Record continuous sound of events or performances

Desertfox

Desertfox

Active member
I was recording a live rock concert last month and I must admit the picture quality of the HMC 15x was satisfactory to my liking. The stage for the concern was lighted with different colours like those used in the disco and it reminded me of the HMC 15x brochure whereby they made a AVCHD and HDV comparison between 2 ladies dancing in the disco.

Since the days of recording DV, I have yet to figure out what type of mic I should use to record a Live concert. A shotgun mic? This shouldn't be right since I have drums, vocals and bass guitars running all over the hall. So instead I shot with the HMC 15x internal mic despite being warned of the occasional "pork" sound from a test video I watched some time ago.

I am a 1 man show and yes I should have got a portable mixer or keep the audio level down (but I still have no clue what type of stereo mic or mics should I jack into the XLR).

My question, is there anyone out there could recommend me an external mic (in stereo would be perfect) for the HMC 15x especially for this kind of recording? (Surely not a shotgun mic right?)
 
Last edited:
Ideally you wouldn't even be using a mic at all. Try to get a feed off the house mixer board, assuming that someone professional is running the board. That way you should get a clean feed, and then if you want to mix in some crowd ambience, you could use something as simple as a dynamic omni or cardioid mounted on the camera...

If you need to be mobile and can't be cabled to the mixer board, consider getting a separate recorder (like maybe a Zoom H4N) that would record all the audio cleanly, and then you could sync it in post.

Condensor mics are going to have trouble in high-SPL (Sound Pressure Level) environments like concerts. Shotguns are directional, which will make the audio sound very odd as you pan around; if you need a good quality recording of the music itself, a shotgun would be an awful choice (unless you're set up on a tripod and pointing in one direction only maybe)...
 
Here are my two cents regarding live performances recording:

- Always record more than one audio track.
Sometimes noise gets in the way, but if you have two or more audio recordings, you can always mix them to get rid of it. For example, last friday I was recording a puppet show at a children's party and one of them begun to scream. One of the mikes got completely overwhelmed by the noise. However, I had four audio sources, and was able to get nice audio from another one.

- Whenever you can, record audio straight from the source.
Like Barry said, it's best to record directly from the mixer board. That'll give you the cleanest sound. And, also like Barry said, you should also record some ambient audio with a second mike.

- Use an external recorder, if you need movility or can't use cables.
Most of the times, the mixer board is not located at the most visual-appropiate location. Instead of using a very long cable (which can introduce noice, or have some logistical problems). I've used the Zoom 4hN, with great results. Syncing the tracks may be a bit of work, but I've found it totally worth the effort (and can be done in just a few minutes).

Some other quick and dirty tips:

- I always put a mike facing the crowd (or even in the middle of it). That way, I can get nice crowd noise whenever I need it.

- If there is no way to record straight from the mixing deck, a trick is to put a mike very close to one of the speakers (assuming it's mono), or one of the audio monitors. Set it's recording level very low, and you can get very nice sound. This may seem a bit weird, but it has actually saved me a few times.

- Use the shortest cables you can. They tend to catch a lot of noise when they are long. Specially, if there is a lot of people and a lot of electrical equipment around.

- And, the very first and basic tip regarding audio: always put the mikes as close as you can to the audio source.

Hope this gives you some ideas.
 
You can also get a wireless xlr plug in (that has line-level) and run that off the board. Then you could use another channel for an on camera mic.
 
Thank you guys for the tips.

Yes ideally I would mix the video feed with the sound engineer board. Sometimes this will not work out if you are recording a choir in a 6th century hall without any electricity.

At first I was thinking of a Rode Stereo Mics.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/450170-REG/Rode_STEREO_VIDEO_MIC_Stereo_VideoMic_Camera.html

H4N:
But then, I sometimes need to be mobile so I think the Zoom H4N would be an obvious choice. Around US $300 I gather the price.

Once again, thank you all.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top