Stereo Shotgun Mic

ian lucero

ian lucero

Well-known member
I have a friend that showed me an Audio-Technica Stereo Shotgun mic that he got off ebay. What interested me was the shotgun part. How does that work on a stereo mic? Isn't that kind of cancelling itself out?

Has anyone used these mics with much sucess? What applications/situations would you use it in? Could it be a good replacement for the onboard stereo mic of the dvx as it might not pick-up hand noise so much?
 
Re: Stereo Shotgun Mic

stereo mics are kind of a waste if you're doing dialogue recording. 99% of movies are shot in mono. Sure it's possible, but recording in stereo is not recomended. Stereo miking preserves depth, perspective, and ambience. Stereo miking is also good for:

*samples

*sound effects

*background ambience for film, video, and electronic news gathering

*audience reaction

*sports broadcasts

*radio group discussions

*radio plays

*drama
 
Re: Stereo Shotgun Mic

I understand what it can gather but how is the shot-gun part important on this particular mic?

http://audiotechnica.com/prodpro/profiles/AT835ST.html

or

http://audiotechnica.com/prodpro/profiles/AT815ST.html

I've always thought shot-gun is a shot-gun meaning directional and stereo is stereo meaning a wide-spread like a fish-eye lens for audio.

Pardon the lame comparisons to video gear or overly simplified discriptions.   :P

also those applications you listed above are what I thought I'd be using the mic for. I'm just confused about the shot-gun part.
 
Re: Stereo Shotgun Mic

you can use the 835 for dialog as well with onlu mid signal out , its a little bit noicy then the 4073 but still better then the me 66 , the capsul of 8 is abonus if you need stero imag e
very good mike for the buck
the stero mike is extrimly good thing in documentary recording when you dealing with differnt sound on locaition and dont have to much time to change the mikes . musik, street noise sound fx, and croud ,espesially in sport this is what that mike is good for , the stero image can be made whith internal matrix or with external mixer during the shot or later on the editing table . for regular work you use the mid capsul only .
 
Re: Stereo Shotgun Mic

sorry ian, i jumped the gun assuming you were using them for dialogue :P

In the rough-and-tumble world of field recording, however, it's often impossible to position a microphone as close to the source as you'd like. Imagine, for example, trying to record the sound of a squirrel eating a walnut. It would be great if you could position the mic inches from the rodent's maw, but what wild creature is going to allow that?

A common solution for that type of challenge is to record with a shotgun microphone, a key item in the field recordist's handbag. Shotgun mics (also called interference tube or line cardioid microphones) use a highly focused polar pattern — tighter than hypercardioid — to capture distant sounds. They are especially useful in noisy or reverberant environments because of their ability to accurately home in on a particular sound while rejecting surrounding sounds.

Single-point stereo mics (one microphone housing two capsules) are commonly used for field recording and for video- and film-production sound work. Single-point stereo mics usually have better mono compatibility than a spaced pair of microphones, and they also minimize the size and weight of the rig — important concerns in the field.

The AT835ST is a target-specific instrument. Note that the Narrow and Wide modes do not have an effect on the directionality of the shotgun capsule; instead, they raise the relative level of the figure-8 side mic. When using the AT835ST in Wide mode, therefore, you hear a fair amount of stereo ambience along with the sound at which you're aiming. Collapse the image to mono after the fact (or record in undecoded M-S mode), though, and you'll notice the amount of rejected ambience and off-axis sound. For even greater directionality, the AT815ST is a great tool. It's a physically longer and more focused version of essentially the same instrument.
 
Re: Stereo Shotgun Mic

Wow! Dan thanks for all that info. I would like to consider using a shot-gun stereo mic for the theater documentation I've been doing. Most of the time I find myself shooting dead center and following the talent, that is speaking, around. The problem I've found with having a stationary stereo mic is that it doesn't follow the speaker around. It captures the entire stage and that's it. So without having to set-up lots of gear I'm wondering if the Stereo Shotgun will help isolate better, the talent speaking at the moment and also still capture say, the actor(s) that is right next to him/her that might start speaking or singing but still be able to capture a distant piano being played in the rear left corner of the stage. The other ambient sounds could then be reinforced with my usual stationary stereo mic but maybe instead it can hide on stage, closer to the action. I know and I've heard of set-ups that are more ideal than the one I've just described but Don't have the budget or physical time (in most cases) to set it up once i get to the gig. It's like, "Come shoot, time, ok..."

What I'm getting at is - are stereo shotguns worth getting as part of my bag of mics for situations where I don't have time to set-up, where I can just slap the mic in the holder of the DVX, center myself and start shooting and getting good sound considering the 'low' budget of the person hiring me (which in most cases are starving actors) AND still be able to find lots of uses for outside of the theater world.

Thanks again for everyones input.
 
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