Room Tones: shotgun or internal mic?

evolvnyc

evolvnyc

Well-known member
Hi, I'm shooting a documentary with a small budget (not non-existent) so I can spend conservatively... I have a tram tr-50 for sit down interviews during which i plan to have the other channel recording ambient, now when i do my room tones after finishing the interview, is the internal mic good enough or do I want to have a shotgun? The rest of the documentary will be handheld and I am thinking of the sony wireless UWP-C1 to have on someone, and if I'm outside, again, for the 2nd channel getting ambient noise, should I stick with the internal mic (is there windproofing available for it?) Any advice greatly appreciated, pretty much a one man operation on this one...
 
And would i ratchet up the input while doing this, or would i leave it at the same level it was at when the person was using it (speaking)? Thanks!
 
MattC is right, record it exactly the way the dialog is recorded. If you are using a multi-track system, I would record room tone from every input (document carefully which track is which). Do not ratchet up the input. The purpose of room tone is to provide consitency while sound editing, do not change anything.

Also to keep in mind that if you are doing multiple set-ups for a scene you should record room tone from every set-up (every change in mic placement at least). I have had problems with changes with room acoustics when pointing the mic in different directions. Also, room acoustics can change over time, even without moving the mic, i.e., morning ambience may be different from afternoon ambience, which may be different from late night ambience. If you are in a location for an extented time period, record ambience several times at least.
 
Always record room tone with the mic you used to record the sound. Always record room tone with all talent in the same place and the mic in the same place as it was when recording sound.
 
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