Best audio bet for interview

[gillatineny]

I'm doing a webasode interview of a band in their hotel room. The last interview I did I used two different wireless mics for both the interviewer and the interviewee. I didn't like the difference in audio, had to use two different brands, the audio simply didn't match. I now only have the option of using a condenser mic and/or a shotgun mic. I will have a host interviewing two people in this band. Should I just use the shotgun mic or try to mix in both? any suggestions?...what would you do with these two resources. Also i will be filming on an hvx-200. the shotgun is only for the hvx. Plus the hvx is the only camera I have that has XLR outputs, so its my only option for my condenser as well. Also the other camera I want to have moving around and having a wire would get in the way.
Any opinions/suggestions are valued.

thanks
-sean

 

[Steve House]

I'm doing a webasode interview of a band in their hotel room. The last interview I did I used two different wireless mics for both the interviewer and the interviewee. I didn't like the difference in audio, had to use two different brands, the audio simply didn't match. I now only have the option of using a condenser mic and/or a shotgun mic. I will have a host interviewing two people in this band. Should I just use the shotgun mic or try to mix in both? any suggestions?...what would you do with these two resources. Also i will be filming on an hvx-200. the shotgun is only for the hvx. Plus the hvx is the only camera I have that has XLR outputs, so its my only option for my condenser as well. Also the other camera I want to have moving around and having a wire would get in the way.
Any opinions/suggestions are valued.

thanks
-sean

"condensor mic or shotgun mic" ... most shotguns ARE condensor mics so your question doesn't make sense. What KIND of condensor mic are you considering as the alternative to the shotgun?

A shotgun on the camera is an invitation to disaster. Shotguns don't magnify distant sounds, rather they reject sound coming from the sides. They still need to be up close to the talent. The camera position is rarely close enough or in the proper orientation for a mic located there to pickup optimally. Further, interiors such as hotel rooms are usually quite reflective and shotguns tend to be very colored in their timbre in such an environment - they're really only suitable for outdoors or soundstage work. You'll be better served with a good hypercardioid but NOT on the camera - whether you use a hyper or a 'gun, you've gotta boom it to within 20 inches or so of the talent.

Why would the audio of two different people ever be expected to match? - different voices, different tonality. If it's the levels don't match, that's easily adjusted in post. If the sound of the space doesn't match, that's a factor of the different positions within the room and can be pulled together by making sure a constant room tone track (you DID record 30 seconds or so of room tone at the end of each take, right?) underlies each scene and bridges each cut.

 

[gillatineny]

Apologies...I meant a cardioid mic...like a normal vocal mic used in news reports and what not. Its not the best. Its ShureBG unidirectional dynamic mic. And I only have one so Im just curious as too what I should do. I just don't have the option of using a wireless mic in this interview. The mic will be off of the camera. I also do have the option of booming the shotgun mic as well.

Yes I did record room tone but I just wanted to weed out the excess noise from the cheaper of the wireless mics. Like the droning of the bus generator. It stands out alot on the cheaper one so Im not sure. Should I add noise to the nicer one?

thanks
-sean

 

[Steve House]

Apologies...I meant a cardioid mic...like a normal vocal mic used in news reports and what not. Its not the best. Its ShureBG unidirectional dynamic mic. And I only have one so Im just curious as too what I should do. I just don't have the option of using a wireless mic in this interview. The mic will be off of the camera. I also do have the option of booming the shotgun mic as well.

Yes I did record room tone but I just wanted to weed out the excess noise from the cheaper of the wireless mics. Like the droning of the bus generator. It stands out alot on the cheaper one so Im not sure. Should I add noise to the nicer one?

thanks
-sean

The only practical use of that mic is as a handheld, held either by the person speaking or by a practiced interviewer standing with him. Designed as a stage vocal mic, it needs to be kept roughly 6 inches from the speaker's mouth. IT's highly doubtful that it would mix well with a shotgun. It's also highly doubtful that the shotgun by itself is going to sound any good in an indoors interview in a hotel whether you put it on the camera or on a boom (it'll be better boomed but shotguns aren't happy with the reflections found in ordinary rooms no matter what).

Indoors in a sitdown interview there's no need for wireless. Get yourself a couple of decent, hardwired lavs and put one on the interviewer, the other on the subject.

For your existing track, if the noise is a contant drone, you might be able to apply noise reduction processing such as Izotrope Ozone to just that track in post.