6 people talking on convention floor at DNC...
soundsteve
Monday. It will be 4 to 6 people talking on the convention floor of
the Pepsi Center during the day. Two cams handheld and unscripted.
It is to tape so I can retake or wait if something is really over-
the-top loud, but I'm wondering what mic approach I should use. I'm
guessing two split booms are totally out of the question so I'm
thinking I'll tight lav everybody and run them into two linked
FP-410's and let the automix do its thing. I have to hardwire
everything because of wireless restrictions inside the venue. PITA...
Does anyone with lots of convention experience think lavs in the tie
knot or just below will cut it?
Does a boom even have a ghost of a chance in there?
I don't know how loud it is during the daytime speeches etc. and also
if there are any gaps between...
Please let me know what has worked for you in the past if it's even
remotely similar...
Bill Fright
front of the chin and back up with shotgun. Have your trained
interviewer hold the mic under their chin if you are using one. I like
the 50 because you can practically have fire crackers going off all
around your subject and still get legible audio.
If you're doing these 4 to 6 folks all together I'd hand them each a 50
and teach them how critical mic placement is. Teach them a simple hand
signal in case they let the mic drop too low. Bring a good audio board
and mix it live. Don't use auto mix. You probably should hire a great
audio guy.
Good luck,
Bill
Richard Crowley
> Hi Everyone, I'm looking for some ideas and insight on a shoot I have
> Monday. It will be 4 to 6 people talking on the convention floor of
> the Pepsi Center during the day. Two cams handheld and unscripted.
At this late date, your best shot would be to hire a couple of good
sound guys and let them bring the proper equipment and the
expertiese to use it. Good luck finding any on such short notice
in a city where they've likely all been booked for months.
This topic is regularly discussed over in the production sound
newsgroup: news:rec.arts.movies.production.sound You could
go over there and plead for mercy.
Ty Ford
(in article <BM6dnf-WqbOUETLV...@posted.pcez>):
I'm with Richard on this one. The louder the ambient noise, the less
effective any boom mic will be unless it's OK for a boom mic to be in the
shot sometimes. Use a hyper or super over an interference tube shotgun if you
must.
2 FP410s? Will you be in one location? That's a lot of weight to run and gun
with and you still need to tweek them for good levels even when using auto
mode.
Ask them if they really need six people on-camera at the same time. Tell them
what the audio problems are. I have done this on several occasions and had
the producer pull back to fewer people/mics. Sometimes it's just a number
they toss out.
I'd want to try Countryman E6s on all of them to see how well getting close
to the mic would do.
NEVER expect a non-pro to hold a mic in the right place. RE50 or otherwise.
They get caught up in the moment and forget what they are doing.
Doing this without a good sound person is a recipe for a bad day.
Regards,
Ty Ford
--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZJ9MptZmU
black...@aol.com
I worked the DNC four years ago. No type of stick mic was really
effective, given the ambient noise. We tried cardiod lavs, but they,
too, were often overpowered. Using the tried and true ACAP audio
theory (as close as possible to the sound source), we rented a bunch
of those little mics that go over the ear and extend on a small shaft
to the mouth (model info forgotten) and they worked. Not the best
audio ever, but definitely broadcast quality. They looked like crap
and both talent and directors hated them, but any port in a storm. I
also like the idea of using a Shure automatic mixer to attenuate all
mics except the one being used at that moment.
I'm sure you're savvy enough to maneuver people into the quietest
available area...
Bill Fright
I respectively disagree with parts of the above.
The countryman (we call them Brittany Spears mics with sarcasm) won't be
used by a lot of folks I shoot. It creates the desire for them to itch
the ear and usually dislodges the whole bit. OTOH some people really
like them and it certainly keeps the vocal on center when they turn
their head. It also frees the hands.
However, we're talking loud ambient environments. The countryman mic
does poorly in those conditions. I'd simply sell it as diaphragm size.
Tiny diaphragms don't handle huge ambients well.
As far as coaching talent to hold a mic I've had pretty good results.
The first thing to tell the talent is that if they want to be heard they
have to hold the mic just below and in front of the chin. Show them and
make them show you. Tell them they absolutely will not be heard with any
deviation.
The worst scenarios I've ever had with huge ambients is track side drag
racing. Huge padding and a 50 was the only way we could make it work. My
audio guy has those custom fitted ear plugs and wears ear muffs over
them while we shoot. In edit I was stunned with how good the results
were. He also does some stuff that I don't know about which is why I'm
not primarily an audio guy.
SlaesGuru
wrote:
>If these are stand up interviews I'd recommend a RE50 right under but in
>front of the chin and back up with shotgun.
Anyone catch Morning Joe on MSNBC Monday morning?
They shot in a restaurant and it was the WORST audio I ever heard
Everyone had a lav, omni I assume.
Today they all had noice-cancelling headset mikes and guess what?
It worked. You could actually hear the conversations.
black...@aol.com
> On Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:59:21 -0500, Bill Fright <billfri...@austin.rr.com>
> wrote:
>
> >If these are stand up interviews I'd recommend a RE50 right under but in
> >front of the chin and back up with shotgun.
>
> Anyone catch Morning Joe on MSNBC Monday morning?
> They shot in a restaurant and it was the WORST audio I ever heard
> Everyone had a lav, omni I assume.
>
> Today they all had noice-cancelling headset mikes and guess what?
> It worked. You could actually hear the conversations.
This is the point I was making, above. From EXPERIENCE in the same
venue, the DNC, we tried sticks, lavs and various other miking
schemes, but only the ear-mount mics we rented on the second day
worked. Watch convention coverage now: virtually everyone is using
them.