Hypercardioid Mics

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sk85

Member
I have looked a diagrams showing pick up patterns but I haven't figured out an answer to the following question:

Two people are facing each other say three feet apart. They are both the same height. A hypercardioid mic is positioned in exactly in between the two people about a foot above their heads and is pointed straight down. My question is will the microphone pick up the words that the two people say if they talk straight ahead?

I do know that the best solution is to have the front of the microphone pointed at the mouth or sternum but I am curious if this type of mic could pick up good sound in this situation. Also if it does not is there any type of mic that could pick up sound without turning the preamps up to 11?

Thank you for any help.
 
Why not use two hidden lavs, in fact one may work if positioned properly on one of the talent. OR.. ideally, an (experienced) boom op should be hired.
FWIW, a Schoeps CMC-6/MK41 picks up off axis sounds pretty good, but it ain't cheap and not a substitute for a boom op.
 
Thanks. So a very expensive mic might sound decent but the best option is a good boom operator or lavs. That is what I figured.
 
A hyper is probably a bit too narrow for the situation you describe, but a cardioid might work. It will let in more background noise though. A boom op would of course be best, but if this was not an option, I would use lavs if they were available (possibly combined with a cardioid overhead), or two hypers each aimed at one of the actors. The latter is risky though, as static microphones with narrow patterns could easily end up off-axis if no one operates them.
 
sk85 said:
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Two people are facing each other say three feet apart. They are both the same height. A hypercardioid mic is positioned exactly in between the two people about a foot above their heads and is pointed straight down. My question is will the microphone pick up the words that the two people say if they talk straight ahead?
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Both speakers will definitely be well off-axis in this arrangement. If you draw it out you'll find that each person's mouth will be about 45 degrees off of the mic's axis. This is well within the range where both the level and the timbre will suffer significantly. Their speech will be audible, probably understandable, but the quality will be awful.
 
sk85 said:
I have looked a diagrams showing pick up patterns but I haven't figured out an answer to the following question:

Two people are facing each other say three feet apart. They are both the same height. A hypercardioid mic is positioned in exactly in between the two people about a foot above their heads and is pointed straight down. My question is will the microphone pick up the words that the two people say if they talk straight ahead?

I do know that the best solution is to have the front of the microphone pointed at the mouth or sternum but I am curious if this type of mic could pick up good sound in this situation. Also if it does not is there any type of mic that could pick up sound without turning the preamps up to 11?

Thank you for any help.
Click to expand...

In this situation a hand-held omni or cardioid is the best option.

Held by the interviewer, pointing upwards, half way between the two and not moved (move towards the person who speaks quietest so you get the same level from both people).

This is the proper way to hold an interview mic. (and not what you see untrained reporters doing on the TV).

Held at waist height this would normally be out of shot.

If you want to boom - use a cardioid on a pole above and pointing down - the pickup would be no more than aboit 1 or 2dB down from straight ahead.
 
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