Mic for recording dialog???

V

vimcrony

Member
Hello, can anyone give me some specific names of awesome mics to record dialog for a film? Interior, exterior, punk show scenes, I need a mic that can be versatile. I've got about 300 to spend, but you can give me ideas for any mic of any price range. Thanks.

P.S. I'll be about 6 feet away most of the time and I really need the dialog to be loud and clear.
 
Please check out the stickies and try the search. There's a ton of great info already here if you put in some time reading.

And now it's time for some rapid-fire blunt facts!

  1. No one mic is good in every situation. You're going to need several.
  2. $300 is a very low budget for a single mic, let alone the several you will need and the required accessories.
  3. Six feet is completely and totally unrealistic for dialog recording.
DISCLAIMER: I'm injured, medicated, in a crappy mood, and should really not be posting things online. Please don't take my tone as anything personal, I'm sure you're a wonderful human being.
 
A typical setup for 'awesome dialog recording', as done by the Hollywood studios or TV network episodics on location, might consist of a Schoeps CMC641 hypercardiod ($2000) indoors or a Schoeps CMIT shotgun ($2250) outdoors, mounted on a boom pole ($1000 for pole, shockmount, windscreen), held just out of frame 18-22 inches from the actor's mouth by a experienced boom operator ($350/day) who knows the script as well as the actor and is skilled in following the action while maintaining a consistent mic position so as to capture the voice with a consistent timbre, feeding into a mixing desk and multichannel recorder ($5000 - $20000) operated by a Location Sound Mixer ($500/day). You can do 95% as good far cheaper BUT, as Jordan said, a $300 total budget is completely unrealistic while recording 'loud and clear' dialog with the mic 6 feet from the talent is contrary to the fundamental laws of physics and is out of the question even with the above hardware.
 
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vimcrony said:
Hello, can anyone give me some specific names of awesome mics to record dialog for a film? Interior, exterior, punk show scenes, I need a mic that can be versatile. I've got about 300 to spend, but you can give me ideas for any mic of any price range. Thanks.

P.S. I'll be about 6 feet away most of the time and I really need the dialog to be loud and clear.
Click to expand...

:evil:Boy did you ask a loaded question...kinda like asking what the best Deer rifle is:grin:

6 feet is unrealistic. You can get mics that will work at 6 feet but the audio quality won't be great. You can get mics that work at 200 feet but they sound like they were at 200 feet. Sportscasters use them.

Do a search for mics for a good all around one. What I use as a catchall mic is a Rode M3 but I do Docs at close range and don't expect studio quality. A lot of the audio snobs walk around it like it's got cooties too.

A boom pole is a must and you can buy a thousand dollar one, or use a pool pole for twenty bucks.

There just isn't any way to answer your question without knowing a lot more. Your uses and budget would help. A $300.00 mic is laughable to some people with huge budgets and beyond reach for others on a beer budget.

The only advice I can really give you is buy the best you ca afford and try to make up for it's shortcomings with technique.
 
Just hide one of these on your actors.
469369tincanandstringte.jpg

You can then spend the other $298 dollars on something important like CRAFT SERVICE! :D
 
vimcrony said:
Hello, can anyone give me some specific names of awesome mics to record dialog for a film? Interior, exterior, punk show scenes, I need a mic that can be versatile. I've got about 300 to spend, but you can give me ideas for any mic of any price range. Thanks.

P.S. I'll be about 6 feet away most of the time and I really need the dialog to be loud and clear.
Click to expand...

For $300, you can purchase an Oktava MK-012. Look to the DIY section for accessories such as boom poles, etc. (You can find the MK-012 for less on ebay... but there are chinese 'knockoffs' so beware).

But the '6 feet' is the major problem. So you're going to have to rethink your shots and framing, so that the mic can be placed closer to the actors.
 
Vimcrony,

Welcome to the audio board. You just got it straight no chaser.

Do read the stickies, you'll learn more in an hour than any other time you could spend learning about audio. I don't know what cam you are shooting with, but a very rough budget for you audio should equal the value of your cam. That is a hard pill for many folks who just blowed-up their entire budget on a cam. Audio is a lot more than buying a mic.

There are several decent mics you can buy for $300, the Oktava was mentioned and the Rode NTG-2 is a shotgun type that fits your budget. But that is just the mic. A decent audio package will also include headphones, a boom pole, with protection, and cables just for a very basic start. You didn't mention if you had any of this, but if you don't, it needs to get into your thinking.

Grant
 
A 6ft. distance is really un-doable. If your framing is such that you simply cannot use a boom, then lavs and plant mics are the only other option. Lavs can be hidden in clothing or hair. Plant mics can be placed just about anywhere and are often hidden in plain sight.

When using plant mics, it may be necessary to have several to address actor movement.
 
Rippie said:
Just hide one of these on your actors.
469369tincanandstringte.jpg

You can then spend the other $298 dollars on something important like CRAFT SERVICE! :D
Click to expand...

Yeah! For 298.00 you can get Fat Charles with New Millenium Catering who will serve the best food Sam's Club offers.:D:D
 
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