NTG-2 for interviews

On multi camera network / film shoots they often spec a make / model of mic..... and if you want the work you wouldn't dare turn up with a different mic. I have been on some shoots where they even spec the cable type to use.

In the spec sheets I have NEVER seen a Rode NTG 1 / 2 as a shotgun mic, Sennheiser MKH416 is the standard, occasionally MKH 60. You might say clean it up in post? but thats not possible on many situations like 'live to air'.

Once I questioned the spec sheet and was told 'Who ever pays the piper picks the tune'

I once did a shoot where an overseas producer / director had his 'own' 416 to be used on that shoot.
 
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as long as you can get the mic super close to your talent I think the mic will perform great. In my last shoot i just used the rode videomic plugged straight into the GH4 and I think the quality came out pretty good for the set up and a cost of under $160. Here is the behind the scenes setup and toward the end you can hear the interview/mic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7BpUDVf7KA&hd=1

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I AGREE
 
OzGizmo said:
On multi camera network / film shoots they often spec a make / model of mic..... and if you want the work you wouldn't dare turn up with a different mic. I have been on some shoots where they even spec the cable type to use.
Click to expand...

If that is the case he probably wouldn't be asking here...

Certainly IF you need to use what some nimrod decides then don't ask here, go get what they asked for. I don't do a huge amount of production but I have never been required to use Brand X, but I am also not doing multi camera network shoots, so...

And I mostly do post so I would NEVER say clean it up in post. There is not a "clean up" situation here.

When "specks" get handed down in my experience (this has been post) they are written by people who have no clue but are parroting something they heard or read. I have seen things like Dolby Digital with Dolby SR, as a speck. Which is impossible. PBS had a speck that hadn't been updated in 10 years last show I did for them and was still based on the limitations of analog broadcast.

But do what you must to keep the client happy, I do also.

However the OP was asking about quality, not client specks so you may be projecting a bit.
Still good point. If that is the kind of stuff he is planning to do then by all means find out what you need and get it.

If client specks are not an issue and you want one mic and you have the $$$ then I would not go with the 416 and instead look into a Sanken CS-3e.

It works well inside and out side and doesn't have the interference tube problems most shotguns have in bouncy spaces.
 
I used a Rode NTG-2 for a couple of years, but ended up selling it after buying the Sennheiser MKE600 shotgun mic, as the MKE600 records better audio and has better off-axis rejection.

I've always found the Rode NTG-2 to be a little "muffled" sounding on the upper frequency range, where the MKE600 doesn't have this issue.

Shotguns are generally not the best mic for indoor recording, where a hypercardioid ( like the AT4053b ) would be a better choice.
 
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When "specks" get handed down in my experience (this has been post) they are written by people who have no clue but are parroting something they heard or read. I have seen things like Dolby Digital with Dolby SR, as a speck. Which is impossible. PBS had a speck that hadn't been updated in 10 years last show I did for them and was still based on the limitations of analog broadcast.
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A lot of the kit I'm buying is because some people in the industry see it as the only thing you should buy. Like you said, a lot of people are just parroting what others say. Dismissing certain equipment because of the brand or their perceived quality. So for a lot of the work I do I have to just go with this equipment because there's no point disagreeing with it.
 
I should point out that I mostly do FX recording for films with a budget and production for films that don't have much of a budget. FX folks are "weird" and you can bring just about anything out that works. FX folks also tend to have a lot of modified or specialty build items, so again if someone quizzed and I told them I put the gust of a 416 into the body of a NTG-2 because of how great they sound together they would think I was some kind of torture genius. If I used that line on a big budget feature they would smile and give me the day off... and the next... and the next.

well unless I had some wall candy on the trophy wall, then I would probably be back in the "he's weird but it works" category.
 
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