I will recieve the camera, hopfully by the end of this week. But I will start shooting immediatly this weekend. I seriously doubt if I order a shotgun mic, it will arrive on time; and I cant depend on it. I am remaking the scene in Pulp Fiction where they go inside the apartment building and kill thoughs young guys. If I just use the standard mic on the XH-A1, do you guys think I will pick up audio clear enough? I wont be standing more than a few feet away...
How bad is the mounted mic on the XH-A1?
- Thread starter MelonDome
- Start date
What you are dealing with is called signal to noise ratio. What you
want is a lot of signal (the dialogue) and very little noise (the
ambient sounds). In order to do that you need the mic as close to
the actor as you can get it.
Try this:
Set your camera on your tripod in one corner of the room and roll
tape. From as far away as you can get, start talking and walking -
until you are within six inches of the mic. You could call out the feet
as you slowly walk. Then play it back, listening only to the audio.
Make note of when the audio sound good to you.
That's where you want the mic in relation to the actors.
Then try it with your plastic cup idea. Listen if you can be farther
away from the mic and get audio you like. I'd be interested to
know how that idea works.
want is a lot of signal (the dialogue) and very little noise (the
ambient sounds). In order to do that you need the mic as close to
the actor as you can get it.
Try this:
Set your camera on your tripod in one corner of the room and roll
tape. From as far away as you can get, start talking and walking -
until you are within six inches of the mic. You could call out the feet
as you slowly walk. Then play it back, listening only to the audio.
Make note of when the audio sound good to you.
That's where you want the mic in relation to the actors.
Then try it with your plastic cup idea. Listen if you can be farther
away from the mic and get audio you like. I'd be interested to
know how that idea works.
Well, the point of a blimp is to set a dead air space around the microphone that wind can't touch. I once concepted setting 2 pieces of PVC of different size. narrower inside wider with the narrower being shorter and set back inside the wider a bit. This should make a focussed cone of dead air. I've seen things like this used in golf on tv.
I don't think your plastic cup is going to help.
Microphones have specific shapes, which define where and at what distances they record. The shape is called the polar pattern.
http://www.burninggrooves.com/articles/polar-patterns-explained
So, chances are, all your improvised plastic cup will do is rattle right in the centre of your mic's polar pattern sweet spot. Which would give you a noise problem that can't be fixed in post.
The problem with the mic on your camera isn't that it's a bad mic... it's just in the wrong place to record dialogue for drama.
The answer is to get the mic you have closer to the action.
Microphones have specific shapes, which define where and at what distances they record. The shape is called the polar pattern.
http://www.burninggrooves.com/articles/polar-patterns-explained
So, chances are, all your improvised plastic cup will do is rattle right in the centre of your mic's polar pattern sweet spot. Which would give you a noise problem that can't be fixed in post.
The problem with the mic on your camera isn't that it's a bad mic... it's just in the wrong place to record dialogue for drama.
The answer is to get the mic you have closer to the action.