tatiana irvine wrote:
> ...well I'm glad I asked about spaced omnis...thanks for the wonderful
> discussion! I've been thinking about the perspectives offered, and doing =
a
> little research, and I think I'll build a jecklin disc and start
> experimenting. Darn right I don't want to carry two mic stands, and a dis=
c
> seems portable enough.
Note that many try to build a jecklin disc with a small disk. Say
something like a AOL CD for the core. Those don't work well. You need
that larger diameter and you need the head spacing. The jecklin disc is
a little easier to experiment on than the SASS.
> Nice to hear from Flawn on:
>
> "There is no perfect miking system, particularly in the rough-and-tumble=
> world of hit-and-run field recordings. We're also often switching back a=
nd
> forth between sound gathering and close-miked interviews at a second's
> notice, so we have to have miking available to accommodate both needs. "
>
> I am doing a lot of this "hit-and-run" type stuff myself, and have bee
> struggling hard to come up with an efficient, portable mic solution. So f=
ar
> I have produced audio projects that are delivered in stereo, and tend to=
> involve intense ambiences from nature - but I am just beginning to try to=
> have these pieces air on radio (my very own, low-budget radio expedition!=
),
> so I am facing the mono-compatibility problem for the first time. I just =
got
> the new Sennheiser 418s M/S stereo shotgun as a stab at an
> all-in-one-hit-and-run solution for gathering ambient sound and interview=
s
> (unplug "side"), but this is really no help when it comes to mono radio,=
> because from what I understand, I will lose so much (the "side") if
> collapsed to mono....
A MS stereo, if it's been decoded properly, when the two sides are mixed
evenly to mono will result in just the signal of the mid mic, the side
cancels entirely. This is actually more desirable than collapsing the
side ambient into mono, which can result is a complex mix in the middle
of the listener's head, everything piled on one spot. When you collapse
the 418s to mono, the pickup will be very similar to the MKH416 short
shotgun mic. When you think about it, a 416 does not collect much of the
surrounding ambient sound, which is what it's designed to do. Best you
could do for mono interview would be to align mic, interviewee, and some
interesting sounds behind. Probably having the mic a little ways back
from your subject.
For having a MS that will collapse to a mono with surrounding ambient
you need a wider field mic. Like building the MS out of a MKH40 & MKH30.
The MKH40 is cardioid, so will pick up quite a bit of the surrounding sound=
.
You will have to tell us all about how the 418s works out. We discussed
it recently, but you are the first to report having one.
> Then there's a another problem- assuming you COULD broadcast in stereo, h=
ow
> to record a moving (speaking) subject in a sonically rich natural setting=
? I
> hit a brick wall with this while recording in Botswana two years ago. I h=
ad
> little experience, and was trying to record with a stereo mic on a boom-=
> this worked beautifully when it was in a parabolic reflector pointed at a=
> single lion feasting on a zebra, but not okay when I recorded in stereo
> dish-less, walking alongside a guide as he pointed out various natural
> wonders. The stereo field was flailing all over the place...
>
> I still have not figured out how to conquer this problem as a single pers=
on.
> A planted mic combined with a boomed mic is all I can think of, but it's =
not
> a truly mobile approach...what to do short of wearing a pair of binaurals=
?
> Is it possibly just a question of boom technique? Am I expecing the
> impossible?
Two recordings and mix is probably one way. When recording in stereo you
have to handle pointing the mic just like you would panning a video
camera, no fast pans, no back and forth pans, if you pan do it slowly
and smoothly. Otherwise, record your interview, record some suitable
ambiance separately, and mix them.
I'd think it's not impossible to record a walking interview in one take
in stereo, though it's something I've never tried. Best to figure out a
fixed mic direction for the entire interview. And use a very wide field
stereo setup so it's easier to get the voices well.
A technique that might work well is use a MS mic between interviewer and
interviewee that's pointed out along the direction of travel and then
the figure 8 side mic would pick up the voices as if on the two sides of
the ambient field. Could also be done with the mic pointing back along
the way you came. With your 418, you could probably have it overhead,
between on a boom. Just don't swing it, think of it like a video camera.
Stereo requires different mic handling from mono. Yes, you can make your
listeners literally sick from the roller coaster ride. If you think it's
bad with MS or such like, try the Telinga stereo parabolic. It was one
of the first lessons I learned when I got the Telinga.
Walt
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