I'm planning on filming some man-on-the-street style interviews, and
i'd like to use the talk show host technique of holding a big mic
towards people when they talk.

So, this will be outdoors. Wind is a factor. There will be lots of
background noise, which I want to pick up, but of course I need to
clearly hear the interviewees talking.

I also don't want to have to shove the mic right into people's faces
to hear them. I'd like to hold the mic, 50cm (2 feet) away from
people.

Any mic recommendations? (in the $100-200 range)

Also a technical question: I'm going to record the audio with the DV
camera. There is a 3.5mm stereo-mic input, but with one mic I'm going
to be mono. I did a test with a cheap mic, and I got sound, but I got
tons of crackles and pops when the plug moved in the 3.5mm socket, and
the sound was about 80% in the left channel. Not great. How do i get
better quality mono-stereo?

any advice appreciated!

-saf

mic recommentations for man-on-the-street interviews?

Group: rec.audio.pro Date: Fri, Nov 26, 2004, 4:20am (EST-3) From:
(Safish=A0F)

I'm planning on filming some man-on-the-street style interviews, and i'd
like to use the talk show host technique of holding a big mic towards
people when they talk.

So, this will be outdoors. Wind is a factor. There will be lots of
background noise, which I want to pick up,

You will so don't worry about it.


but of course I need to clearly hear the interviewees talking.
I also don't want to have to shove the mic right into people's faces to
hear them. I'd like to hold the mic, 50cm (2 feet) away from people.

Hand held dynamic intrview mics are designed to be used closer than 2
ft. You're going to have to listen & work out the best distances.

Any mic recommendations? (in the $100-200 range)

In your price range: The Electro Voice 635a is an omni pattern mic
that's been the mainstay of hand held interviews for years. Another is
the Shure VP-64al. You should also check out the Electro Voice RE-50 and
RE-15.



Also a technical question: I'm going to record the audio with the DV
camera. There is a 3.5mm stereo-mic input, but with one mic I'm going to
be mono. I did a test with a cheap mic, and I got sound, but I got tons
of crackles and pops when the plug moved in the 3.5mm socket, and the
sound was about 80% in the left channel. Not great.

You're going to need to make an XLR-3F to 3.5 mm TRS plug with pin 2 of
the XLR wired to the tip & ring of the 3.5mm plug. Pins 1 & 3 of the xlr
get wired to the sleeve of the 3.5mm plug.

You should also check out the Beachtek line of mic adapter units for
mini cams at: www.beachtek.com

The problem is the connector in the camera. Your snap, crackle, pops are
not going to be solved unless you can fasten the adapter cable to the
camera to prevent the plug from moving in the input connector.

How do i get better quality mono-stereo?
any advice appreciated!

You can't get "stereo" with a mono mic and a stereo mic is not
reccomended for interviews. If you make the adapter cable you'll get
equal level on both channels with a mono mic.

Eric

Safish F wrote:
I'm planning on filming some man-on-the-street style interviews, and
i'd like to use the talk show host technique of holding a big mic
towards people when they talk.

So buy an EV 635A. It's designed for that. It's an omni, so wind noise
is low, and it does not pop easily. Under $100. It is the most common
interview mike available.

Also a technical question: I'm going to record the audio with the DV
camera. There is a 3.5mm stereo-mic input, but with one mic I'm going
to be mono. I did a test with a cheap mic, and I got sound, but I got
tons of crackles and pops when the plug moved in the 3.5mm socket, and
the sound was about 80% in the left channel. Not great. How do i get
better quality mono-stereo?

Yes, that's about typical for cheap crap that uses those godawful mini
plugs. You can try and gaff them into place, and you can buy interface
boxes, but you're still going to be stuck with noise issues from the
unbalanced input and you're probably still going to have godawful AVC.
That's one of the many differences between consumer and professional
video cameras. Sorry about that.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Safish F wrote:

I'm planning on filming some man-on-the-street style interviews

So, this will be outdoors.

Any mic recommendations? (in the $100-200 range)


EV 635. Not good for distance. Not big.

I'm going to record the audio with the DV camera.

Click on http://www.rcrowley.com/CamAdapt.htm

Shows how to construct an adaptor cable/box/whatever that
will take care of that specific situation. (And if I'm not
mistaken, provided by a frequent correspondent in this
newsgroup.)

