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Best boom mic for noisy environments.


chrisyking

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So I bought a 8060 to replace my 60 recently, and I'll be using this for most of my work once I get a basket ordered, but I just wondered, has anyone used the 8060 in noisy conditions like noisy street markets, movie premiers or football mixed zone interviews? Obviously i'd use a hand mic where possible, but if I have to boom in noisy crowded places, would the 8060 cut it? or is the sweet spot too wide?

Also, if it won't cut it, what is the most sucky short or normal length shotgun mic one can use for these sort of events. The 416 has always worked, but the filtering off axis isn't too good. Is there anything I should take along for these sort of shoots?

As always I've bought something and am already doubting my purchase. This is one of my many weaknesses!!  

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rules of thumb: in a noisy environment, encourage your talent follow his/her instinct to voice up. Use the radios. Get closer with your  mic. Try to reduce the noise, if possible. Increased boom mic directivity is not always a problem solver here, depends on the noise and which directions it comes from.

Apart of this, maybe a super CMIT can get you a bit further. A 416 will help with it's crisp sibilance. Long shotguns can be slightly better in reducing sound from the sides, to a limited extent. But after all that, the 8060 is one of the best choices you can make for a boom mic in a noisy environment, even a little superior to a CMIT-5U, imho or to a DPA 4017. The cs3e I do not know, unfortunately.

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You're over thinking it. The 8060 is great, and in interview situations you don't have to be too far away, so you ought to be fine. Having a SuperCMIT for interviews, red carpets, and sideline work seems like a crazy choice (cost and fear of damage). If it's noisy, it's noisy. Subjects ought to speak up, and if you have to crank the gain, the viewer will understand why they hear the background noise because of where you are. Narrative work is a whole other issue, but you're not asking about that.

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9 hours ago, Constantin said:

The other may be to not search this forum before posting.

One word: SuperCMIT

Knew I'd get that. I was really asking if any 8060 owners have used the mic in noisy situations. There are few cryptic comments but nothing specifically talking about using it in noisy environments..... unless I missed them?

Axel wrote..........'But after all that, the 8060 is one of the best choices you can make for a boom mic in a noisy environment, even a little superior to a CMIT-5U, imho or to a DPA 4017.'....... this was the reply I was after. Many thanks Axel for the information. Very useful....!!

I should get my wind gag this week, so can start testing the mic in earnest....

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If it makes you feel better, I only do narrative work, and I have owned and/or used everything suggested (with the exception of the SuperCMIT). The 8060 ended up being my favorite. It also fits in a little zeppelin, which CS3e or CMIT does not, and that is good for the kind of work you are describing.

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Best boom mic for a noisy environment is a good LAV!!! DPA

If you are in a very noisy environment no boom mic will perform better then a well placed DPA!

You might be able to get very close with a boom mic and get an acceptable result.

I love when producers tell me: Last sound mixer told me that boom mics sound better then Lavs.

I answer : Well this myth has been going for a long time. A quick comparing proves the opposite.

 

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7 minutes ago, RadoStefanov said:

Best boom mic for a noisy environment is a good LAV!!! DPA

If you are in a very noisy environment no boom mic will perform better then a well placed DPA!

You might be able to get very close with a boom mic and get an acceptable result.

"street markets, movie premiers or football mixed zone interviews"

I'm guessing he isn't placing lavs on actors as they walk the red carpet, or on footballers as they walk off the pitch :-)

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1 hour ago, chrisyking said:

Great thank for that. Sets my mind at ease. I feel better taking it out now. And relax.......

welcome. by why dont you approach your local dealer, take out a few different mics for testing and trust your ears? 

all the best

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11 hours ago, Constantin said:
58 minutes ago, RadoStefanov said:

Best boom mic for a noisy environment is a good LAV!!! DPA

If you are in a very noisy environment no boom mic will perform better then a well placed DPA!

You might be able to get very close with a boom mic and get an acceptable result.

I love when producers tell me: Last sound mixer told me that boom mics sound better then Lavs.

I answer : Well this myth has been going for a long time. A quick comparing proves the opposite.

 

 

Not entirely true, in my experience, I've directly compared a DPA lav with a SuperCMIT in both very reverberant circumstances and very noisy circumstances and the SuperCMIT for reverb cancellation wins hands down, and can also often be better in noisy circumstances where the noise source is fairly uni-directional and at a good angle away from the direction the mic is pointing....

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Remember, we're talking ENG here. You need to be fast and small footprint. I wouldn't take an 816 on an ENG shoot.

In my limited ENG experience, I found that with a longer boom I always could get the mic close to the subject, even when a bunch of other crews crowded around the talent. Most seem to use booms no longer than 6ft, mine was a 13ft vdB.

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work the null, a sympathetic frame line :), cs3e (or similar) for contributors (if you can't lav them), a lav on the presenter / in frame interviewer so you don't get caught out swinging / pitching (wide) between the 2, body blocking, show the source of BG noise. coles lip mic :), etc.

 

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Thanks chaps. Generally with ENG premier type stuff I would obviously use a hand mic if possible, or radios, but occasionally at extreme media scrums the journalist cant even get a mic in so I end up relying on a boom over the top. This happens frequently with F1 stuff. Also with some doco jobs, sometimes things can't be prepped or planned and you end up running into noisy situations. I want ONE mic which can handle everything. My 60 has always been fine, but it's a little on the long side and with a basket its BIG. I like the idea of the 8060, as in the rycote kit 1 its small enough to get over the top of people indoors with low ceilings.

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2 hours ago, pindrop said:

Not entirely true, in my experience, I've directly compared a DPA lav with a SuperCMIT in both very reverberant circumstances and very noisy circumstances and the SuperCMIT for reverb cancellation wins hands down, and can also often be better in noisy circumstances where the noise source is fairly uni-directional and at a good angle away from the direction the mic is pointing....

This is entirely circumstantial.  If you only need to mic one person at a time and they will remain reasonably stationary, a SuperCMIT may isolate better.  But if movement is involved as in ENG style, a well placed lav will probably be able to isolate, while track talent, better than you can mixing while swinging a boom.

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In an ENG situation there's often no time to put a lav on someone.  The group of reporters and crews descend on the person they want to talk to and suddenly there are bodies and cameras five or six deep.  That's when a longer boom is to your advantage.  A noisy environment is another variable that you have no control over.  You can only get the mic in as close as you can and hope the person's natural reaction to speak louder to overcome the noise kicks in and they speak up.  I have the CMIT5u as Mike does and have used it on the sidelines of some very loud college games and it worked well.  For what its worth an NFL films mixer that I know uses the CMIT5U and is a big reason why I bought one eventually.  

 

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Exactly what you said Bernie..  Booming is sometimes the only option. I have found the 416 or 60 work well in these circumstances. But they are quite long (as is the CMIT5u?), and I'm trying to get a smaller basket. Have any 8060 users used the mic in these situations and been happy? I know most of you are film guys, so probably don't face this sort of thing often. I have found sometimes in situations where you think you have a nice organised sit down interview with a star or whoever, it quickly descends into an every man for himself punch up 5 cameras deep as Bernie said.... out pops my little boom!! ooer...

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56 minutes ago, Matthew Sonnenfeld said:

This is entirely circumstantial.  If you only need to mic one person at a time and they will remain reasonably stationary, a SuperCMIT may isolate better.  But if movement is involved as in ENG style, a well placed lav will probably be able to isolate, while track talent, better than you can mixing while swinging a boom.

Well of course, but the question started 'for noisy environments' and there's documentary, as well as ENG and drama, and that's where I've used a SuperCMIT extensively because it can give me significantly better results.

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