One or the Other in Run & Gun Situation

J

Jovin

Member
Hey Guys,

I am totally inexperienced with Audio.

I will be shooting a run & gun video soon where I basically follow a guy around town while he explores it. The only person talking would probably be him but sometimes I would need to capture comments from the fellow tourists or tour guides etc. If I can only either have a shotgun microphone (Rode NTG-3) mounted to my camera or a wireless lavalier (Sennheiser ME2) on him, what would be the better option?

I will be shooting on Panasonic AF100

Thanks Guys, :smile:

Jovin
 
Use both but hire a production assistant to have the Rode on a boom. You have nice gear, don't half arse it with technique. The footage will look good, so make sure the audio is the best as well. If both mics are XLR to the AF100 then all you need is someone to follow you and point the rode where it needs to be. A lot better than having it on camera which won't give you anything decent.
 
Agreed, lav mic on the talent and you'll really want that shotgun mic on a boom. The talent's lav mic will only pick him up well, and a shotgun mounted on your camera will be a mess of sound. Especially since it sounds like you'll be in a noisy location like a city street, rather than a quiet studio. Bad audio will render all of your stellar looking AF100 footage useless.

Mike Tomei
 
photonashville said:
Use both but hire a production assistant to have the Rode on a boom. You have nice gear, don't half arse it with technique. The footage will look good, so make sure the audio is the best as well. If both mics are XLR to the AF100 then all you need is someone to follow you and point the rode where it needs to be. A lot better than having it on camera which won't give you anything decent.
Click to expand...

Hire a boom op to be a boom op.
 
Here are a few thoughts for run and gun options:

Your best sound would be with the NTG-3 and a good boom op. The NTG-3 needs phantom power so that must be considered. For run and gun, the wire is problematic. You can skip the wire and equip the boom op with a recorder, but the audio person needs a high skill level to boom and record. You can go with a phantom type transmitter for the NTG-3 and Senn does make those for a price that are compatable with G2 systems. The are a few shotguns that are battery powered like the NTG-2 and AT897 that can use the standard Senn plug-on.

Another option is a handheld interview mic. Of course you will see the mic, but that doesn't have to be a negative. For example, a EV-RE50 can be used with a standard Senn plug-on (buttplug). To be effective, your interviewee must be very close to the mic, but that will also eliminate a lot of background noise.

If you do choose to tether to the cam, consider a break-away cable for a quicker setup between cam and audio.

Not sure if any of this appeals to you, but if you are moving around a lot, this gives you a few options.

Grant
 
If the choice, as you say, id EITHER lav on the guy OR Shotgun on the cam, then use the lav on the guy. If he is standing next to someone talking, the lav will pick them up, but not greatly. And if someone is talking on a PA like on a tour bus, the lav will pick that up good.

That being said, I'd still put the shotgun on the camera, and get the lav in one channel and the shot in the other. Because you can walk up close to someone to get them talking, but you need to get really close - like within 3 feet. Also get some wind protection on that shotgun. The foam windscreen won't cut it.

This "Rycote Universal Camera Kit" really provides some awesome wind protection - better than their furry/fuzzy, and cheaper. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/668031-REG/Rycote_116002_InVision_Universal_Camera_Kit.html

Of course a boom op would be better, but you did not mention that as an option.
 
An alternative is a lav on the guy, and a plug in wireless xmitter on an interview mic like an EV RE50b. When he has someone to talk to, he can use the RE50b going back and forth "man in the street interview style" like you've seen a million times on TV news.

But you'll want to be wearing headphones the whole time so you can hear what's actually coming in. And you'll probably have to ride levels somewhat unless your guy is good with using an interview mic like this.

IMHO, a mic on the camera is nearly totally worthless because you'll never be close enough to the source to make it worthwhile.
 
Thanks for the replies guys... looks like this time around I'll be using the wireless lavalier on the guy. Renting this from my friend

http://www.videoguys.com.au/Shop/p/...-wireless-lapel-microphone-system-503308.html

Does this mean that in the future, If I want to lav the guy and just use a dynamic mic to pick up other people's comments, I will need something like this?

http://www.videoguys.com.au/Shop/p/...handheld-body-pack-combo-system-az330ulh.html

Cause the Sennheiser one is only able to receive one device? I'm only familiar with the brands Sennheiser, Rode and AT...

Unfortunately, the organisation i'll be doing the videos for only have barely enough to cover my costs so I cannot even have a PA following me around let alone a boom op :(

Thanks again.
 
Avoid Azden. Just avoid it.

The Sennheiser G3 has a plug-on transmitter for hand-held dynamic (interview) mics. If you can have only one mic for this type of scenario, that's the way to go. If you can rent a second G3 system, get one bodypack/lav system and one hand-held.
 
+1 on avoiding Azden. Your best bet is to get a G3 package with the Plug-On transmitter for 800.00 US. Maybe not for this time, but for the future. You'll have the cheapest/best bang wireless for whatever comes up, and for 100 - 200 dollars more you can get an interview mic. You really should have your own gear so you are not confined by what the client has. Even if you don't need the plug-on now it's cheaper to get it with the package than to buy it alone later. Save up!
 
Thanks guys, I am saving up for audio as we speak and was tossing up between the Sennheiser G3 & ME2 Wireless Package or a Rode NTG3, Boom Pole, Shock Mount Package. Looks like I'll be saving towards the Wireless since I'm usually in a one man band situation. :)
 
You should just go ahead and save for both. Everyone needs at least 3 mics. 1: Shotgun, 2: Hyper, 3: Wireless.
 
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