Tecnec (Markertek) http://www.tecnec.com has an adapter
cable (XLF-H8-10) for $60. Has blocking caps built in. It
might do the job for you if you're not a solder jock.

Lots of other solutions are out there, ranging in cost from
hundreds to thousands. Google "camcorder (mic, adapter)"

HTH



TM

Eric Toline wrote:


I need to clearly hear the interviewees talking.
I also don't want to have to shove the mic right into people's faces to
hear them. I'd like to hold the mic, 50cm (2 feet) away from people.

Hand held dynamic intrview mics are designed to be used closer than 2
ft. You're going to have to listen & work out the best distances.

Maybe a Sennheiser MD46 would work for him.



Any mic recommendations? (in the $100-200 range)

In your price range: The Electro Voice 635a is an omni pattern mic
that's been the mainstay of hand held interviews for years. Another is
the Shure VP-64al. You should also check out the Electro Voice RE-50 and
RE-15.

The RE-50 is great, but skip the RE-15 since it's a superciardioid with no real windscreen.

Also worth considering is the AKG D230. All of the aforementioned mics save the MD46 are omnidirectional and will need to be "in the face" of the interviewee in most situations.

Safish F wrote:

I'm planning on filming some man-on-the-street style interviews, and
i'd like to use the talk show host technique of holding a big mic
towards people when they talk.

So, this will be outdoors. Wind is a factor. There will be lots of
background noise, which I want to pick up, but of course I need to
clearly hear the interviewees talking.

If the mic-in-the-face is for visual effect, consider using two lavalier
mics (wired or wireless) mounted out of sight, one on the interviewer
and the other on the interviewee. You can use a huge mic in view for the
camera's sake but not have it hooked up to anything.

For mics, I'd recommend a pair of omnis, not cardioids, as the
cardioids are much more sensitive to wind noise.

Also a technical question: I'm going to record the audio with the DV
camera. There is a 3.5mm stereo-mic input, but with one mic I'm going
to be mono. I did a test with a cheap mic, and I got sound, but I got
tons of crackles and pops when the plug moved in the 3.5mm socket, and
the sound was about 80% in the left channel. Not great. How do i get
better quality mono-stereo?

The mic inputs probably has "plug-in power" to power a condensor mic.
That voltage can be causing the noise with mics that don't need it.

You might try using our Low Cost Binaural mics on an extension cord.
They can be powered from the DV cam, can be split as much as 12-feet
apart (so you can mount them per above note), and sound pretty fine.
And you'll have two mics.

--
Len Moskowitz PDAudio, Binaural Mics, Cables, DPA, M-Audio
Core Sound http://www.stealthmicrophones.com
Teaneck, New Jersey USA http://www.core-sound.com
Tel: 201-801-0812, FAX: 201-801-0912

If background noise is going to be a problem, best go with the 635a up
fairly close.
Wear headphones to get the proper balance between voice and background
by moving the mic closer to the interviewees mouth and then backing
off until you get a proper balance.


On 26 Nov 2004 14:11:08 -0500, (Len Moskowitz)
wrote:


Safish F wrote:

I'm planning on filming some man-on-the-street style interviews, and
i'd like to use the talk show host technique of holding a big mic
towards people when they talk.

So, this will be outdoors. Wind is a factor. There will be lots of
background noise, which I want to pick up, but of course I need to
clearly hear the interviewees talking.

If the mic-in-the-face is for visual effect, consider using two lavalier
mics (wired or wireless) mounted out of sight, one on the interviewer
and the other on the interviewee. You can use a huge mic in view for the
camera's sake but not have it hooked up to anything.

For mics, I'd recommend a pair of omnis, not cardioids, as the
cardioids are much more sensitive to wind noise.

Also a technical question: I'm going to record the audio with the DV
camera. There is a 3.5mm stereo-mic input, but with one mic I'm going
to be mono. I did a test with a cheap mic, and I got sound, but I got
tons of crackles and pops when the plug moved in the 3.5mm socket, and
the sound was about 80% in the left channel. Not great. How do i get
better quality mono-stereo?

The mic inputs probably has "plug-in power" to power a condensor mic.
That voltage can be causing the noise with mics that don't need it.

