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Home » Courses » Recording Better Interview Audio
CoursesSound Utility TechnicianRecording Better Interview Audio
  • Introduction 1

    Let's go over what interviews are and what you need to get the job done.

    • Lecture1.1
      Introduction to Recording Better Interview Audio
  • Interviews 4

    • Lecture2.1
      What is an Interview? 03 min
    • Lecture2.2
      Why I Love Recording Interviews 06 min
    • Lecture2.3
      Limitations in the Creative Process
    • Lecture2.4
      Fixing In Post
  • Types of Interviews 7

    Interviews come in many shapes and sized. In this section we go over all different types of interviews and what to look out for.

    • Lecture3.1
      Different Kinds of Interviews
    • Lecture3.2
      Sit Down Interviews
    • Lecture3.3
      Two-Person Interview
    • Lecture3.4
      Multi Person Interviews
    • Lecture3.5
      On The Fly Interviews (OTFs)
    • Lecture3.6
      Walk & Talks
    • Lecture3.7
      Red Carpet Events
  • Equipment 2

    • Lecture4.1
      What Gear Do I Need? 11 min
    • Lecture4.2
      Expendables 14 min
  • It Starts With the Microphone 4

    Sound comes down to following signal flow, which starts at the Microphone. Andrew Jones from Deity Microphones stops by talk about how to pick the right microphone for your interview.

    • Lecture5.1
      Selecting a Microphone 11 min
    • Lecture5.2
      Wind Protection Basics 14 min
    • Lecture5.3
      Shockmount Basics 07 min
    • Lecture5.4
      How to use a PSC Shockmount 05 min
  • Here Comes the Boom 2

    Special Shoutout to K-Tek, our sponsor who loaned us a few boom poles for this shoot. Learn some boom pole basics as well as which one you should purchase.

    • Lecture6.1
      Boom Pole Basics 16 min
    • Lecture6.2
      Wrapping an XLR Cable 09 min
  • C Stands 4

    This section is all about having the grip equipment do the work for you.

    • Lecture7.1
      C Stands 07 min
    • Lecture7.2
      Using a Boom Cradle 11 min
    • Lecture7.3
      Sandbags 04 min
    • Lecture7.4
      Microphone Positions and Patterns 14 min
  • Wireless Audio Concepts 3

    Andrew Jones from Deity Wireless stops by to discuss wireless audio basics.

    • Lecture8.1
      Wireless Audio Basics 20 min
    • Lecture8.2
      Wireless Audio Components 17 min
    • Lecture8.3
      Calibrating Your Wireless System 15 min
  • Recording and Sync 4

    Let's go over all the different options when it comes to recording mediums.

    • Lecture9.1
      Recording Basics Part 1 11 min
    • Lecture9.2
      Recording Basics Part 2 20 min
    • Lecture9.3
      Sync Sound Basics 22 min
    • Lecture9.4
      Mobile Recording Basics 15 min
  • Monitoring 3

    It is all about listening. Let's talk monitoring and what to do if more people need to listen.

    • Lecture10.1
      Headphone Basics 22 min
    • Lecture10.2
      Who is Listening? 07 min
    • Lecture10.3
      IFB Systems 14 min
  • Sound Concepts To Consider 4

    These are some of my Golden Rules of Recording Sound for Interviews. You will not want to miss them.

    • Lecture11.1
      Sound Rule #1 05 min
    • Lecture11.2
      When is Sound BAD? 03 min
    • Lecture11.3
      Location Basics 11 min
    • Lecture11.4
      Sound Bogeys 04 min
  • Protocols 9

    Let's break down the entire interview process, from the phone call to the paycheck.

    • Lecture12.1
      Initial Phone Call 10 min
    • Lecture12.2
      Follow Up Phone Calls 04 min
    • Lecture12.3
      The Day Before 04 min
    • Lecture12.4
      When You Get There 19 min
    • Lecture12.5
      Right Before You Hit Record 08 min
    • Lecture12.6
      Working in Hot Rooms
    • Lecture12.7
      Communication During an Interview 07 min
    • Lecture12.8
      Wrap Out Procedure 06 min
    • Lecture12.9
      Sharing Files to Clients 21 min
  • Moving Forward 2

    Let's talk about moving forward and more advanced types of interviews.

    • Lecture13.1
      Multi Camera Interviews 09 min
    • Lecture13.2
      Before You Go 04 min

    Selecting a Microphone

    Welcome Andrew Jones from Deity Microphones into the studio to help us with some basic Microphone Selection Tips! A camera operator never brings one lens to a job, and we don’t either! The more microphones you have in your selection, the better the opportunity to pick a microphone that is great for the composition of your shot.

