That Apple Quality Audio

M

martinmt

New member
Take a look a this nice Education video from apple:

http://images.apple.com/education/profiles/punahou/#video-punahou


The interviews have great clean sound, see 2:00min, do you think is has been achieved by an overhanging shotgun mic with fur and blimp and all that ?

What kind of equipment is necessary for that isolated present sound ? 1. recorder, 2. shotgun mic plus acc. (which) ? 3. ...

Thanks so much in advance !, its a jungle out there for a microphone newbie :)
 
An external recorder is a must if your camera doesn't have decent audio (such as DSLR). Usually, you'll want a mixer in front of the recorder. You'll also need GOOD headphones for monitoring during production. As for that kind of sound in an interview...

It can be done with a shotgun mic on a boom, with proper shock mount and wind protection, but those interviews sound more like lav mics to me. The lavs are probably hidden in the subjects' shirts. Mic placement is everything. The closer, the better. A lav mic, however, has a much more "dry" sound with less ambient characteristics. This can be hard-wired or transmitted via wireless system.

Since you're new here, you might want to read the yellow stickies at the top of the audio forum. Most all of your "newbie" questions have probably been answered several times over. There's also a search function where you can look for information on more specific items.
 
...What Alex says!

Yes, it dos sound a bit "dry" so it's probably a lav. A shot gun mic would have resulted in a warmer, fuller reproduction of the man's voice, but it may have included some extra b\g noise.

If you're on a budget, look at the rode ntg1/ntg2 shotguns for outdoors, and the Octava 012 hypercardioid for indoors.

If you have a bit more cash, the rode ntg3 shotgun for outdoors and the AT 4053b for indoors will yield wonderful results in the right hands.

But when all is said and done, a cheaper mic properly positioned with low or no background noise will sound better than an expensive one without those 2 conditions.
 
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction !, im now getting the Audio-Technica AT831B to see if it meets my needs,

small bonus question:
B model: Output Connectors XLR-3M Type, (from AT8531 Power Module) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...ail&Q=&sku=68270&is=REG&si=rev#costumerReview

R model: Output Connectors TA3F (from Microphone),XLR-3M Type (from AT8533 Power Module) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...ail&Q=&sku=68270&is=REG&si=rev#costumerReview

Would i be able to take the B model and plug it into a recorder like the h4n (or higher quality recorder) and would need a cable ?
What cable would i need to plug it into a dslr ?, xlr to jack ?
What cable to plug it into a sennheiser g3 system ?

Thanks in advance, i feel like im almost ready : )
 
The 831b is a cardioid lav. Cardioids are more suitable for sound reinforcement uses where feedback suppression is an issue. When used for film/video production, they are problematic as the quality of the talent's voice tends to change every time they move their head. For production sound an omni lav such as the AT803 or the MT830r is generally preferred.
 
Yes. I tried the omni me2 that comes with one of the sennheiser wireless systems, it had a lot of room noise, plus the reviews on the AT831 on b&h say that it really focuses the sound without too much "proximity" effect, one user on this board also called it perfect for interviews, so thats kindof my reasoning :)

What im trying to avoid is the room echo noise apparent in the beginning of the video below, the video taken with a countryman b6, after the first minute the video notes say the mic got loose and they repositioned it, but the room noise gets much better as a result:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjWajyh7C6c

So positioning can minimize the room echo ? maybe i should get both a countryman b6 and the cardioid AT831 and then send back the one i like the best..
 
Positioning can help - the Inverse Square law is your friend and the closer the mic is to the speaker's mouth the greater the proportion of that sound to anything coming in from the room, including slap. With an omni it won't matter if the mic is pointed up, down, or sideways, giving the most flexibility in positioning, while with a cardioid, the direction the capsule faces as well as the direction the subject is looking from moment to moment can have a pronounced effect on the timbre of the sound.
 
Well, first, there's music under at 2:00 and on so that masks a lot of noise and space. Second, the shots mostly cut off the tops of the respondents' heads so the schoeps, if properly placed is just on the edge of frame. Around 4 minutes you hear the girl in the classroom and also the early reflection of the room. The slap is masked by the music, but it's there. The outside stuff you don't hear that on and the music covers up background sound.

Regards,

Ty Ford
 
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