Two couches - 3 people on each couch

NorBro

NorBro

Major Contributor
If possible, I'd like to stay away from 6 lavs.

Each person is only a few inches away from each other. Would hanging a shotgun above the middle person of each couch work? Would 2 boom operators work better? Anything else?

Thank you for any suggestions.
 
Two boom ops are your best bet. Since couches are unvolved, I'm assuming this is an interior, so a hypercardioid can be a bit more flexible for boom work.
 
Thanks for the responses. This will be just for the camera...an open forum/discussion.

I was thinking about testing/hanging a Rode Stereo VideoMic Pro in the middle of each person. What do you think?

Also, on a side note, are there any kind of professional boundary table microphones that are used in production. I've seen the conference room table "platform-type" boxes that are marketed to pick up everyone's sound in the room. Do people use these in situations like this with a good quality preamp?

Something like this?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...X393_O_MX393_O_Omni_Directional_Boundary.html

There would be two small coffee tables in front of the couches where something like this can easily be placed near a plant or a set of books, but I couldn't imagine this kind of mic working well?
 
In an unscripted scenario like this I would omni Lav mic each person on the couches and have a dedicated sound mixer. I know you don't want to do this, but how important is the sound on this project?
 
It's always important, but to be honest, I just think it will be a lot more work with 6 lavs in post. It doesn't all have to be SUPER clean.

Hanging a microphone could possibly get good results (need to test it out), but I don't want the audio to sound too thin for the people on the edges of the couch. The Rode Stereo or any other decent omni mic should pick up audio well from the sides and it would only be about 2-3 feet away from the people on the side, so it could be passable. Sometimes I see a boom in a film hanging like 3-4 feet over a crowd.
 
You could try a few hyper cards on low stands knee level in front of the couches if the room is decent. I use a PCC 160 boundary mic for stage stuff and it's great also for piano but there are issues that make it difficult and you would need a couple or three and then there is phasing with multiple mics. Good luck!
 
- Two skilled boom ops; audio to separate tracks
- Six omni lavs on separate tracks; mix in post. If all the mics are open, it would likely be a phasing nightmare.
I would avoid fixed boom mics as the folks will likely be leaning in and out, turning heads ect.
An auto-mixer w/ six lavs is another option, however they ain't perfect, and should be set up and monitored by a pro.
I don't think boundary mics could be placed close enough.. depends on the set arrangement.
in any case, an experienced pro audio person should be enlisted.
 
Thank you.

Any opinions on using the Rode Stereo microphone per couch?

Any recommendations for a boundary microphone? What if it was placed on a coffee table right in front of the guests by their knees?
 
NorBro said:
It's always important, but to be honest, I just think it will be a lot more work with 6 lavs in post.
Click to expand...

??? What post work ????

6 Lavs run into a mixer with a dedicated person mixing sound down to a 2 track master just like you would do on a live show.

A skilled live sound mixer does this all the time. If they are not familiar with the talent then provide line of sight or monitor feeds and there should be zero issues.
 
"A skilled live sound mixer does this all the time. If they are not familiar with the talent then provide line of sight or monitor feeds and there should be zero issues. "
Yes, folks skilled in mixing panel discussions are readily available in NYC. Line of sight is very helpful as David stated.
 
David W. Jones said:
6 Lavs run into a mixer with a dedicated person mixing sound down to a 2 track master just like you would do on a live show.

A skilled live sound mixer does this all the time. If they are not familiar with the talent then provide line of sight or monitor feeds and there should be zero issues.
Click to expand...

While in theory I agree, I have to disagree a bit in the real world. FOH mixers tend to leave most of not all the mic's potted open (at least to a certain %).
Can't really hear all the bg noise etc through the house speakers so it works.
Take that same mix and move it onto home speakers and to me it's a bit too ambient for my taste. I would personally be way more aggressive mixing it.
Once again just my experience through the years.
Now if he can multi track it.. just get all the mic's clean and mix it later.

(I also wouldn't trust a FOH mixer to know how to hide mics)


One more important thing I didn't see mentioned is how are the couches laid out?
If they are across from each other..and the room was quiet I would hang booms..
2 per couch. Person/mic/person/mic/person

I've done that in the past with 8 people (6 boom mic's I hung from the ceiling)
with very good results. Multi-tracked /post mixed. I sent a reference rough mix to cameras (which they almost used).

One thing as others mentioned and I couldn't agree more. This isn't the type of sound job to have an inexperienced guy on.
Life will be much smoother to get a pro in there.
 
I never mentioned front of house mixers.

I was thinking more in line with someone doing live TV show work, or events from trucks, where riding 6 mics is no big deal. Assign each couch to a VCA to quickly lower all 3 mics if needed.
 
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Interesting points re boom operators vs stationary mics. I understand why the boom option will give more consistent results, as a (good) operator can move the boom around to match who's talking, but I'd have thought stationary mics would be far less in-your-face distracting/intimidating to non-professional interviewees.
 
An experienced A1 will always be able to move a fader quicker than a boom op can swing the mic into position, and who wants the distraction of 2 boom ops standing there.
 
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The boom ops standing there would be too distracting.

In everyone's experience here, what is the best omni shotgun microphone they have used?

I understand there are perfect ways to do all of this, but I'm working within a budget.

I asked this question a few times and no one has given a direct answer...but what do you think of hanging a Rode Stereo VideoMic Pro straight down below the middle person's head? Rippie, you mentioned 2 per couch, which would work better, but I'm wondering if 1 would be enough?
 
"In everyone's experience here, what is the best omni shotgun microphone they have used? .....
Omni shotgun microphone?"
-- Is no such thing. But I suppose if one taped up the ports, one could call it that.
Otherwise, omni mics need to be in close proximity to the sound source... just watch the TV field reporters with their trusty RE50s on this evening's news.
 
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