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Parabolic mic (NFL style) used on stage for dialog...? What?


afewmoreyears

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I would love to hear the comments from our knowledgable folks on the JWsoundgroup regarding the use of a Parabolic NFL style mic system to get quality dialog  on a "normal' sized stage...  (@ 70x 70) lets say.. IN A BIGGER ROOM...  Meaning the shooting area is 70 x 70 or so.. Persons would be 25 to 30 ft away, or more... with fans and such going as well...

 

  The other options have been discussed till the cows come home...  PLEASE However,  Do not as much as you are tempted,  suggest other options.....  This conversation ONLY involves the use of a Parabolic mic, indoors, on stage pointing at one person at a time to gather GOOD SOUNDING DIALOG...  (I know... What's good ?)... You know what I mean I hope, the kind of dialog that would sound good watching on TV... Passable dialog you would not say... Geeze...  WTF...  or even notice it sounds funky... 

 

  This has been asked a few times by a director, and in my personal opinion, forget it....  Wrong tool for the job....

 

Fire away... I look forward to the varied responses...

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The only suggestion I would have would be the Audio Technica AT-895 because that is a full-frequency option for recording at a distance... But it still will not sound as good as a boom or lav from much closer in. Far away perspective is just that - far away. Can't get around those laws of physics.

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Feeling you.  My take:  time to stop discussing and just do what they ask for, and run whatever else your experience and budget tells you to use on another track.  IE, shove it all downstream.  Hell, they may like the sound, as odd as it will be (and it will be odd)….

I've run into this several times over the years, and have a small dish I bring along when they insist.  If they are determined to use a real fullsized NFL "Big Ears" then come back with you needing an experienced operator of same--good flinch test.  There are lots of good dish-ops in the sports world, hire yourself one, maybe they'll have their own dish even.

 

philp

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I have run parabolic mics on the sidelines for ABC football coverage, and they sound sucky... or at least they did in the late 1970s. Kind of tinny and midrangey. 

 

There's a lot of strategies on how to cover actors on a stage, but a parabolic mic would be last on my list. I'd consider wireless lavs, which is often how it's done on Broadway. If they're naked, then you have a problem. 

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I used a Telinga a lot in the 80's and 90's when I was doing birds recordings, and also found it a really interesting tool for "creative" soundscape nature recordings.

I remember trying it for dialog. 

In that application, I confirm that it sucks. Big, big time.

But, as already said, the best way to know is to try.

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I've operated one for years on NFL games.  They're ok for that and almost nothing else.  I rented one to try to get long distance dialog in a studio.  I tried a variety of mic patterns and capsules and it still sounded thin and mid rangy.  The last few years a new brand has shown up on trucks that are more of a true parabola than the Big Ears brand.  Don't remember the name of it.  They sound only slightly better but have a more accurate pick up pattern.  The dish alone is  pretty spend so I would guess not too many sound people would own one given the limited applications.  I happen to have just a dish with no handles or cross bar that was being tossed into the trash.  Its repairable but I haven't had time to mess with it.

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Of course a dish can only control wavelengths down to the width of the dish. Below that frequency it should become omnidirectional (depending on the capsule)

What's needed is a dish that's at least the width of a 100hz wave and also someone large enough to swing it.

;)

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Even with a gigantic dish, there's still the fact that the sound you're getting has been reflected back from a hard surface and then focused (imperfectly) onto a mic element.

Other than sounding poor for dialog, if you think that it's hard to find a good place for a boom op to stand now, just wait until they're weilding one of these babies!

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I have a Telinga Parabolic microphone. Use it for getting nature sounds. Apart from the frequencies issue talked earlier, if one uses it for dialogue, then slight shift and it will focus on something way behind in the background. 

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