shotgun or oktava?

S

smpproductions

Well-known member
Most of the work I have lined up is shooting testimonials with people mainly outdoors. These people are untrained and don't know anything about how to speak for recordings (some have soft voices, look around and talk away from the mic). I do the best I can at directing them but I am in need of a mic that will work better for me. As i said i shoot mainly outside, but at times, I have shot indoors as well. I am looking for a shotgun mic because I am in need of placing it futher away from the subject, i can't have the mic in the frame, but I have read up on the oktava mk-012 and i have to say it sounds pretty nice. here's my question, how well will the cardioid capsule do if it is place further away from the subject? since it's not super cardioid, i'm assuming it won't work as well but i really like how you can interchange the capsules. any advice would be appreciated.
 
the oktava is only truly effective at close range (like 2 feet or less). further away it starts being less brilliant.

you shouldnt use the cardioid on the oktava for dialogue pickup as a general rule, you want the hyper-cardioid.

for you, a shotgun with a wider pickup might be the best bet, im thinking audio technica at4073a. but, keep in mind that one mic doesnt perform optimally in all environments, you should aim for a shotgun AND a hyper in order to get the best out of each place you shoot.

last thing, the "reach" of a mic is not always entirely dependant on the mic - the quality of the pre-amplification you are using influences this greatly too. what im trying to say is, a mixer will also improve your results.

tim
 
thanks for the advice. i know it's pretty impossible to find a mic that will work well in all settings, but it doesn't hurt to look. as far as placement, i try not to have the mic too far away, but it's not directly under the mouth either. I'd say that i'd be placing the mic anywhere from 2-4 feet away. Will a hypers work well outdoors? i thought they were mainly for indoor use.
 
lately ive been using a hyper outside almost exclusively, but in combination with radio mics. i just like the sound.

if you want some advice, my advice would be this - go with a shotgun like the 4073a or 416. Use it, and learn to understand its strengths and weaknesses. it wont be ideal in some situations (like places with echo or reverb), but outside and in echo free/noisy environments it'll work well. ALWAYS get your mic AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE - and usually from ABOVE, not below like your post said - use a boom or a mic stand. there is typically less distance to mouth from the top of frame than the bottom (unless you are framing strangely), and these few inches can really make or break you.

when you are happy with the shotgun, but can identify where its letting you down, but an oktava. they are pretty cheap, so if you are screwed with the shotgun it wont take you long to afford the oktava.

lather, rinse, repeat.
 
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