Feature mic selection

[swordinhand]

I am looking to buy a mic for primarily interior location work. The location is a 150 year old farm house / inn in the country in Ohio. We are filming in October for 6 weeks. 90% of the scenes are one to two people (mostly one). Most of the characters move at a walking pace or stand / sit. The location has large rooms with high ceilings and large doors, but the rooms are untreated with wood flooring, throughout. There is quite a bit of dialogue. 
 

Given all of this I was leaning towards one of two mics. The Schoeps cmc141 and the DPA 4018c. I’ve listened to many samples online and read tons of stuff online about them. But I’m kind of looking to be put over the edge about one over the other. They both sound good, but the 141 might have an edge to me, a little more clarity in the upper mids. Also, what is the best affordable indoor shockmount setup? The Rycote invision has a good price point. Is that any good? I will be recording with an SD 633 and I have DPA 4060s (no wireless though) and a sennheiser 416 with full Rycote windshield and furry cover. 
 

What a wonderful forum. I’ve been reading many of the threads and have learned a lot about sound. Thank you for any and all suggestions.  

[James Louis]

I like to contribute to the many good subjects we have on hand here already, so I will tack on my impressions of an interior job I completed today with the 4018c. It was a trunk show and media blitz for a global fashion brand. The designer scheduled one-on-one's with journalists over different time zones as well as a little remote runway show. The assistants laid out the collection on a sofa off camera which he could then fetch and point out any detailing and construction material. The global marketing manager sitting next to him offering specifics or simply laughing at the current joke. To me, it's off-axis perspective that really highlights the technology in this design. I think it has everything on the 641. But additionally the 4018c maintains a very linear spectral distribution around the lobe of the mic pattern, resulting in a very well mixed relationship between your primary source and the activity around it. In my example, you heard the designer talk freely, and you heard a complementary level on the fabric and you heard a natural and open sound on the fabric which not only matches the dialog and doesn't need to be eq'd, but also sold the quality (and durability) of the materials (a bottle-recycled denim, flannel-lined coat pockets, recycled alpaca etc) 

 

when you have a clear parenthetical in a script (father continues to read the paper as the kids shuffle in for breakfast) (Alicia opens window of classroom to address the construction crew) Clearly, in most big works these are blocked such that the sound assets can then be layered. But you'll find with this mic that the surrounding action and the dialog make lots of sense in relation to one another...

[Mobilemike]

Thanks for that write up @James Louis  

I’m definitely interested in that mic now!

 

-Mike

[Constantin]

I agree with the assessment of the 4018c. It’s my current go to mic. I barely even use the 4017 anymore. It sounds so natural on medium an close shots. On the wides the benefit of the 4017 is negligible and I would play that on the wires anyway, which blend nicely with the 4018. Then on close-ups the 4018 really shines. 
I love the 641 too, but overall performance of the 4018 just provides a better package, in my opinion 

[henrimic]

Interesting, thank you for sharing your first hand experiences. 

 

Compared to the MK41 how would you describe the “reach” oh the 4018 ?

 

I read elsewhere that it was wider, closer to a Cardioid. 

[James Louis]

I agree. It is wide, but you would need less of it if you were "opening up" your lavs in a mix (as the off-axis will retain the upper frequencies and the relationship of those frequencies). The remaining room where I was working became present pretty quick as I pulled away, believe it or not maybe 1.25 meters from source to accommodate the key, which is already outside my expectations for this mic. But in other applications, this also means easy-going strafing and pans that are more likely to keep the room tone from morphing. More cardioid is also going to mean less early reflections from the ceiling or whatever you are placing in your null angles, even if you're listening to wider information in the front of the capsule. And comparing the mic pattern diagrams supports my listening impressions. But no, I wouldn't call this remarkable for "reach" if you mean that you want a close-mic'd sound from a more distant range, as you will begin to hear the liveliness of your recording environment.

[Dejan Ceko]

22 hours ago, Constantin said:

I agree with the assessment of the 4018c. It’s my current go to mic. I barely even use the 4017 anymore. It sounds so natural on medium an close shots. On the wides the benefit of the 4017 is negligible and I would play that on the wires anyway, which blend nicely with the 4018. Then on close-ups the 4018 really shines. 
I love the 641 too, but overall performance of the 4018 just provides a better package, in my opinion 

Same here