Are analog lavalier systems obsolete?

[Peter C.]

Thanks, @Alex H. I am very hopeful for this new workflow. I've been testing it at home but I've never really been able to recreate my RF woes here (go figure).

If possible I'd visit the locations or at least near the ones that gave you trouble rather then showing up to an interview to test it.

Again to me I'd opt for a boom mic. Are you really saving yourself time using wireless instead setting up a boom? They sell really light compact stands and booms that are more than adequate for small indoor interviews.

 

[QuickHitRecord]

In addition to lavs, I always boom an Audio Technica AT875R for one person on camera, or an Audix SCX1/HC (OEM, not a knockoff) if there are two as backup. But they both sound pretty rough compared to the lavs and it's a bad day when I have to fall back on that audio. Maybe I need a higher-end mic.

 

[Alex H.]

In addition to lavs, I always boom an Audio Technica AT875R for one person on camera, or an Audix SCX1/HC (OEM, not a knockoff) if there are two as backup. But they both sound pretty rough compared to the lavs and it's a bad day when I have to fall back on that audio. Maybe I need a higher-end mic.

That sounds like it could be a placement issue, rather than needing to buy a new mic. Could also be choosing the wrong mic for the space, but a well-placed boom should sound more open and natural than a lav.

 

[QuickHitRecord]

That sounds like it could be a placement issue, rather than needing to buy a new mic. Could also be choosing the wrong mic for the space, but a well-placed boom should sound more open and natural than a lav.

In my experience, my boom mics are picking up a lot of room noise and reverb. For the AT875R, I usually have it just a few inches from the top of their head, just out of frame. I make sure that it's a little in front of them and angled down towards their mouth. Sometimes I have the budget to hire sound, and they usually seem to have longer boom mics placed a little further away. So maybe I am so close that the speaker is shifting out of the pickup area.

Most of my audio "training" came from watching Barry Green's Sound for Film & Television series way back in the day!

 

[Peter C.]

In my experience, my boom mics are picking up a lot of room noise and reverb. For the AT875R, I usually have it just a few inches from the top of their head, just out of frame. I make sure that it's a little in front of them and angled down towards their mouth. Sometimes I have the budget to hire sound, and they usually seem to have longer boom mics placed a little further away. So maybe I am so close that the speaker is shifting out of the pickup area.

Most of my audio "training" came from watching Barry Green's Sound for Film & Television series way back in the day!

I agree with Alex that boomed mics sound better than any lav. Nothing wrong with the shotgun mics you listed, that's not the reason for your issues. In my experience omni lavs pickup as much room reflections.

What you're describing is a bad acoustic room, you either live with the reflections, bring in sound blankets, or setup in another location. Corporate type stuff hard walls, ceilings, and floors are common.

If you're solo operator and the job doesn't pay much, you're stealing from yourself giving them more than they're paying for.

 

[Alex H.]

In my experience, my boom mics are picking up a lot of room noise and reverb. For the AT875R, I usually have it just a few inches from the top of their head, just out of frame. I make sure that it's a little in front of them and angled down towards their mouth.

Shotgun mics are notoriously a poor choice for highly reverberant spaces. Yes, there are exceptions with some higher-end and more modern shotguns that use some different physics. But the traditional interference tube design creates issues with reflections that result in mud, comb filtering… generally bad-sounding dialog. Theoretically, being closer to the subject would increase the ratio of direct sound to reflection, but if the room is highly reflective then you’re kind of SOL with the AT875r. (A good mic that punches above its price point, just suffers the same as many shotguns in this way.) For bright rooms like that, I reach for a supercardioid or hypercardioid, and grab some sound blankets to knock down reflections as best I can.

It’s often helpful to have two booms for two interviewees, one placed for each person. Without seeing what kind of setup you’re working with (actual location, actual mic placement, etc.), it’s hard to say what, exactly, needs to be improved. A single supercardioid between two people can sound just fine… if they’re sitting right up next to each other. If there’s distance, and they shift around, the common pickup zone is going to be the weak point.

Sometimes I have the budget to hire sound, and they usually seem to have longer boom mics placed a little further away. So maybe I am so close that the speaker is shifting out of the pickup area.

It may be that they’re using one of the newer designs from Sanken, Schoeps, or DPA that can handle reflections a bit better.

Most of my audio "training" came from watching Barry Green's Sound for Film & Television series way back in the day!

A good resource.

 

[paulears]

The snag with shotguns in reverberant spaces is that anything with an interference tube design is more cardioid than lobar below 500Hz just where the reverberant mess is!