Simple audio for family history interviews

B

byushooter

New member
I've read some of the other wonderful threads here on audio and feel guilty for posting yet another newbie question but couldn't find anything specific to my situation. I am new to video and have a GH2. Will be doing some very simple setups with family, interiors for the most part, just simple interviews but I'd like "decent" audio quality. This doesn't have to be feature film worthy but shouldn't sound like they were deep in a well. Maybe just a wired lav? To the camera or to something like an H1?

Thanks for your help.
 
The rules don't change, whether you're shooting a feature or a magazine piece for Dateline or a family documentary. If you simply shoot for "decent", you're not going to get satisfactory results. There are different mics for different jobs, and it boils down both to picking the right mic for your specific application and implementing proper placement of that mic. Do it the right way, which is detailed in countless threads here, and you'll get what you want.

You'll find tons of threads on mics for interviews and interior dialog, and there are also many threads about recording to a DSLR camera (or, rather, why that's not a great idea).
 
If multiple people will be talking at once, probably one for each if going that route, and a recorder that can handle that many channels.

If only one, you could try recording to the camera and find out if the quality suits you.

There are some inexpensive ones out there that should be fairly decent.
 
Hmm, not sure about the GH2, but here is my experience with the GH1 and before that the HV20.

Yes, everyone here will say you 'can't get this audio, or 'decent' audio without a large selection of equipment. However, there are ways you can improve your audio (to the best of your equipments ability) by choosing your locations for the audio you want to get.

If you don't want 'in a well' sound, make sure you choose the lushest carpeted room in your home/family's home. Don't interview people at the dining room table (worst case scenario!) Then when you are interviewing them, get the mic you choose (wired lav with battery pack option, or wired lav and a tascam 100$ recorder in my opinion) as close to the mouth of the speaker as possible. Grandma might be uncomfortable with you getting the lav in the 'valley of best sound' so just tuck into a house plant near your her, or onto her clothing.

For 180-250 or so dollars you can get what I would call 'decent' sound in a room that has nice carpet and soft furniture, where you won't be 'moving' often. Just asking questions and getting answers.
 
Thanks for the replies. This will be one person at a time. I never thought about the room conditions so I really appreciate those tips. I have an Audio Technica ATR3350 microphone already. So I'll get a Tascam recorder, see how that sounds and go from there.

Thanks again for your help.
 
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