Re: [LAU] Video micing question

On Saturday 20 April 2013 10:56:30 Paul DeShaw did opine:

> Sorry this is a bit OT, I don't know whom else to ask.
> I belong to a martial arts community which produces videos of guest
> teachers when we host a seminar. We used to use a lavalier mic on the
> teacher's chest. For reasons I don't understand, that practice was
> stopped, and the mic was moved to the high ceiling rafter, where it
> picks up the whole room.

Probably because the lav got damaged, so they took the cheapest route they
could.

People who make such choices simply do not understand that sound is
attenuated by distance according to the same laws as light in open space.
You can sit down beside a single candle and read your book if careful not
to let the candle wax drip on it. But put that same candle in a ceiling
fixture and it /may/ let you miss stepping on the cat.

What we call shotgun mic's that can be mounted on the camera, and which
have better pickup in that direction are available, are expensive with good
ones ranging from 300-1000 USD, check the Sienheiser(sp?) catalog, and in
my experience as a broadcast engineer over the last 50 years, have an
effective distance of perhaps 6 or 7 feet. The square law still wins
beyond that. They are also very finicky about their operating environment,
you cannot expect them to work when a hand is wrapped around the lengthy
tube body, or when all the little holes in the screen are filled with dried
sweat or spittle. This latter cleanliness is important for any mic.

So my advice is, if they want to produce videos, either get in it and do
the job right, or put the stuff out for a yard sale.

That means using a collar mounted, or even a headset boom mic, (at the
phone or computer store, often cheap enough to throw away when it fails,
AND being prepared for it to get in the way and be damaged AND having
another one just like it in the bag to be handed to the performer on 20
seconds notice at any time the one he/she is using becomes in-operable.

Anything less that that level of preparedness, and the willingness to
finance it, says to me they should get out of the business, they are just
wannabees.

I am not trying to be insulting here, but this is the real world, and
martial arts folks tend not to notice they just ran out of mic cord &
ripped it out of the connectors. So even if they do stay 'in the business
of making videos' they will need somebody on staff capable of opening the
connectors and repairing the connections, during a 10 minute intermission
if needed, or even completely replacing the cabling with longer versions,
and this /assumes/ somebody who really /knows/ how to solder, and has the
soldering tools to do it right.

Soldering is an art form, one I have found I can't teach just anybody to
do. Decent tools to do these repairs will run toward $300. The soldering
iron itself will run from $130 to $250 USD. Suitable razor sharp. /flush
cut/ 4" diagonal cutters, 5" curved nose suture clamps, solder suckers to
clean this up with, small, quality screw drivers that actually /fit/ the
screws, the knowledge to use the correct screwdriver for /that/ screw, even
a good, razor sharp pocket knife will be needed.

> The result is that some of the most revered
> figures in our art have had their words lost in the background noise.
> If I can't convince those in charge to use the lavalier mic as it's
> designed to be used, would a camera-mounted shotgun mic do better? Any
> suggestions as to model? Any other suggestions for micing a moving
> subject 30 feet or so from a wall-mounted camera?
> I will try to get more particulars about the setup. I have noticed 2 XLR
> connectors on the camera which are not used. The mic and the camera are
> fed separately into the computer, I don't know what happens from there.
> Probably uses Final Cut Pro.
> Thanks,
> Paul

Good luck Paul. Somehow, because I have BTDT, BTTS & wore it out, I have a
feeling you will be downwind of the blame for your efforts. Blamed for
spending all that money when they think it should be done for the cost of
the tape alone. (and they'll buy used, "recycled" tape to boot, not a good
deal in terms of PR either) First, they will need to understand the
problem, and then, actually /want/ to solve it. In my experience, they
will either look at the costs to continue and stop doing it, or will get
burnt until such time as the message is finally understood. During that
period, any great amount of harping on the subject will be perceived as
counter productive.

Thanks for wanting to do a professional job at something that, from what I
have seen, is usually done very poorly. You should be saluted for caring.

Cheers, Gene

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