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Hi everyone, this is my very first post here, and I'm honored to ask for your help about a question: As a filmaking student I havo to make a little documentary with audio 5.1. The bad thing about audio is that I'm completely alone (I haven't a boom guy). The good thing is that this documentary will be almost without dialogues (it's a sort of silent and poetic tale about the life of an old woman). In this scenario I thought to realize the surround audio field completely in post, mixing different sources taken during "clean" off-camera sessions (so avoiding to capture audio during video sessions) and this for 2 reasons: 1. creating an imaginary (and perhaps more interesting) sound landscape; 2. basically avoiding to capture my noises as camera operator (my steps, my breath, steady squeaking) during video takes. Recreating a fictitious audio in post should work for all the channels BUT one: the C-channel, that contains the most "in-frame" audio effects: infact I can't dub my talent's own steps, movements' noises, sighs, etc. (because she's not an actor, but a real woman living her life). In few words I need at least an on-camera mic solution to capture the C-channel effects. The problem is: which mic is able to bring only the sounds on its front while completely rejecting the sounds on its rear? If you know a mic like this, please tell me! Because up to now all the polar diagrams I've seen show a certain capsule's sensibility also under the center: a) omni is obviously unusable for my purpose; cardiod has two curves under the center, and tends to behave like omni at low frequencies; c) hypercardioid have a little ball of sensibility on its rear; d) shotgun is narrow but creates a sort of 8 figure in its diagram, i.e. it captures also on the back. Surely shotgun is fine as boom mic, or even as on-camera mic if the operator is moveless and silent, but in a run&gun scenario I can't think it's the right mean to capture a clean audio. And more than this, it's too directional for a moving talent in a on-camera condition. Someone uses all-in-one solutions like the fantastic Sony PCM-D100 mounted on the camera: I've thought about it, but I've heard tests with evident camera-operator's noises (and all this recorders have internal little capsules that are unidirectioal only at 1kHz and up, but under 1kHz the capsules behave like omni). So does exist an on-camera mic solution to capture front-only? I have an hypothesis that I'd need to discuss with you: Let say I'd start with an hypercardioid because it should work indoor (without too much reverb) and basically also outdoor. I'd choose a mic with a pretty constant polar diagram for all the frequency spectrum (Audio-Tachnica AT4053B, or Audix SCX1-HC, or a modified Oktava MK012) and I'd use two in X/Y position on the camera (so I should choose a mic without handling issues). In this way I'll surely capture front + side + rear sounds, it's true, but there should be only a single common cross-diagrams portion, and that portion should be only in front of the camera, not in the back nor on the side. This "clean" portion should be obtained by algebrical operation on the two channels (in a DAW), and it should be my C-channel. Do you think it could work? I'd use a Tascam DR-70D (screwed under the camera) modified by Busman to have very clean preamp, and a couple of AT4053B or SCX1hc mounted over the camera in X/Y position. I've read that modified Oktavas are very interesting but I've also read that they are too sensitive to operator's movements. So, between AT4053B and SCX1hc, which is in your opinion the less problematic in a run&gun scenario? Thanks for all your help (I really need it) and your advices.