination of technique and equipment.

Go to the audio section on the board and read all the information in the yellow stickies. Get a DVD instruction guide or pick up a book like Location Audio Simplified.

You can setup a good location audio kit for your DVX for under $10K.
Click to expand...
 
PhilipD said:
I tried it on a windy day looking at the sound meters i didnt see any difference between that and the normal mic, both of them peaked at red.
Click to expand...

Are you just looking at the meters or are you listening to the audio as it's recorded? The meters aren't going to tell you as much as you really need to know.

You will waste a lot of time figuring this problem out by shooting, looking at meters without listening using headphones, then waiting to see if it's good audio after you gone home.

Then again, maybe I'm jumping to an incorrect conclusion.

The end point I'm trying to make to all who may be reading this is, when recording audio in the field, use some form of headset, big or small, to actually hear the audio you are getting to the camera and don't rely on the meters.
 
For shooting outdoors on a windy day, you need a wind shield (rycote, etc) or blimp. You also ought to monitor your audio with headphones. Really, you must try reading the stickies.
 
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