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Microphone advice for natural indoor recording


Andreas

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I'm trying to pull off a small film project in the near future and because we will be shooting away from cities and be able to handpick locations (all indoor) I am hoping to go a bit unconventional with location recording. Essentially I would like to use as much location sound as possible and to record in a way that takes advantage of the space we're in - not shying away from natural acoustics and recording dialogue at an actual distance when that is what the frame calls for. I realise this poses some challenges but I aslo believe I'm aware of most of them.

 

I assume this calls for some kind of cardioid microphone but would really appreciate advice on a specific model. I know I want something natural sounding (no added warmth even if it's a nice sound) and a microphone that can pick up at a bit of a distance. It doesn't have to be a budget option.

Txs in advance :)

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I am aware how location recording typically is done and for what reasons. I'm not delivering to a client and have decided to take a different approach that I don't believe will lead to ADR if handled with care. If you as a pro could advice me on a natural sounding cardioid mic I'd much appreciate it :)

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Perhaps rent a Schoeps CMC641 (CMC6 preamp with MK41 supercardioid capsule) and a MK4 cardioid capsule (and perhaps another CMC6 preamp) and see which works best for you. 

 

https://schoeps.de/en/products/colette.html

 

https://schoeps.de/en/products/colette/capsules/cardioids/mk-4.html

 

But if you're thinking of some wide shots, maybe consider a bringing along a good shotgun mic for you tests.

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Ambitions are great! 

A challenge is always fun :)

I'd say that if you strive for a natural sound, the choice of mics is far less important than the choice of location and its acoustics.

 

If you allow for proper time and care before and during production you might achieve what you want in a beautiful friendship with set design and props dept, or the people/person  who will be working with that. And then there's workflow: sound check and so forth. Sound dept, or the sound person would have to have a lot of time to get it right. 

 

Any artistic choice that would affect location sound is not just simply choosing the right microphone. 

 

I encourage the effort! That said, I really think the more traditional way of recording dialog would make for post to be able to recreate "natural acoustics". And also, I would go with schoeps mics :)

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Thanks for the encouragement! Yes it's something like this I've imagined; carefully choosing locations and integrating the needs of sound into the whole process. It was a while ago since I had anything to do with sound-post, but I remember great tools for modifying well-recorded dialogue. What I've never heard recreated is proximity within a certain acoustic space, at least not to the extent that it has been comparable with an authentic recording of voices and movements at a natural distance. Do you have a different experience?

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1 hour ago, Andreas said:

Thanks for the encouragement! Yes it's something like this I've imagined; carefully choosing locations and integrating the needs of sound into the whole process. It was a while ago since I had anything to do with sound-post, but I remember great tools for modifying well-recorded dialogue. What I've never heard recreated is proximity within a certain acoustic space, at least not to the extent that it has been comparable with an authentic recording of voices and movements at a natural distance. Do you have a different experience?

If this is the case, then I suggest you watch and listen carefully to “Being There”. This is perhaps one of the best sounding movies you’ll ever experience. All achieved by the great work of Jeff Wexler and Don Coufal, with the full support of Hal Ashby.

 

What you are hoping to achieve has been done by many great professionals before, aided by supportive filmmakers. 

 

Regards,

 

Moe

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