best mic to pair with Rode NTG-2

I

imfilmworks

Member
We are shooting a 48 Hour film next week with a canon 7D and an H4n. We currently have access to a Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic. We also have 2 Sennheiser EW100 Wireless Lav Mics. However, we try to avoid using them because when shooting narrative it becomes very difficult to hide them without creating significant interference.

We were planning on renting a second shotgun mic to pair with the Rode, but we are not sure what direction to go in. We are not sound guys by trade, so this area is a bit foreign to us. We originally were renting a Sennheiser ME66 and ME64. That was before we gained access to the NTG-2. Would one of those 2 make a better compliment over the other? or is there a different mic all-together we should consider.

Remember, this is for a 48 hour Film Project, so as of making this decision we have no idea what locations we will be at, what our story will be etc.... so flexibility is key.

We are renting at www.talamas.com, so our choices are limited to their selection.

Any and all advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!

--greg
 
Greg,

I would go with the MKH60 or the MKH70, depending on your location... Heck, if you have the extra $$ go for both- the 70 might work quite well in a noisy area.

The only caveat might be what the Phantom power output voltage is on the H4N- the MKH mics might need more than what the H4N outputs.
 
imfilmworks said:
We are shooting a 48 Hour film next week with a canon 7D and an H4n. We currently have access to a Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic. We also have 2 Sennheiser EW100 Wireless Lav Mics. However, we try to avoid using them because when shooting narrative it becomes very difficult to hide them without creating significant interference.

We were planning on renting a second shotgun mic to pair with the Rode, but we are not sure what direction to go in. We are not sound guys by trade, so this area is a bit foreign to us. We originally were renting a Sennheiser ME66 and ME64. That was before we gained access to the NTG-2. Would one of those 2 make a better compliment over the other? or is there a different mic all-together we should consider.

Remember, this is for a 48 hour Film Project, so as of making this decision we have no idea what locations we will be at, what our story will be etc.... so flexibility is key.

We are renting at www.talamas.com, so our choices are limited to their selection.

Any and all advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!

--greg
Click to expand...

Why do you want to pair them up? Do you mean as a stereo pair? If you're going to run 2 channels aqt once with a separate mic into each, such as when recording stereo or booming two characters separately, the two mics should match each other and you should get another NTG-2. If you're talking about having a pair of mics in the kit to give you more flexibility to cover a variety of situations, but you only plan to use one mic at a time, then the NTG-2 covers your outdoor locations and you need a hyper for indoor work.
 
Steve,

We are looking for a second mic for flexibility. The 48 Hour Film project demands flexibility... until it begins on Friday we have no idea what our genre or story will be.... so we have no idea where we are going to shoot. We have a variety of locations arranged, some indoor, some outdoor. One of our PAs is providing the NTG-2, so we will use that. From what I am hearing the NTG-2 is our best bet for outdoor, so we would need something for indoor, but where we would likely have multiple people on camera speaking in the same scene.
 
you might get silent film, i did 2 years ago. and i won best sound ;)

you mention multiple people speaking on camera at once. they probably are not going to be speaking all at exactly the same time, thats where a good boom op comes into play. but don't count out your wireless. depending on wardrobe and some creative techniques you CAN hide the stock mics that come with the ew100's. and unless your characters are 5'+ apart on screen you can easily get the boom to them.

but a good location, mic placement and ride the levels(which i'd suggest renting a sound devices 302 mixer also, and $35 a day is cheap)

i've done the 48 8 years now, just finished one a few weeks ago actually. but a good boom op is all you really need. i had a pretty extensive setup this year. we shot with 2 7Ds and i was cart based using boom recorder and onyx 16 mixer doing 8 tracks ISO'd and a seperate mix while sending scratch track back to camera. also had a psc mixer/fr2le recorder for bag usage(used it for 2 outdoor scenes) and 6 wireless kits with countryman b6's and tram tr50's. but we could have kept it simple and gone just myself with a bag and a boom and we'd be leaps and bounds better than any of the other teams.

here is my teams film from this year:
http://vimeo.com/12541802
 
Last edited:
Prebook it and when you see the script and figure you need it, race out and rent a second NTG-2 both on their 9V batteries .. probably need a second boom and op.

Only one of your recorders provides 48V and you'd have 2 matching mics.

If budget is tight lay heavy blankets around indoors to damp the place down and just use the NTG-2 or .. rent a hypercardioid.

35-40hrs in everyone will be whacked keep the rigs simple. Good luck.

Cheers.
 
Last edited:
imfilmworks said:
Steve,

We are looking for a second mic for flexibility. The 48 Hour Film project demands flexibility... until it begins on Friday we have no idea what our genre or story will be.... so we have no idea where we are going to shoot. We have a variety of locations arranged, some indoor, some outdoor. One of our PAs is providing the NTG-2, so we will use that. From what I am hearing the NTG-2 is our best bet for outdoor, so we would need something for indoor, but where we would likely have multiple people on camera speaking in the same scene.
Click to expand...

Multiple people speaking in the scene can be done in a variety of ways. If it's a scripted scene and you want to use a single boom mic, have the talent pause a beat or two before speaking their lines to wait for the boom op to swing the mic over to them. If it's non-scripted, the best option is two booms, one covering each character for the entire scene. Or you may need to wire them with individual lavs. One mic to cover multiple characters without talent experienced in pausing during their delivery while staying in character and/or a boom op that's really on his or her toes will be a real challenge. At any rate, I stick by my suggestion to go with a hyper for the interior work - AKG SE300B/CK93, Audio Technica AT4053b, or Oktava M012 would be good options.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top