Interview mic, held off screen by interviewer

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dan_aka_jack

Well-known member
Hi there,

I've shot a fair number of interviews over the years one-man-band and I usually either use a wired or wireless lavalier. Sometimes I'll use my MKH-416t. But I'm about to start a series of jobs where I'll be working with an interviewer and we need to move very quickly (no time for setting up lavaliers) so I want a mic which the interviewer can hold off-screen, below the frame, pointing towards the interviewee (the mic needs to be off-screen because the interviewer will never be seen or heard by the audience). The interviewer will not be able to give the microphone positioning as much attention as a boom operator would so I'm a little worried about using my 416 because the 416 needs to be pointed directly at the sound source (i.e. it's unforgiving about being slightly off axis).

So I was thinking about maybe a Rode NTG-2 light weight condenser shotgun mic or a Sennheiser MD46 (cardioid dynamic). As I understand it, the MD46 is really designed to be used quite close to the interviewee's mouth (i.e. in shot) so I'm leaning towards the NTG-2.

I suppose my main question is: will the NTG-2 be more forgiving of "operator error" than the 416 and hence will it produce better sound when used by someone who is not a soundie?
 
There isn't a mice that can be forgiven of operating errors...

But... if there isn't any uportunity having an extra soundguy... holding the mice under frame pointed up could be a solution for the interviewer to hold it without having painfull arms after 5 minutes. You will also need a boompole then. And the interview WILL need headphones to listen he's pointing it good.

But.... I advice to have a soundguy then... if people won't quality...they have to pay for it. And more, this way soundguys have also a job time to time...
Except if it's something you do for pleasure and for free, there are also soundguys who are happy enough to help you.
 
A shotgun can be used as a handheld interview mic without issue, and the NTG-2 won't be any more flexible than a 416. They're both short shotguns. BUT, the short shotgun generally has a wider angle of acceptance than, say, a long shotgun, so working at handheld distances, a couple degrees off center isn't going to be the end of the world.

Most mics made specifically as ENG handheld interview mics are dynamic, omnidirectional mics. So those are designed for being used at a pretty short working distance (about 6" at most) from the source. The omnidirectional pickup also assists in making sure that interviewer and interviewee are heard, even if the mic movement lags behind the flow of the interview. These won't be practical for your situation since you're wanting an interviewer not to be seen or heard... the mic won't pick up nearly as well at an out-of-frame distance.
 
Use very close shots (only face)... so the interviewer can hold the mice close enough and out of screen....
 
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