Audio for Event Filming

W

WiedemannDigital

Member
Hey guys,

I am going to be doing some event filming for some clients and wanted to know what the best audio solution would be. These events will primarily be in a larger room with the candidates up on a stage speaking down to a crowd. They will typically be mic'd with sound coming over the speakers.

At this point I just have my camera mic on the HPX170 which I KNOW will not do the trick. Should I try to get some type of stage mic that I can just post up on the stage and get them talking or what's going to be the best solution for me with this setup?

Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks so much guys.
 
WiedemannDigital said:
Hey guys,

I am going to be doing some event filming for some clients and wanted to know what the best audio solution would be. These events will primarily be in a larger room with the candidates up on a stage speaking down to a crowd. They will typically be mic'd with sound coming over the speakers.

At this point I just have my camera mic on the HPX170 which I KNOW will not do the trick. Should I try to get some type of stage mic that I can just post up on the stage and get them talking or what's going to be the best solution for me with this setup?

Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks so much guys.
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Can you tie into the PA and take the sound directly from their mics?
 
You should take a feed from the sound-reinforcement mixing board into at least one channel. Setting a good "unity" level is tricky without tone, and event mixers tend to be a little sleepy at the fader. Still, it should be significantly better than what you'll get setting out your own microphone(s), which would have to be mixed-down to the camera or double-system recorder anyway.

For live-events, I have rarely used on-board camera mic ambient sound for anything more than poor-man's room tone - and even then, you want to lock that down as much as possible.
 
Steve House said:
Can you tie into the PA and take the sound directly from their mics?
Click to expand...

The problem is that I don't know what the setup will be ahead of time. Most likely it will vary greatly from event to event. Some events I may be able to do that and some I may not be able to.

What I am looking for is some type of solution that I can run with that will keep me covered for both situations. What have people used in the past on things like this? Do you think it would be smart to get some type of mic I could just leave on the stage to pickup audio from there? Or get some type of voice recorder I could put up there and sync that with the video?

Just throwing out ideas here really, not sure what the best thought is.

Thanks for the help.
 
This is on the client. If the speaker is mic'd they should have a feed you can tap into; just make sure to bring a large supply of cables and adapters, anything that might come up. Bring all of them every time. If they can't do that, they should be willing to rent the proper audio equipment to record the person. If they can't do that, you'll need to setup your own mic. I wouldn't go on stage, though, since the person won't be projecting towards your system. Your goal should be to record from the mains, not the person. For performances I've setup two studio mics on either side of the band, pointing towards them, about ten feet away. Not nearly as good as a direct, clean source, but it does the job.
 
WiedemannDigital said:
The problem is that I don't know what the setup will be ahead of time. Most likely it will vary greatly from event to event. Some events I may be able to do that and some I may not be able to.

What I am looking for is some type of solution that I can run with that will keep me covered for both situations. What have people used in the past on things like this? Do you think it would be smart to get some type of mic I could just leave on the stage to pickup audio from there? Or get some type of voice recorder I could put up there and sync that with the video?

Just throwing out ideas here really, not sure what the best thought is.

Thanks for the help.
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What kind of mics will the speakers be using? Are they going to be at a podium, using hand-held mics so they can move about the stage, or will they be wearing wireless lavs?

If your client is the event organizer surely they must know what the setup will be in advance. No one in their right minds would organize a series of events in a variety of locations and just leave it up to chance that each venue would supply a proper setup. If in fact your client was so foolish, here's your chance to be a hero by taking over that job for them.
 
Steve House said:
What kind of mics will the speakers be using? Are they going to be at a podium, using hand-held mics so they can move about the stage, or will they be wearing wireless lavs?

If your client is the event organizer surely they must know what the setup will be in advance. No one in their right minds would organize a series of events in a variety of locations and just leave it up to chance that each venue would supply a proper setup. If in fact your client was so foolish, here's your chance to be a hero by taking over that job for them.
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+1

The onus is on you to figure out who is coordinating AV for this series. If no one (or a complete novice) is doing it, you might consider asserting yourself into playing some role in it.

