under $300 mic for interviews/filmmaking? Indoors? videomic pro?

G

gutterball321

Well-known member
So i have been using the rode videomic plugged into the gh4 with a 10 foot adapter and getting it about 2 feet from the subject during corporate interviews. I have the NTG-1 but at that distance it really isnt a big enough difference for me to sync in post. I also do some filmmaking with a boom and everyone says shotgun mics are bad for this and for indoor use. So i am looking for a good mic under $300 that i can use on a boom for both corporate interviews and filmmaking. I'd like a mic that can block out some background noise, which the rode videomic is bad at.

sooo, suggestions? if shotgun mics are bad for interviews/indoor filmmaking what do i get?

thanks guys!
 
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gutterball321 said:
...and everyone says shotgun mics are bad for this and for indoor use.

I'd like a mic that can block out some background noise, which the rode videomic is bad at.

sooo, suggestions? if shotgun mics are bad for interviews/indoor filmmaking what do i get?
Click to expand...

"Everyone" who? There is a misinterpretation that runs rampant in these parts (and elsewhere on teh interwebz) regarding shotguns and interiors. Shotgun mics are not bad for interiors, just some interiors. Specifically, the shotgun mic's achilles heel is a highly-reflective/reverberant room. So, if you are in a bathroom, a marble dining room, or some other kind of space that has hard, flat surfaces and no diffusion or absorption, yeah, a shotgun mic is not going to be your best friend. In a carpeted room with full bookcases and fluffy furniture, you should be fine if you know how to aim the mic.

The second mic to have in a kit is the hypercardioid, such as the Audio Technica 4053b or AKG CK93 or Oktava MK012. The hypercardioid pattern is more forgiving for interiors in general, especially with inexperienced boom ops, though it has other advantages for which working and experienced professionals will use them. The principle that allows a shotgun to reject sound from sides and rear is also its downfall in a reflective room. The hypercardioid won't actually reject the reflections, but will respond with a more natural sound to the listener/viewer. If you want the technical reasoning for this, search the forums. It has been posted several times.

I have used my NTG-3 on a boom and stand for seated, indoor interviews for many years. I have no intention (or reason) not to.

As for the VideoMic "not blocking out some background noise," I would first question your placement of the mic. How, exactly, are you aiming it?
 
i aim it at the speakers chest downward from about 4 inches above their head and 1 foot in front of their head. I have had good experiences using shotguns indoors, just thought it wasnt recommended and if i get a new mic I want to make sure i get something good for both indoor interviews and filmmaking using a boom pole.

Thanks ill listen to some reviews of those mics mentioned!
 
The mic should be aimed more downward than backward. The more of the background is in the "line of sight" of the mic, the more will be picked up.
 
I might be willing to spend more. I have the rode NTG-2 and could sell that and upgrade to the ntg-3 or audio te4chnica 4053b (sounded great after some research). I was just hoping to have a way to plug it into my GH4 through a pre-amp or juicedlink if possible. Is there an adapter/pre amp that allows these mics straight into the gh4? If not i might get a nice wireless lav for interviews and use the rode videomic pro for fun filmmaking stuff.
 
haha i wish! But why not get this juicedlink dual xlr pre amp - http://www.amazon.com/JuicedLink-RM...eywords=JuicedLink+RM202+Riggy-Micro+Dual-XLR

I could either use that with my rode NTG-1, or buy the rode videomic pro. Would either of these options be ideal for all around use?

***Or the Tascam DR-60 - http://www.amazon.com/Tascam-DR-60D...7&keywords=beachtek+xlr+adapter+phantom+power

Why would you buy the zoom h4n over this when they seem the same but you can also plug the dr-60 into your camera?
 
Th DR-60DmkII was my next suggestion. However, be advised that pre-amps in most low-cost recorders are usually a poor match for the NTG-1/NTG-2 due to the lower output levels of the mics and the lack of enough clean gain in the recorder's pre-amps. This results in weaker recording levels with more noise. The pre-amps in the mkII are suppsed to be much better than in the original DR-60D, but I have yet to try with the NTG-1/2. Works great with the NTG-3, though.
 
i heard the dr-60 did better with the ntg-1 than the zoom h4n... do you know if this is true? because ive only had great audio with that combo
 
Just a quick FYI...microphones don't block anything. They just have specific pickup patterns. We throw around terms like "side rejection" for shotgun mics, but that isn't really accurate. The reasoning is really long and complicated and I'm not going to get into it here, but just know that microphones can't block sound. They can only pick up sound.
 
Soem of the new recently released Tascam recorders have an 'extra hi' mic gain setting for low output mics which may help.. 'some'.
 
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