***Audio Question***

NorBro

NorBro

Major Contributor
Hi - I am interested in recording better audio. Right now, I am using a Rode NTG-1 shotgun microphone. The audio is okay, but I would like a warmer, more powerful sound. In the field, I like to record interviews with a shotgun (using a XLR camera) rather than using a lav. kit mostly because of run and gun situations. Indoors - no matter how quiet it is - I always hear the room ambience/hissing? I'm not sure what this sound is, but how do I stop it?

(1) Do I need a better shotgun microphone?

(2) Do I record into an XLR portable recorder such as a Zoom or Tascam rather than into the camera?

(3) Anything else?

Thank you for any feedback. Really appreciate!
 
Mic placement is probably your enemy here. Where do you have the mic? If it's on the camera, there's your problem.

Which camera, by the way?
 
Interesting..I'm using the HPX250, but I actually have it on a C-stand about 10-15 feet away from the camera so I can zoom in to get nice DOF. I definitely have had it on the camera before too, but it makes the sound in both situations. The best way I can describe the sound is room ambience/hissing. It's almost like the air in the room if that makes any sense.
 
How far is the mic from the subject? That's the question - cable length isn't important. Shotguns, and indeed all hypers and cardioids need to be as close to the subject as they can be. Inside, shotguns are great at hearing bounceback from the walls, if their aiming is even slightly off. Realistically, a shotgun at just six feet away starts to thin out, by ten feet, the level is low enough to annoy anything but the best preamps. At three feet, however, it fills out nicely, like a hyper does at two feet or so. Warm sound from any distant mic is not really what they're designed to do. Warm sound needs closeness.

I'd bet your unhappiness with the sound is just too much distance, and getting the Rode in closer will sound much better.
 
I have the shotgun microphone about 1-2 feet away from their body placed around the stomach/waist area pointed towards their mouth depending on the shot. I zoom in just enough to crop the mic for a midshot of the subject. So the bottom of my frame may show up to the chest area and the tip of the mic is right there at the stomach area (just not in the frame ofcourse)...all meaning that I think I have the placement correct. Maybe I'm just not happy with the microphone?
 
NorBro said:
I have the shotgun microphone about 1-2 feet away from their body placed around the stomach/waist area pointed towards their mouth depending on the shot. I zoom in just enough to crop the mic for a midshot of the subject. So the bottom of my frame may show up to the chest area and the tip of the mic is right there at the stomach area (just not in the frame ofcourse)...all meaning that I think I have the placement correct. Maybe I'm just not happy with the microphone?
Click to expand...

Not sure I'd call that placement "correct" in most situations. While I have certainly resorted to booming from underneath in a very few scenarios, I never take that as my first choice.

Further, if the mic is, indeed, 1-2' away from the subject, add the other 18" from waist level to mouth and you are now well outside the effective working distance.

Working indoors? These problems are now compounded by using a shotgun mic improperly for interiors. Shotguns aren't always the best choice indoors, depending on the room, but can be used if used properly (and depending on the room). They are more susceptible to reflections of highly reverberant spaces.

Remember that anything in front of the mic is going to be picked up, even if it is behind the subject. Pointing up? Perhaps you're pointing at an air vent indoors, or towards tall buildings in a cityscape, or to the sky in a place with high air traffic.

The mic should be overhead, within 20" of the speaker's mouth. Aim down from above and you aim away from anything that may be above or behind the subject. Get the mic close and the ratio of direct dialog to background sounds is much higher, meaning you get much more dialog and much less of the ambient noise.
 
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As previously stated, mic placement is usually the primary reason unacceptable sound, unless you're expecting studio VO quality.
Generally it's best to boom from above, but that's not always possible, so from below will usually work. Cameras usually don't have very good mic preamps ( but neither do the budget portable audio recorders) but it should sound 'acceptable'.
Can you post a clip, there could be other issues going on. Mis-wired cable, settings, ect.
 
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