Mic options for call center interviews
- Thread starter Ken1212
- Start date
Jim Feeley
Veteran
Boom mic in rooms, presumably, with lots of noise? I'd lean towards a Sanken CS3e.
Handheld mic that'd be in the shot? Probably Sennheiser MD46.
I've used both while interviewing people on busy streets (well, on sidewalks next to busy streets), convention & tradeshow floors, not crazy-loud factories, and stuff like that. There may be other choices, but those two have worked for me.... and I own and have access to a bunch of other good mics...
But that's just my opinion. What do others think?
Handheld mic that'd be in the shot? Probably Sennheiser MD46.
I've used both while interviewing people on busy streets (well, on sidewalks next to busy streets), convention & tradeshow floors, not crazy-loud factories, and stuff like that. There may be other choices, but those two have worked for me.... and I own and have access to a bunch of other good mics...
But that's just my opinion. What do others think?
I don't have the CS3a, I do have Sennheiser an MKH-416 and an MKE 600, I also have a sony ECM-66 lav.
Greg Smith
Veteran
I'd probably go with a lav unless it is absolutely unacceptable to have any trace of the microphone showing in the shot. (Even then, you might be able to hide the mic under clothing, but results may be muffled or tainted by rustling noises.) A boomed hyper or shotgun would be the second choice. The Sanken CS3E is far and away the best shotgun for indoor use; your MKH-416 has a reputation for not working well in small, reflective rooms, but it may work out OK depending on the size and acoustics of the space.
Consistency may be more important than absolute quality here, since if the multiple speakers' voices sound very different from one another due to the recording technique, that could seem very jarring in the finished edit.
- Greg
Consistency may be more important than absolute quality here, since if the multiple speakers' voices sound very different from one another due to the recording technique, that could seem very jarring in the finished edit.
- Greg
Rick R
Veteran
I'd go with a lav, they pick up wearer's voice good and push the extraneous sound to the background, so it will sound like the natural environment. I recall the ECM 66 is cardioid, that would work, but they're susceptible the drops in volume when the wearer turns their head and other issues of cardioid lavs.
If resources and time are available, use both a boom and lav, (on separate tracks of course) and choose the most desirable in post.
If resources and time are available, use both a boom and lav, (on separate tracks of course) and choose the most desirable in post.
Jim Feeley
Veteran
Ya, a lav would work if you have the set-up time with each interview...of course, doesn't take much time to do that. But with an ECM66 it would take more time to get positioned just right and there's an increased likelihood it'd end up in your frame (for the directional reasons mentioned above); that might not be an issue. I guess I was thinking these were more quick voxpop-style bites. My bad.
Might be worth buying a new omni lav... and/or renting a CS3e or similar; that wouldn't cost much. I've had a 416 for 15 years or so but I don't use it much anymore and probably wouldn't use it in this situation.
But if you have a little bit of time, and will be setting up an interview area slightly away from their cubes (or if they have reasonably isolated cubes), you'll probably be fine. I've done what you're doing for a couple corporate gigs and the better call centers were pretty workable.
Might be worth buying a new omni lav... and/or renting a CS3e or similar; that wouldn't cost much. I've had a 416 for 15 years or so but I don't use it much anymore and probably wouldn't use it in this situation.
But if you have a little bit of time, and will be setting up an interview area slightly away from their cubes (or if they have reasonably isolated cubes), you'll probably be fine. I've done what you're doing for a couple corporate gigs and the better call centers were pretty workable.
combatentropy
Veteran
I would use your 416.
- The difference in sound between that and a lav, or between any two mics really, will be so slight that your audience would be affected only subconsciously.
- Because of that, I would use what you already have, and save your money for something more important.
- You already have a great mic, the Sennheiser 416. Hello? Hollywood!
- Full-size mics in general sound fuller than lavaliers (article + demo video). So if you're going for pure sound quality, I would go with your shotgun.
- Shotgun mics might sound a bit reverberent in tight rooms. In that case I would recommend a hypercardioid. But if you're shooting in a call center, this is --- what --- a standard big office room with a bunch of cube walls? That means high ceilings and padded cube walls, open at the top. I don't think your 416 will have trouble here.
- A shotgun mic will be faster to set up. No need to string up each interviewee.
- A shotgun mic will not be in the shot. A lav in the shot is not a big deal, but again if you're going to be perfectionist about it.
- I would test it if you're not sure. A bit of background walla-walla is natural. But you don't want some guy talking loudly on the phone right behind the cube wall of the guy you're interviewing. That might be distracting no matter what mic you used.
- The difference in sound between that and a lav, or between any two mics really, will be so slight that your audience would be affected only subconsciously.
- Because of that, I would use what you already have, and save your money for something more important.
- You already have a great mic, the Sennheiser 416. Hello? Hollywood!
- Full-size mics in general sound fuller than lavaliers (article + demo video). So if you're going for pure sound quality, I would go with your shotgun.
- Shotgun mics might sound a bit reverberent in tight rooms. In that case I would recommend a hypercardioid. But if you're shooting in a call center, this is --- what --- a standard big office room with a bunch of cube walls? That means high ceilings and padded cube walls, open at the top. I don't think your 416 will have trouble here.
- A shotgun mic will be faster to set up. No need to string up each interviewee.
- A shotgun mic will not be in the shot. A lav in the shot is not a big deal, but again if you're going to be perfectionist about it.
- I would test it if you're not sure. A bit of background walla-walla is natural. But you don't want some guy talking loudly on the phone right behind the cube wall of the guy you're interviewing. That might be distracting no matter what mic you used.
The ECM-66 is closer to a uni-directional than cardioid, they drop off a lot when the subject turns their head slightly. I'd probably use both lav and shotgun if I had the option. I think this is one of those situations where having a sound person would be worth the money, really need someone to listen to the interview and the background noise to determine if a take was good.
I'd also hang as much fabric as possible around the interview area without obscuring the background of the shot just to try and absorb some of the background noise before it hits the mics.
I'd also hang as much fabric as possible around the interview area without obscuring the background of the shot just to try and absorb some of the background noise before it hits the mics.