Re: Microphones

Lawrence.

The best Mike is a soundman named Mike (or otherwise) that has a mixer. boom and shotgun microphone like a Sennheisser 416 or comperable cardioid microphones made by Neumann, Scheops or Sanken. In addition the soundperson might also have body pack wireless mikes and appropriate laveliers and methods of hiding them if required, for clos up sound on characters that move around a lot in wide shots. He (or she) will also have a cable to connect two tracks of the mixer to the camera with a foldback cable to monitor the e-to-e connection at the camera. In extreme cases, where there are many speakers, you might consider iso recording each on a multitrack digital recorder like the Sound Devices 744T which can also re4cord the cameras time code for reference.

If you're thinking of putting the mike on the camera, then it doesn't matter what mike you use, the sound will be inconsistent and thin unless the person speaking is several feet away from the camera and doesn't move. Even an a sit-down interview will be off mike.

JS