    A common mistake when selecting a microphone for your production is over micing a scene. It is not always a good idea to put a lavalier on each talent as well as two shotgun microphones over each talent. In the example with Andrew and I, this would be way too many microphones for this situation. We literally have our knees touching underneath the table.

    Sometimes Less is More when Selecting a Microphone

    Because of this, our proximity is so close that we can use a cardioid microphone when selecting a microphone and get away with only using one. If we used more microphones, it would actually have a negative effect on the mix or take even longer in post-production to mix between all the different sources.

    Now in our scenario, we are using lavaliers only because our space is very big (even knowing you don’t see it) and one microphone in the middle would have picked up a lot more reverb than the lavaliers we have on instead.

    When it comes to selecting a microphone, it is all about your location. It is big and reverberant? Or is it outside and in an open space? Are there multiple cameras that will be used during the recording? How high will you need to place your microphone to get it out of the shot? Let’s break all these down.

    What Makes a Shotgun Microphone Reach?

    When it comes to the framing of your interview, you may not always have the ability to get your microphone in really close. But then again, you may not have to. Shotgun microphones have ports on the side of the microphone that make the characteristics of how the microphone picks up change depending upon how many ports are on the microphone. Longer Shotgun Microphones have more ports and are physically longer, while shorter shotguns have less or possibly only a few.

    These interference tubes are generally hollow and allow for natural cancellation to occur from sound waves that enter from the front to the side. It all comes down to sound waves entering at different angles mixing together and canceling out before the sound gets to the circuitry on the inside.

    Interior Locations

    Selecting a Microphone for Interior Rooms is all about reflections

    Interior locations can vary in shapes and sizes. What does this do? It makes it impossible to select one microphone for the job. Some rooms will be small and cozy and have no resonance in them. Others will be extremely live and have a huge reverb trail.

    If your shooting in a room like the one above, a nice short shotgun, like the few listed below will sound extremely warm and inviting.

    Deity S-Mic 2S

    The Deity S-Mic 2S is a great short shotgun microphone.

     

    Sennheiser MKH 50

    The Sennheiser MKH50 is my favorite short shotgun microphoneNeuman KM 185

    The Neumann KM 185 is one of the warmest sounding short shotgun microphones around that can come in a matching stereo pair.

    Sanken CS-1e

     

    Exterior Locations

    Selecting a Microphone for exterior locations boils down to a couple of different factors. Are you in an area with clean ambiances, like a secluded park? Or are you filming in a busy part of town with traffic and need a microphone with a lot of rejection?

    Because we aren’t confined to the limitations of rooms with different ambient levels, selecting a microphone gets a little more fun. It all comes down to how much of the location needs to play in order to help tell the story. For example, if you are filming in a park that has a water fountain that is NOT being seen in your shot, I would use a completely different microphone to really cut out that sound. If the waterfall was being seen, however, using another microphone with a brighter tone and a more rounded pattern would help the location play a greater part.

    Here are a few choices of shotgun microphones that I recommend listening to before purchasing. You need to listen to these microphones in order to make an educated assessment as to what to do on the day.

    Deity S-Mic 2

    This is a great starter shotgun microphone that is even in some of the biggest sound mixer’s packages. Check out our blog post on putting it in a pizza oven…

    Deity S-Mic 2 Shotgun MicrophoneSennheiser MKH60

    Sennheiser MKH60 is a great natural sounding shotgun microphoneSennheiser MKH70

    The MKH70 is similar to the 60, but with an even longer reachNeuman KMR 81i

    Neumann KMR 82i

     

    Sanken CS-3eThe Sanken CS-3e has some of the best rejection of any shotgun microphone around.

     

    As a Production Sound Mixer, I encourage you to slowly accumulate as many of these microphones (and more) as you progress throughout your career. They all have sonic characteristics that will work for some productions and interviews, but not all. Just always remember that selecting a microphone doesn’t come down to one.

    A microphone will only sound as good as it does until you compare it to another microphone. So, when purchasing a shotgun microphone, always do comparison tests to make sure you get something that sounds good to you. This is when you begin to hear sonic differences, like tone qualities that sound better from one brand to the next. Sometimes the brightness of a microphone might sound unimpressionable at first until it is put under the right voice. Do your best to not just plug in a shotgun microphone, turn up a fader and then put down a credit card. Learn to make an educated decision based on what you will be using it for.

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