Capturing a stadium full of sound

J

JoHA

Member
In a few weeks we have our home opener for the NFL team that I work for and I have the chance to follow a few players as they are introduced at the beginning of the game.

The shot will start in a tunnel with the players, head through the smoke and then on to the indoor field with +/- 60,000 people making a lot of noise. So I come here seeing if anyone has experience capturing a big atmosphere kind of feel.

The goal of this is to make it feel like you are actually entering the field with the player, and are able to feel that electricity of the crowd. The visuals will be following just behind the player, using a very wide shot and steadicam. The sound is where I have the question.

I currently do most sound with the Zoom H4n as many other do on here as well. I wiil start by asking if you think the onboard microphones (set at their widest capture settings) could create that kind of feel? What about using the Zoom onboard mics as well as adding 2 shotgun mics facing to each side of the camera?

Just looking for some helpful tips from people that know way more about audio than myself.

If I fail the first time, there are always 7 other games to try it at but the atmosphere is far better at the home opener.

Thanks.
 
To really get the sound of the field, it takes a dozen or so mics around the stadium. That's how pro sports broadcasts get it, anyway.

You can try with the Zoom, but I think you're trying to catch a pterodactyl with a butterfly net. At the very least, a much higher-quality stereo mic with a better audio recorder would be in order... something like the Shure VP88 and Tascam HD-P2.

The absolute best would be a Holophone (surround-sound microphone) to a Sound Devices 788T, or even to a Tascam DR680.

Point is, the mics on the Zoom are great for some wild tracks that will be mixed into the background, but for something like the energy of a home opener from the field you really need to have something with an incredibly pristine and full frequency response.
 
More or less what I figured.

Would it make any sense to use a couple shotgun mics pointed both right and left of the camera to "widen" the sound?
 
Actually I don't think the mics will fail sonically but I doubt they can handle the volume, it's going to be loud! I have recorded in the stands at professional Hockey games, Baseball, and football training camp. If all your looking for is the roar of the crown a pair of cardioids should do pretty well. But I would also want to be going into a recorder through a good pair of limiters. If you have the bodies (and recorders) I would put a couple of pars around and have one pair with the players for the POV. Traveling with the player is going to add a lot of other non crown sounds. Actually if I had the bodies I would use a pair away from the players for the POV, a shotgun or hyper ON the player/s to get all of that sound (because that will place you on the field) and then a pair or two away from everybody just to pick up the crowd roar. You could try the Zoom for one of the away pairs.
 
For just the entrance into the stadium, and as an effect, I would go with a stereo pair, on a boom, and recording in stereo and run right behind the camera op. Ensure that your gain is set to handle the levels, and once the players reach the bench, drop the stereo track and return back to the conventional audio track(s).

I think the stereo track of the crowd as the players burst into the stadium will give you and perspective from the players viewpoint. Start the stereo track from the tunnel, so the sound will build and build until the explosion of crowd sounds.

JoHA said:
In a few weeks we have our home opener for the NFL team that I work for and I have the chance to follow a few players as they are introduced at the beginning of the game.

The shot will start in a tunnel with the players, head through the smoke and then on to the indoor field with +/- 60,000 people making a lot of noise. So I come here seeing if anyone has experience capturing a big atmosphere kind of feel.

The goal of this is to make it feel like you are actually entering the field with the player, and are able to feel that electricity of the crowd. The visuals will be following just behind the player, using a very wide shot and steadicam. The sound is where I have the question.

I currently do most sound with the Zoom H4n as many other do on here as well. I wiil start by asking if you think the onboard microphones (set at their widest capture settings) could create that kind of feel? What about using the Zoom onboard mics as well as adding 2 shotgun mics facing to each side of the camera?

Just looking for some helpful tips from people that know way more about audio than myself.

If I fail the first time, there are always 7 other games to try it at but the atmosphere is far better at the home opener.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
I will be shooting as well as recording the audio myself.

For now the plan is to use the zoom to record. Will use the onboard microphones to capture what is in front of me and two mics pointed in opposite directions to record the surroundings. Since the zoom records 4 channels I might as well use them all.
 
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