How to get good sound with NTG-2?

Agent of Kaos

Agent of Kaos

Member
I can't get an audio guy and I'm definately not an audio guy but I got to do the audio myself now, so can any of you guys tell me what settings you have on your camera with your mic? I think my sound is a bit off, it catches sounds from far far away which is a pain and sounds kind of like I'm shooting in an empty hall.

I have a DVX100A and I use an NTG-2 with a boom.

Camera audio settings:

- Using input 2
- Ch 1 select on input 2
- Ch 2 select on input 2
- Input 1 is ON
- Input 2 is ON
- Ch1 and Ch2 knobs are both set in the middle
- Audio REC on 48K
- MIC ALC is on
- Mic gain1 -50db
- Mic gain2 -50db

So how do I get this mic to perform the way it should?
 
Agent of Kaos said:
I know that already but is there something wrong with my settings or anything?
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Are you shooting indoors or out? The 'empty hall' sound you describe is typical of shotguns in a reflective space such as an everyday interior in a typical home or office. Their better behaviour towards reflections, that reverb you're hearing, is exactly why hypercardioids are generally preferred indoors.
 
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Steve House said:
Are you shooting indoors or out? The 'empty hall' sound you describe is typical of shotguns in a reflective space such as an everyday interior in a typical home or office. Their better behaviour towards reflections, that reverb you're hearing, is exactly why hypercardioids are generally preferred indoors.
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I'm going to be doing both but the tests that I've done with the mic so far have been Indoors.
 
Agent of Kaos said:
I'm going to be doing both but the tests that I've done with the mic so far have been Indoors.
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Then it probably has nothing to do with your settings. Nor does it mean there's anything wrong with the mic. It's just that shotguns in general, whether it's a $250 Rode NTG-2 or a $2500 Schoeps CMIT, aren't usually the best choice for normal reflective interiors and the "empty hall" sound you've experienced is just their normal response to the indirect sound hitting the mic in that environment. Sound stages are acoustically conditioned to kill the reflections. You can improve your mic's performance by hanging sound blankets strategiaclly around the room to condition the space better. As far as rejecting off-camera sounds, pay attention to the mic's polar pattern and position it so it's pointing at the talent's throat but sources of other sounds (like, say, a computer with its fan noise) fall into the low sensitivity parts of the pattern. Hypercardioids don't introduce the same colourations to the indirect sound that shotguns do, that's why they're generally preferred indoors.
 
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Steve House said:
Then it probably has nothing to do with your settings. Nor does it mean there's anything wrong with the mic. It's just that shotguns in general, whether it's a $250 Rode NTG-2 or a $2500 Schoeps CMIT, aren't usually the best choice for normal reflective interiors and the "empty hall" sound you've experienced is just their normal response to the indirect sound hitting the mic in that environment. Sound stages are acoustically conditioned to kill the reflections. You can improve your mic's performance by hanging sound blankets strategiaclly around the room to condition the space better. As far as rejecting off-camera sounds, pay attention to the mic's polar pattern and position it so it's pointing at the talent's throat but sources of other sounds (like, say, a computer with its fan noise) fall into the low sensitivity parts of the pattern. Hypercardioids don't introduce the same colourations to the indirect sound that shotguns do, that's why they're generally preferred indoors.
Click to expand...

Thanks, very helpful.
 
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