Busy downtown streets audio: Lav or shotgun on boom?

chromeboy007

chromeboy007

Well-known member
Hello,

I've been asked to film a monologue at the corner of a busy downtown intersection. I have originally suggested overdubbing in post but the client prefers not have to. With handheld mic out of the question, which is better lav or shotgun on boom? I use lavs regularly and shotgun sometimes, but not shotgun with a boom operator and deadcat. Any input would be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
I laved this woman on a busy street (at 53 seconds in and later) with a G3 and stock omni mic. It was a while ago when I was green, and have since made the move to countryman lavs and hiring a boom when needed (which would have been here). The best thing that can be said of the results would be "intelligible".
 
A Lav would give you the best voice/extraneous street-noise ratio, however a boom may sound more natural. Record both (on separate tracks), and pick the better in post. Combining the two could have serious phase issues however.
 
I would say BOTH.
The boom has a more natural sound, but on case the street sound becomes too loud, you can bring in the labs a little.
Lavs alone will give you a sterile sound. Not ideal.
 
In the market for a new Sanken CS3e. Will this be good choice to isolate the vocal against the noisy urban street sound and mix with the on-cam shotgun mic? Will it be like having a unidirectional lav mic but on a boom?
 
Hi again,

Thanks for everyone's input so far.

Pickthorne, I'm surprised how quiet Dundas and Spadina seems in the middle of the day. How are those countryman lavs (compared to your Sennheiser G3)?
 
The ME2 stock lav that comes with the G3 set is really thin sounding. But its a $100 mic after all. The Countryman B3 is wicked sensitive and sounds more natural. You can put the mic lower down the body and it will pick up that chest resonance.

Shooting solo on a busy street means everyone must know there will be ruined takes. Screetching streetcars, honks, crazy hobos etc. Monitor the sound obviously with big isolated headphones. And I would play back the take if it seemed like a keeper just to listen for any problems. I caught a few that were missed while rolling and was glad I did that.

Cheers,
Craig
 
Not sure what approach you're taking, but if you're trying to be invisible to the crowd (which will help the production run smoother and let the actors perform better) wireless lavs and a small camera might go completely unnoticed.
 
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