The CSM and / or Director of AV at a given venue should be getting specifications from the people you're working for. The rider for AV is usually attached to the venue's contract and event orders. Larger events will have the client working directly with the AV department to coordinate it all.

The entire thing hinges on successful AV and all too often there is much too little attention paid to doing it right on smaller events.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. My situation is such that I am not working with the people who coordinate these events. I am working with another client who wants me to go to these events and film and get audio. My client and the people at the events are not related and do not work together so I will not know ahead of time what the setup will be like at these events.

What I really need is just a short list of things that I could potentially use to make sure I am covered. I am new to the audio arena so if you could keep it as simple as possible, that would surely be appreciated.

If the speaker is mic'd wirelessly, what could I use to tap into that? If they are using a handheld mic or desk mic and speaking into that, what then would I use?

What kind of stage mic could I purchase to just put on the stage and have myself covered there? I am thinking that I would try to get close to the speaker and record with a shotgun mic off my HPX170 and then either try to tap into the feed they have or record with a stage mic. A stage mic would probably be the best bet as I will not know the audio setup ahead of time. Anyone have any good suggestions for stage mics?

Thanks in advance guys for any help.
 
I'd advocate [still] for getting in touch with the conference planner - regardless of the number of degrees you are separated from them. Event by event, you should be in touch with the people renting the room anyway.

If you're not needing to record a panel discussion or audience Q&A, just put an additional wireless transmitter or XLR hard wire at the podium to something like an AT857 on a slimline base.

On camera microphone recording isn't, in my opinion, going to satisfy you or your client.
 
WiedemannDigital said:
Thanks for the replies guys. My situation is such that I am not working with the people who coordinate these events. I am working with another client who wants me to go to these events and film and get audio. My client and the people at the events are not related and do not work together so I will not know ahead of time what the setup will be like at these events.

What I really need is just a short list of things that I could potentially use to make sure I am covered. I am new to the audio arena so if you could keep it as simple as possible, that would surely be appreciated.

If the speaker is mic'd wirelessly, what could I use to tap into that? If they are using a handheld mic or desk mic and speaking into that, what then would I use?

What kind of stage mic could I purchase to just put on the stage and have myself covered there? I am thinking that I would try to get close to the speaker and record with a shotgun mic off my HPX170 and then either try to tap into the feed they have or record with a stage mic. A stage mic would probably be the best bet as I will not know the audio setup ahead of time. Anyone have any good suggestions for stage mics?

Thanks in advance guys for any help.
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What I was thinking when I asked about wireless was if you knew what wireless setup was in use you could just get another receiver and send its output to your camera.

Is there a reason your involvement has to be kept secret from the event organizers? Would you even be ALLOWED access to the stage to rig something there, especially if you're not coordinating with the event organizer?

Regardless, one inescapable fact is you're limited by the laws of physics. There's not a mic made that you could just place on a stand on stage at a distance from the speaker and get good audio pickup no matter where he stood or how he moved around. If they're at a podium (and you can get access) you could add your own mic to the podium alongside the house mics, a la the mic farm you see at many major news conferences. Another option is for you to use a wireless lav taped or clipped to the side of the house mic on the podium. If the subject is moving around on the stage, a stationary mic won't do - work with an audio assistant who can be stationed at the stage edge with a shotgun mic in a pistol grip and move with the speaker to keep him in the mic's sweet spot. (A long gun such as the Neumann KMR-82 would be the better choice in that application rather than the more common short shotgun you might choose for booming dialog.) And as was previously suggested, as a last resort put a mic right in front of the 'PA speaker
 
Are you covering press conferences where there is a forest of microphones around the podium? That should be a very good indication of what the "standard procedure" is for that scenario.

