Overhead mics

J

jonaswray

Member
OK, I have been doing some research on this for the last few days and I still have some questions on which mics to get. I'm going to be shooting in a small warehouse type place and I wanted to hang the mics on the cealing about 6 feet from one another. I was thinking of using 2 hypercardioids like the AKG C1000S since my budget is about $450. I know I can get 1 better mic for this price but I'm wondering if hanging 2 of them will give me better sound since the subjects move around a lot in a 10 to 15 feet range. I read that the AKG Blue Line CK93 with the C300B is much better but it's also much more expensive. I was also refered the Oktava mk-102 but they are hard to find and someone told me that the QA on them is really bad. This is going to be an indoor controlled shooting so I wanted to know what some of you think. Thanks
 
I'm not an audio guy, but you may want to post this in the audio section of this site for better response.
 
Whatever mic you decide to use will only sound best when close to the source.
e.g. - hanging a mic from the ceiling and hoping for the best generally only works with a choir.

Really I think the solution is to get the mic close and have a boom man moving the mic around
as needed. Drummers make excellent boom operators, BTW.
 
jonaswray said:
I was thinking of using 2 hypercardioids like the AKG C1000S since my budget is about $450.
Click to expand...

Problem with that microphone is it's fat shaped and doesn't fit in any shock mount for
fitting on a boom pole that I know of. Also, there aren't any Rycote windscreens, either.

It might be a good choice for economy, but it wouldn't serve your needs well long-term
since it isn't designed for filmmaking.. Whatever you think.
 
The AKG C100S is not a shotgun mic. It is a small diaphram condensor and will pick up the sound of grit under someones shoes as well as the traffic outside. It is not directional like a shotgun. This mic is a great sounding mic but I don't think you will get the sound you are looking for in this instance. You will get a great ambient recording of the room tone with lots of reverb if you hang them from the ceiling. Invest in a boom pool and a good shotgun. I use the C1000s to record acoustic guitar and hang them from the ceiling to record cymbals on a drum set. Great for mid to high pitched instruments.
 
Yah--but, JonasWray mentioned being indoors in a controlled environment and that is the job of a hyper.

You never, ever, ever use a shotgun indoors. Never. He's on the right track.
 
I understand you're using the C1000S like I would use an SM-81 for cymbals...
but a hypercardioid (lk. Schoeps MK-41) is a better choice for indoor dialogue,
not an interference-tube shotgun.
 
He says he is in a wharehouse. That means big reverb. The mic will need to be close to the source and reject the wave bounce. He has to follow the actors around with the mic somehow. I don't think any static mic will cut it. Unless he wants the big reverb sound. I never do, I always want my dialog to be acoustically dead as possible. How about some clip on Lavs. That's what I use indoors for dialog and it sounds great.
 
Agreed--hanging any microphone from the ceiling with the expectation of getting useful dialogue
tracks is senseless in most situations. However, interference-tube shotgun microphones lose
their directional capabilities and perceived usefulness in small rooms and highly reverberant spaces.
Check out some articles on the subject--the Schoeps CMC5/MK41 or AKG C300B/CK93 are mics
often used for indoor dialogue, the former being the top choice of the professional sound man,
the latter being the more affordable equivalent--although it's a little mushy compared to a Scheops.

The lav approach is good. I would actually prefer lavs in this situation, but I don't think a pair
of Sanken's with Lectrosonics is within the budget JonasWray has stipulated.
 
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