As a follow-up to his excellent article on Voice Over Xtra about microphone technique in general, today Juan Carlos Bagnell (better known as Some Audio Guy) offers his thoughts on How Close Can I Get to a Shotgun Mic without Blasting? Good stuff, Juan. Thank you.
Hi, Bob.
Juan Carlos has some good suggestions, and a lot mic placement is subjective, but… I don’t aim my 416 at the talent’s chest. It seems to me that you run the risk of having the actor talk over the top of the mic this way.
A shotgun mic is an “interference tube,” and different shotguns will position the diaphragm (the mic’s “eardrum”) at different locations in the tube. The diaphragm of the 416 is far back, IIRC – but the Neumann short shotgun, the KMR 81, places the diaphragm close to the front of the tube. If you’re orienting some Generic Shotgun mic as JC suggests, you may have more off-axis sound than you want.
Also – shotguns and tiny closets don’t mix. Too much off-axis information voids the concept of the shotgun. Get out of the booth and use the directionality of the mic to negate your noise sources.
My advice: follow Juan Carlos’ diagram except move the mic up so that it points at the mouth – unless you are trying to emphasize chest tone or de-emphasize mouth noise. And if you’re the talent, HOLD STILL!
All the best…
Dan,
Thanks for the thoughtful and helpful suggestions and insights.
Be well,
Bob