Question about Outdoor Recording

[M.J. Scott]

Hello,
I am interested in recording audio outdoors. Things like Streams,
Waterfalls, Birds, ect... I have no idea what type of equipiment to
use for this, and I was wondering if anyone could recommend good
information sources (book, magazines, websites...) that would help me
to become less ignorant?

Thanks..
MJ

[Robert Morein]

"M.J. Scott" > wrote in message
om...
> Hello,
> I am interested in recording audio outdoors. Things like Streams,
> Waterfalls, Birds, ect... I have no idea what type of equipiment to
> use for this, and I was wondering if anyone could recommend good
> information sources (book, magazines, websites...) that would help me
> to become less ignorant?
>
> Thanks..
> MJ

For outdoor recording, two setups are found:

1. A parabolic microphone, which consists of a reflecting dish and a
microphone at the focal point.
Setups like the "Big Ear" are available at reasonable cost, although the
quality of the microphone at the focal point can be questionable. A large
parabolic mic is the most sensitive and has the greatest range.
The quality of the sound depends upon the quality of the microphone element.
The rig is bulky.

2. The "long" shotgun mic is a tube about 1" in diameter and about 15" long.
The most directional of these is the Sennheiser MKH816, which is no longer
made, but is still the mic of choice for highly directional work. A good
shotgun is more costly than the parabolic, because the low amplitude
received by the mic capsule puts a premium on electronics and mic capsule
construction. For outdoor work, only Sennheiser mics should be considered,
because their unique "RF" condenser construction makes them immune to high
humidity conditions, which tend to disable other condenser mics. They cannot
be directly held by the hand. These microphones require an isolation mount,
which provides both a handle and a screw interface to a boom pole.

You may be tempted by inexpensive shotgun mic offerings from Audio Technica
and others. The sound is so compromised I would recommend that you avoid
them, and work with a parabolic, if you can't afford a Sennheiser.

The boom pole is a telescoping pole, made of aluminum or carbon fiber, which
is very important for mic placement when shooting film. You don't
necessarily need one for nature recording; you can hold the mic by the
isolation mount handle.

You will also need a good portable preamp, which may incorporate a phantom
power supply, required for the 816. Parabolic mics are usually self-powered.

The traditional recorder has been a small DAT, such as those made by Sony.
Now you have the option of solid state recording based upon an interface
card for a PDA.

Smaller microphones, such as short shotguns and cardioids, are not useful in
outdoor situations, because they pick up far too much unwanted sound, which
your ear/brain system naturally screens out.

You can obtain more information from the following newsgroup:
rec.arts.movies.production.sound

[Robert Morein]

"fathom" > wrote in message
...
> "Robert Morein" > wrote in
> :
>
> >
> > "M.J. Scott" > wrote in message
> > om...
> >> Hello,
> >> I am interested in recording audio outdoors. Things
> >> like Streams,
> >> Waterfalls, Birds, ect... I have no idea what type of
> >> equipiment to use for this, and I was wondering if anyone
> >> could recommend good information sources (book, magazines,
> >> websites...) that would help me to become less ignorant?
> >>
> >> Thanks..
> >> MJ
> >
> > For outdoor recording, two setups are found:
> >
> > 1. A parabolic microphone, which consists of a reflecting
> > dish and a microphone at the focal point.
> > Setups like the "Big Ear" are available at reasonable cost,
> > although the quality of the microphone at the focal point
> > can be questionable. A large parabolic mic is the most
> > sensitive and has the greatest range. The quality of the
> > sound depends upon the quality of the microphone element.
> > The rig is bulky.
> >
> > 2. The "long" shotgun mic is a tube about 1" in diameter
> > and about 15" long. The most directional of these is the
> > Sennheiser MKH816, which is no longer made, but is still
> > the mic of choice for highly directional work. A good
> > shotgun is more costly than the parabolic, because the low
> > amplitude received by the mic capsule puts a premium on
> > electronics and mic capsule construction. For outdoor work,
> > only Sennheiser mics should be considered, because their
> > unique "RF" condenser construction makes them immune to
> > high humidity conditions, which tend to disable other
> > condenser mics. They cannot be directly held by the hand.
> > These microphones require an isolation mount, which
> > provides both a handle and a screw interface to a boom
> > pole.
> >
> > You may be tempted by inexpensive shotgun mic offerings
> > from Audio Technica and others. The sound is so compromised
> > I would recommend that you avoid them, and work with a
> > parabolic, if you can't afford a Sennheiser.
> >
> > The boom pole is a telescoping pole, made of aluminum or
> > carbon fiber, which is very important for mic placement
> > when shooting film. You don't necessarily need one for
> > nature recording; you can hold the mic by the isolation
> > mount handle.
> >
> > You will also need a good portable preamp, which may
> > incorporate a phantom power supply, required for the 816.
> > Parabolic mics are usually self-powered.
> >
> > The traditional recorder has been a small DAT, such as
> > those made by Sony. Now you have the option of solid state
> > recording based upon an interface card for a PDA.
> >
> > Smaller microphones, such as short shotguns and cardioids,
> > are not useful in outdoor situations, because they pick up
> > far too much unwanted sound, which your ear/brain system
> > naturally screens out.
> >
> > You can obtain more information from the following
> > newsgroup: rec.arts.movies.production.sound
>
> The original poster wants to make "ambient" recordings. I
> think a cardiod works better than a "shotgun" in that case.
> I've made many excellent-sounding field recordings with a $150
> Sony stereo cardiod.
>
He doesn't say he wants to make ambient recordings.
I lean toward the interpretation that he wants to capture specific sounds.
For ambient work, I concur with your recommendation.

[Karl Winkler]

"Robert Morein" > wrote in message >...
> "M.J. Scott" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Hello,
> > I am interested in recording audio outdoors. Things like Streams,
> > Waterfalls, Birds, ect... I have no idea what type of equipiment to
> > use for this, and I was wondering if anyone could recommend good
> > information sources (book, magazines, websites...) that would help me
> > to become less ignorant?
> >
> > Thanks..
> > MJ
>
> For outdoor recording, two setups are found:
>
> 1. A parabolic microphone, which consists of a reflecting dish and a
> microphone at the focal point.
> Setups like the "Big Ear" are available at reasonable cost, although the
> quality of the microphone at the focal point can be questionable. A large
> parabolic mic is the most sensitive and has the greatest range.
> The quality of the sound depends upon the quality of the microphone element.
> The rig is bulky.
>
Two things to consider about using a parabolic microphone:

A. The low frequency limit of this system is based on the size of the
dish. Thus, without a really large dish, you will only capture things
starting in the high bass /lower midrange area and up. This is OK if
you want bird calls, etc. But if you want any real LF in the sound,
parabolic is not the way to go.

B. For the best quality, here's a trick: use a good omnidirectional
microphone. Several years ago when the XFL was being formed, the audio
crew wanted the "best possible impact of sound" from the field. They
found that buy using a Neumann KM183 at the focal point of the Big
Ears parabolic dish, that they were capturing something impossible any
other way. I remember that they had to customize the Big Ears in some
way to make this work, because usually, the mic of choice is a tiny
lapel mic.

> 2. The "long" shotgun mic is a tube about 1" in diameter and about 15" long.
> The most directional of these is the Sennheiser MKH816, which is no longer
> made, but is still the mic of choice for highly directional work.

Actually, we still have a very small number of these in stock from the
last ever production run. However, a very good substitute, and indeed
a newer microphone is the MKH70.

Regards,

Karl Winkler
Sennheiser
http://www.sennheiserusa.com