If I had to decide on one desert island microphone for video manufacturing, it could be a shotgun microphone. Is it the perfect at the whole lot? No. However in comparison with a lavaliere, a pencil condenser, or a handheld microphone, it wins in lots of extra conditions. On this tutorial, you may discover out why.
What Is a Shotgun Microphone?
Shotgun microphones are simply identifiable as a result of they’re lengthy and thin and have little slits reduce into the aspect. A shotgun microphone is a really directional microphone. It accepts sounds from a really slim angle from the entrance of the microphone, and it does a incredible job at rejecting sounds coming from the aspect. Some may have a small acceptance angle on the rear of the microphone, however once more, this will depend on the actual microphone.
A shotgun microphone works due to the slits within the aspect. Sounds which might be arriving from what you’d name off-axis, which means not coming immediately in entrance of the microphone, are available like this, and since there are slits on either side, they have a tendency to cancel one another out. So that you get a lot of the sound that will get picked up coming from immediately in entrance of the microphone.
For those who go searching on the web, you may see shotgun microphones in all kinds of lengths. The factor that makes shotgun microphones work is the truth is their size. The longer the microphone is, the extra of those aspect ports you’re going to get and the extra directional it would grow to be.
My Really useful Shotgun Microphone
I take advantage of a Sennheiser K6/ME66, which might be the shortest size that I’d think about within the shotgun microphone household. Technically, I feel that Sennheiser calls this an excellent cardioid, and in my expertise it acts rather more like a shotgun microphone than different tremendous cardioid microphones that I’ve used.
As these microphones get longer, the acceptance angle within the entrance the place they’re most delicate to sound narrows fairly a bit. This one is about 12 inches lengthy and you will discover shotgun microphones so long as 21, even 23 inches. You will get a few of these longer shotgun microphones 4, 5, six ft away from their supposed goal and nonetheless get actually good pickup. However similar to all microphones, it’s important to choose the correct one that can be just right for you.
The Sennheiser K6/ME66 is a microphone system the place the K6 is the facility module. This microphone has a very excessive output in comparison with quite a lot of different shotgun microphones. That implies that for those who had two microphones and one had the next output and the opposite had a decrease output, given the identical sound supply on the identical distance, this microphone will output extra voltage. So it’s important to flip up the preamp much less, and on the time after I purchased this microphone I used to be utilizing an exterior recorder to report my audio and the preamps weren’t nice, so I needed a microphone with a a lot juicier output.
Use a Shotgun Microphone
A shotgun microphone is mostly used off-camera. So that you’d place this proper out of body and level it immediately on the topic’s mouth for those who’re recording only one particular person. It is often positioned above the topic and pointing down as a result of the issues that you simply wish to cancel typically emanate from a horizontal airplane and those who you wish to seize are coming from beneath, so it is smart to level it like this.
Due to how these shotgun microphones are used, they must be positioned up and out of body, and so they typically want extra gear to make them be just right for you. Normally, you may want some form of stand. Typically you may get away with utilizing an everyday microphone growth stand, however most of the time you want a growth pole. One thing that has severe attain: perhaps six, ten, twelve ft or extra. Now that growth pole might be operated by human, a growth pole operator who can stand there and maintain that in a area manufacturing when issues are transferring round. Or if you’re in a extra static state of affairs, you’ll be able to put that growth pole on a C-stand with a growth pole hanger or another gadget to carry it securely.
The explanation I name this my desert island microphone is as a result of it really works in quite a lot of completely different conditions rather well. A single microphone works nice for a single particular person, however if in case you have two individuals you should utilize this microphone as effectively. When you have a growth pole operator who can Hollywood the microphone and level it forwards and backwards between the 2 individuals talking, it may well work nice for that. Or for those who’re in an interview state of affairs and the individuals are fairly shut collectively, you may get the shotgun microphone positioned in order that it is choosing up each individuals within the interview pretty evenly. That is one thing you could’t do with a lavaliere microphone.
The opposite factor that isn’t as well-known is that shotguns make incredible voiceover microphones. Bear in mind what I mentioned earlier than concerning the proximity impact? Now that proximity impact will not flip my voice into the voice of a radio announcer. But it surely does beef up my voice a good quantity, and since it does an ideal job at noise discount, any little further noises which may be occurring in my studio are drastically lowered. It is not the everyday voiceover microphone you usually see while you look on the boards, however having examined many, many microphones through the years, I discover these work rather well for that. There is not any different microphone you’ll be able to say the identical factor for, which is why I really like the shotgun microphone.
How A lot Do Shotgun Microphones Value?
Now shotgun microphones can get tremendous expensive. However respectable shotgun microphones, the XLR selection, are most likely going to begin across the $200 vary and go up from there. This microphone was $460, and I’d say that the regulation of diminishing returns is correct round that space. Round $500 to $600, you are not going to discover a higher microphone.
I feel this is among the higher microphones on the market for sound high quality, construct high quality, and sound output. However once more, in case your digicam has respectable preamps, you may get away with a microphone with a lesser output.
For those who’re XLR microphones, you wish to be firms like Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Rode, or Shure. My favourites are most likely Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, and Rode. You are going to have to seek out the microphone that works for you. However keep in mind, longer is extra directional, and you’ll want an XLR enter for all these microphones.
Small Shotgun Microphones
What concerning the tiny shotgun microphones? The Rode VideoMic, the Rode VideoMic Professional, and the Sennheiser MKE400. They’re extra directional than a cardioid or tremendous cardioid, however they do not have the identical directionality as a microphone that is a foot lengthy or 16 inches lengthy, and even 27 inches lengthy. It is simply inconceivable.
Are you able to get good outcomes with them? Sure. Are they as directional as a microphone like this? No, they aren’t. However if you’re utilizing a digicam with a 3.5mm enter, which may be one thing you wish to discover. Lots of the images that you will see of these sorts of microphones are on-camera, and on-camera microphones do not work nice for mic placement. However with slightly growth pole and slightly extension cable, these microphones can work rather well for getting nice sound.
Conclusion
So now that you simply perceive why the shotgun microphone is so nice, look out for the subsequent tutorial on this collection, wherein you are going to study concerning the important gear that you could be want to your shotgun.
