Indoor / Outdoor Shotgun Mics?

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

I was told by a sound guy that there are shotgun mics recommended for indoor shooting and other types recommended for outdoor shooting.

I need help from the sound people here to help understand this notion.

 

[IndieBudget]

shotgun = lobar for outdoors

hypercardioid is better for indoors

shotgun is a term often misused.. i had to have it spelled out many times before it sunk in

I see that you are looking for sound solutions...BEST thing is experience and trial n error ..TEST.. TEST..& Technique is what will "get er done"

 

[Alcove Audio]

For an experienced, professional sound guy, yes, there are shotguns that s/he would use. Are you an experienced, professional sound guy? Are you willing to fork over $1.5 to $2k for that shotgun mic? No? Then go with the cardioid indoors!

It's a question of the proper tools in skilled hands.

 

[SiCurious]

Sorry for my noobiness here, but am I right in saying that a cardioid (indoor) mic, say for instance the Rode NTG-2, is not a shotgun? And shotgun mics are only lobar mics that are used outdoors? And by extension, a mic that is designated "super-cardioid/lobar" (e.g. Sennheiser ME66) is not technically a shotgun?

Thanks for your help, it seems that a lot of people use shotgun to mean any long thin mic that you point at your actors' faces.

 

[gpforet]

I think most sound recordists would agree with your statement. The confusion comes in when microphone manufacturers combine terms.

Terms like shotgun, cardioid, hyper-cardioid, and omni describe the polar pattern of the microphone whereas terms like line-gradient and lobar describe the physical design used to achieve the pattern.

Sorry for my noobiness here, but am I right in saying that a cardioid (indoor) mic, say for instance the Rode NTG-2, is not a shotgun? And shotgun mics are only lobar mics that are used outdoors? And by extension, a mic that is designated "super-cardioid/lobar" (e.g. Sennheiser ME66) is not technically a shotgun?

Thanks for your help, it seems that a lot of people use shotgun to mean any long thin mic that you point at your actors' faces.

 

[SiCurious]

Thanks GP. I can see I'm mixing up a lot of terminology, thank you for straightening me out.

It was a bit annoying buying the NTG-2 which is advertised on Rode's website as a shotgun mic, and when it comes the box says it's a super-cardioid. Turns out a super-cardioid was better suited for what I'm doing anyway, so I got quite lucky! Good research is worth it's weight in gold, I'm glad I found this forum before I made any more ridiculous purchases!

I shall henceforth stop calling absolutely everything a shotgun mic (I blame Film Riot), and never in these halls shall you once see me say "boom mic" <--- Apart from that one time