You might try using our Low Cost Binaural mics on an extension cord.
They can be powered from the DV cam, can be split as much as 12-feet
apart (so you can mount them per above note), and sound pretty fine.
And you'll have two mics.

Mike Cleaver Broadcast Services
Voice-overs, Newscaster, Engineering and Consulting
Vancouver, BC, Canada

(Safish F)
'm planning on filming some man-on-the-street style interviews, and
i'd like to use the talk show host technique of holding a big mic
towards people when they talk.

Then you need an interviewer who knows the mic technique to do that. Just
though that worthy of mention somehow.

So, this will be outdoors. Wind is a factor. There will be lots of
background noise, which I want to pick up, but of course I need to
clearly hear the interviewees talking.

So you need an omni, as they are the least susceptable to windnoise.

I also don't want to have to shove the mic right into people's faces
to hear them. I'd like to hold the mic, 50cm (2 feet) away from
people.

Any mic recommendations? (in the $100-200 range)

Get a EV RE50. They are industry standard for this kind of thing, they
do what you want all the time for interviewers who use them well (like not
eating the mics unless it's a WAAAAY noisy standup), and they cost only about
$175 brand new, or $80 or so used. 2 feet way from the talker is usually a
fine distance with that mic. The 635a (also called the RE650AB I think?) is
cheaper at about $115, but the RE50 is bigger - and of course that means it
sounds better too, plus you can stick a mic flag on it if you want...

http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c....it.A/id.169/.f

Also a technical question: I'm going to record the audio with the DV
camera. There is a 3.5mm stereo-mic input, but with one mic I'm going
to be mono. I did a test with a cheap mic, and I got sound, but I got
tons of crackles and pops when the plug moved in the 3.5mm socket, and
the sound was about 80% in the left channel. Not great. How do i get
better quality mono-stereo?

any advice appreciated!

If all else fails you can use record to a portadat or anything digital
running at a 48k sampling rate, while using the built in DV camera mics too,
and then lay the dat tracks back onto tape later. That kind of "wild syncing"
is common I think. Be sure to slate the top of the tape with some hand claps or
something so you can more easily sync everything up at the start, and maybe try
it before you actually are doing the gig to make sure it's working for you.


Will Miho
NY Music & TV Audio Guy
Audioist / Fox News
"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits

On Fri, 26 Nov 2004 10:06:49 -0500, T Maki wrote
(in article ):

Safish F wrote:

I'm planning on filming some man-on-the-street style interviews

So, this will be outdoors.

Any mic recommendations? (in the $100-200 range)


EV 635. Not good for distance. Not big.


What does that mean?

BTW, I believe they also make a long handled version.

Ty Ford




-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com

On Fri, 26 Nov 2004 10:37:28 -0500, Richard Crowley wrote
(in article ):

I also don't want to have to shove the mic right into people's
faces to hear them. I'd like to hold the mic, 50cm (2 feet)
away from people.

If you observe commercial television, you will see the interviewiers holding
the mic significantly closer to the people. This is a practical limitation
of the laws of physics. If you want respectable sound don't expect to work
at such a distance. You can experiment "off Broadway" and find this out for
yourself. You don't have to take our word for it.

Richard speaks the truth. At 2 feet on a regular busy street the sound will
suck.

Which is WHY you see it done the way it's done.

Regards,

Ty Ford



-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com

Ty Ford wrote:

On Fri, 26 Nov 2004 10:06:49 -0500, T Maki wrote
(in article ):

EV 635. Not good for distance. Not big.


What does that mean?

OP: "Any mic recommendations? (in the $100-200 range)"

EV 635

OP: "i'd like to use the talk show host technique of holding
a big mic"

EV 635 is not a big mic

OP: "I'd like to hold the mic, 50cm (2 feet) away"

EV 635 wouldn't necessarily be a good choice for 2 ft.
distance



TM

thanks for the suggestions about a good interview mic. i'm still
absorbing all the advice...

my current plan of attack is to make my own XLR-to-3.5mm cable with
some blocking capacitors[1]. I figure, if I get humm or noise, or it
doesn't work at all, then at least I'll be able to hear some
improvement when I buy the Beachtek XLR-3.5mm adaptor[2]. (Although
for approx. $200+ USD the Beachtek seems a bit expensive. it's just an
adaptor, isn't it?)

