Mic Boom on Light Stand?

A

Airwolf

Active member
I've seen this done before, but can't find out how to do it.

How can I use a standard light stand to mount a shotgun mic boom? I would assume there would be some kind of thread on or clamp on boom that would attach to the top of the light stand but I have not seen anything.

Help?

Thanks,
 
Not as cheap as a superclamp, but designed for the job and quicker to get the boom on and off is a Boom-Buddy: made in the UK, but they seem to distribute anywhere.

Cheers,

Roland
 
To go real inexpensive, I have done this. I take my Audio-Technica AT8415 shock mount which has a 3/8" threaded female connector on the yoke. I screwed in a spigot with a 3/8" threaded male head (See below). I then put the the spigot into the baby pin holder on a Manfrato Super clamp and clamp it to the end of a 5' piece of 1/2 PVC pipe. I connect the 1/2" PVC pipe to a stand with a regular grip head. Make sure that you sand bag down the stand as it is going to be very top heavy.

Shock Mount:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/68143-REG/Audio_Technica_AT8415_AT8415_Universal_Shock_Mount.html

Spigot (I buy them much cheaper on eBay):

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/824397-REG/Impact_ca_100_Double_End_Spigot_with.html

Super clamp (Shop around for these also):

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546356-REG/Manfrotto_035RL_035RL_Super_Clamp_with.html

My favorite low cost grip head is the one below. It is all metal and has held up very well for me. it will clamp a 1/2" pipe with no problem.

http://www.dmkfoto.com/E_Image_Gobo_Grip_Head_p/8790.htm

There are all kinds of different booms and clamps you can use that are out there. Shop around a little and you will see.
 
There surely has to be a solution involving gaffer tape.

:)

Da-da-da-dooow-dah-dah-dowww (<--macguyver music)

I'm still a beginner but since I'm well stocked with recording gear for music I've just been using sandbagged mic stands or little desk stands concealed behind props, and designed the shot around keeping it out of frame. I'm fast outgrowing this setup but in a small room you can't get big shots anyway.
 
Egg Born Son said:
There surely has to be a solution involving gaffer tape.
Click to expand...

Ha, Ha, Ha!!! There is always a solution that involves gaffer's tape!!! It may not always be the best solution though. The trick for low budget filmmaking is, IMHO, coming up with solutions that balance effectiveness, with efficiency and cost. It can be a difficult balance sometimes.
 
Airwolf said:
I've seen this done before, but can't find out how to do it.

How can I use a standard light stand to mount a shotgun mic boom? I would assume there would be some kind of thread on or clamp on boom that would attach to the top of the light stand but I have not seen anything.

Help?

Thanks,
Click to expand...
It can be done and others have posted several suggestions but note that most of the time a static boom is not going to give best results. A shotgun needs to be aimed precisely for optimum sound - as a general rule of thumb the 'sweet spot' is a circle about 8 inches in diameter centered on the subject's mouth. It doesn't take much head movement to take the subject off-mic with a resulting change in the sound quality. A shotgun on a boom usually needs a skilled boom operator to continually move the mic to follow every nuance of the subject's action.
 
Steve House said:
It can be done and others have posted several suggestions but note that most of the time a static boom is not going to give best results. A shotgun needs to be aimed precisely for optimum sound - as a general rule of thumb the 'sweet spot' is a circle about 8 inches in diameter centered on the subject's mouth. It doesn't take much head movement to take the subject off-mic with a resulting change in the sound quality. A shotgun on a boom usually needs a skilled boom operator to continually move the mic to follow every nuance of the subject's action.
Click to expand...

I have only used static boomed mics on pretty tight close ups in talking head set ups and have not had any issues. I agree, for anything else, use a good boom operator.
 
Well these are going to be used for interviews, and unfortunately I don't have the resources to bring along a dedicated boom operator with us. I don't mind spending the money on something that will set up quickly however, some of the solutions posted above seem rather time consuming. I just need to be able to set up the stand, attach boom, attach mic, and roll. Not much time for assembling custom stuff when we only have 15 minutes to set up cameras, lighting, and sound before the interview starts rolling.