Are you covering political speeches where there is one speaker/podium and the sound system brought in by the candidate (etc.)? Sometimes, they provide a "press box" which you can plug into as if it were a microphone. In some cases you could add your microphone to theirs (and others?) up on the stage. But sometimes for security, political, or just esthetic reasons, they won't permit additional microphones.

Are you covering panel discussions or city council meetings or something where there are many microphones? You are pretty much stuck with using THEIR mix, even if you have to just put your microphone in front of their speaker.

Are you doing this covertly? Are you doing this for a hostile party where cooperation can be excluded? There are so many variables here, it boggles the mind. If you could narrow down what you are doing, it would help us to make some specific suggestions.
 
Guys, again, thanks for all the great suggestions.

To narrow it down, I am going to be covering events where there will primarily be one or two speakers up on a podium speaking into a microphone. There will typically be a Q&A session at the end of the event where people in the crowd ask questions and the person up on stage responds. I am filming the first event tonight so I will provide a detailed review of what the setup is like and what I was able to do.

Some of the suggestions I really think fit what I will be doing are:

1. Get a wireless receiver and try to find out what frequency the person speaking will be transmitting on and get that to feed into my camera.

2. Add my own wireless mic up on the podium and tape the lav to the side of the podium mic and have that transmit back to my camera (thanks Steve House).

BACKUP PLAN:

3. Put a voice recorder like an Edirol R-09 up on the podium and have them speaking into that.

4. Put a mic next to the PA system and have that recording audio.


The only issue here is that there are typically going to be some question and answer sessions at the end of these events and the podium solution will only cover the speaker and not the questions being asked. I guess if I have a mic close to the PA speaker then that will pick up the person asking the question but that does seem haphazard.

Not sure what else we could do there though...again, I know we are limited by the event sound system. I should have a better idea of what that will be like tonight. I'll let you guys know.

Any other suggestions are welcome as well. Thanks again.
 
Erik Olson said:
This is a quick podium solution that is portable across your various events and venues. Just add a homerun of XLR to your camera.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/399205-REG/Audio_Technica_AT8666.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ns=p_OVER_ALL_RATE|1&ci=8545&N=4294548708
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That looks promising. The only other issue that might be there is how would I transmit that signal back to the camera? Just through a long XLR cord from the gooseneck mic and base to my camera?

Looks good though.
 
That's a bullet-proof way to do it. Wireless, unless you're willing to spend a fair amount of money, isn't going to be as reliable as good old XLR. Depends on venue, but a 100', 50' and couple of 25' cables will cover quite a bit. Don't forget to tape the living hell out of it across door thresholds and open parts of the floor. Most hotels prefer taped-down cables in front of house (not bulky Yellow Jackets) and some will even insist on certain color tape.
 
Trying to pick up someone else's wireless system on your own receiver is not really practical. Unless you have a $1000 wide-coverage receiver and extra time to go hunting for the frequencies (and hope that the transmitter is turned on so you can find it before the program.)

Wireless of any kind, even your own transmitter and receiver kit, are prone to problems from all sides, including an audience full of cell phones, and whatever other wireless mics are in use by others at the event. Nothing is as reliable as a long mic cable and your own simple microphone on the podium.

Still not clear whether you are a 3rd party, or whether you are videotaping the event for the program producers? If you are doing this for the producers, tell them to have the speaker (or MC or whomever) repeat the audience question on microphone. Not only for your (recording) benefit, but also for the audience to hear the question.
 
Understood that XLR's running back to my camera are the surefire safest way to get audio. But, assuming that I am not in a position to have a long cord running back to my camera all the way from the podium, what do you guys think is the next safest bet?
 
1. Get a feed from the board.
2. Run your own microphone at the podium via hardwire directly to your camera.
3. Carry your own wireless lav or mic plug (Sennheiser G3 EVO are good, budget microphones) and take the receiver directly into your camera.

These are the options for quality recording.
 
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