As for the mics, it's clear that I need to do some hands-on testing.
I'm hoping to find a used EV635A, EV RE-50 or a Sennheiser MD46. I'll
just play around and see how good/bad it is, and then i'll have some
more concrete experiences to talk about.

cheers,

-safish

[1] http://www.rcrowley.com/CamAdapt.htm
[2] http://www.beachtek.com/dxa4.html


ospam (WillStG) wrote in message ...
(Safish F)
'm planning on filming some man-on-the-street style interviews, and
i'd like to use the talk show host technique of holding a big mic
towards people when they talk.

Then you need an interviewer who knows the mic technique to do that. Just
though that worthy of mention somehow.

So, this will be outdoors. Wind is a factor. There will be lots of
background noise, which I want to pick up, but of course I need to
clearly hear the interviewees talking.

So you need an omni, as they are the least susceptable to windnoise.

I also don't want to have to shove the mic right into people's faces
to hear them. I'd like to hold the mic, 50cm (2 feet) away from
people.

Any mic recommendations? (in the $100-200 range)

Get a EV RE50. They are industry standard for this kind of thing, they
do what you want all the time for interviewers who use them well (like not
eating the mics unless it's a WAAAAY noisy standup), and they cost only about
$175 brand new, or $80 or so used. 2 feet way from the talker is usually a
fine distance with that mic. The 635a (also called the RE650AB I think?) is
cheaper at about $115, but the RE50 is bigger - and of course that means it
sounds better too, plus you can stick a mic flag on it if you want...

http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c....it.A/id.169/.f

Also a technical question: I'm going to record the audio with the DV
camera. There is a 3.5mm stereo-mic input, but with one mic I'm going
to be mono. I did a test with a cheap mic, and I got sound, but I got
tons of crackles and pops when the plug moved in the 3.5mm socket, and
the sound was about 80% in the left channel. Not great. How do i get
better quality mono-stereo?

any advice appreciated!

If all else fails you can use record to a portadat or anything digital
running at a 48k sampling rate, while using the built in DV camera mics too,
and then lay the dat tracks back onto tape later. That kind of "wild syncing"
is common I think. Be sure to slate the top of the tape with some hand claps or
something so you can more easily sync everything up at the start, and maybe try
it before you actually are doing the gig to make sure it's working for you.


Will Miho
NY Music & TV Audio Guy
Audioist / Fox News
"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits

Safish F wrote:

my current plan of attack is to make my own XLR-to-3.5mm cable with
some blocking capacitors[1]. I figure, if I get humm or noise, or it
doesn't work at all, then at least I'll be able to hear some
improvement when I buy the Beachtek XLR-3.5mm adaptor[2]. (Although
for approx. $200+ USD the Beachtek seems a bit expensive. it's just an
adaptor, isn't it?)

The Beachtek also has some gain, I think. And it also has a real balanced
input, which is essential if you have long mike cables.

As for the mics, it's clear that I need to do some hands-on testing.
I'm hoping to find a used EV635A, EV RE-50 or a Sennheiser MD46. I'll
just play around and see how good/bad it is, and then i'll have some
more concrete experiences to talk about.

The RE-50 is the same as the 635A, with better shock mounting. Either one
of them should be available for reasonably low prices. The MD46 is less
common, but will do the job. Shure and Beyer also make similar microphones
for the same application, and they are all basically interchangeable. Buy
the one that you find cheap.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
...
Safish F wrote:


The Beachtek also has some gain, I think. And it also has a real balanced
input, which is essential if you have long mike cables.

Only the DXA-8 has pre-amps. The other models are passive units with
transformer balanced inputs, volume controls, and routing (L-R-Mix) to the
unbalanced TRS mini-plug.

Steve King

In article ,
Steve King wrote:
"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
...
Safish F wrote:


The Beachtek also has some gain, I think. And it also has a real balanced
input, which is essential if you have long mike cables.

Only the DXA-8 has pre-amps. The other models are passive units with
transformer balanced inputs, volume controls, and routing (L-R-Mix) to the
unbalanced TRS mini-plug.

Yes, but I don't think it's unity gain in there, is it?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."