What would be the best solution for this?

Thanks,
 
I'm still a rookie when it comes to audio, but coming from photography I had about a bazillion heavy duty light stands around that I wanted to switch to boom stands. I picked up a boomholder (boom buddy) and a griphead and it's works perfectly for a lightstand and boom pole.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=orderHistory&A=details&Q=&sku=469810&is=REG

I just leave the grip head and boomholder attached. Set up light stand, attached grip head, attached shotgun/hyper to boom, and insert boom into boomholder. Maybe 3 minutes total setup time. Works very well for sitdown type interviews where the person isn't going to be moving alot.
 
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Airwolf said:
Well these are going to be used for interviews, and unfortunately I don't have the resources to bring along a dedicated boom operator with us. I don't mind spending the money on something that will set up quickly however, some of the solutions posted above seem rather time consuming. I just need to be able to set up the stand, attach boom, attach mic, and roll. Not much time for assembling custom stuff when we only have 15 minutes to set up cameras, lighting, and sound before the interview starts rolling.

What would be the best solution for this?

Thanks,
Click to expand...
Honest answer? Find the resources to bring along sufficient crew and plan your shooting day better so you show up an hour or so before the scheduled interview, whatever it takes to have enough time for a proper setup. There are no shortcuts to quality workmanship. In terms of placing the mic Mother Nature has created some laws of acoustics that can only be ignored at your peril. One of those laws is that a shotgun must be aimed exactly on-target, otherwise the quality of the sound it records falls off. Another is that it has to be closer to the subject than most people realize, typically 18-22 inches or so, otherwise the quality of the sound it records falls off. For best quality in your shoot you have to do whatever it takes to achieve that precise aim and positioning.
 
Strouty said:
I'm still a rookie when it comes to audio, but coming from photography I had about a bazillion heavy duty light stands around that I wanted to switch to boom stands. I picked up a boomholder (boom buddy) and a griphead and it's works perfectly for a lightstand and boom pole.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=orderHistory&A=details&Q=&sku=469810&is=REG

I just leave the grip head and boomholder attached. Set up light stand, attached grip head, attached shotgun/hyper to boom, and insert boom into boomholder. Maybe 3 minutes total setup time. Works very well for sitdown type interviews where the person isn't going to be moving alot.
Click to expand...


+1
 
Steve, unfortunately our set up and tear down time is dictated by the location. In this case, the smithsonian air and space museum. Sounds like one of these boom holders and clamps will work though.
 
David G. Smith said:
I have only used static boomed mics on pretty tight close ups in talking head set ups and have not had any issues. I agree, for anything else, use a good boom operator.
Click to expand...
I've recently bought one (same as that one but different brand) and I think it'll work well for what you just described. At least it can help having a better sound than on-camera, even if it's not as close as a boom operator would get the mic. When you're in situation where you're a one-man-crew, this can certainly help.
For anything else, lav or boom is probably the only way to get good sound.
 
Airwolf said:
Well these are going to be used for interviews, and unfortunately I don't have the resources to bring along a dedicated boom operator with us. I don't mind spending the money on something that will set up quickly however, some of the solutions posted above seem rather time consuming. I just need to be able to set up the stand, attach boom, attach mic, and roll. Not much time for assembling custom stuff when we only have 15 minutes to set up cameras, lighting, and sound before the interview starts rolling.

What would be the best solution for this?
Click to expand...

IMHO, a lavalier mic or two.

- Greg
 
I used this boom stand for certain talking head shots and sometimes mounted two mics on the same boom. The video below is a time lapse of us shooting a scene on a feature with both this stand (on a character not moving much) and a boom op (on a character moving more). At the end is the scene itself, showing how the audio turned out.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...SMS7650_SM7650_Hex_Base_Microphone_Stand.html



Edit: Doesn't seem to be embedding properly but plays fine on Youtube, click logo at lower right
 
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