Which mic for interview?

[Scott Lancaster]

For "sit down" interviews I have 2 mics: AT4073a (on a boom stand) and a Tram lav... either mic would be wired directly to the camera. Which one would give better sound for instance in an office setting? I used the AT recently, but was not totally pleased with the results, though I have been very pleased with this mic as an on-camera mic for doing quick interviews on location. Any tips for positioning the mic in a studio/indoor setting? I had the mic attached to a boom pole and mounted on a light stand with the "boommate". I had it coming from above just out of frame and the mic angled more or less straight on pointing toward the mouth of the subject.... generally isn't it best to get the mic as close as possible to the subject? Isn't it always the ideal to use a boom mic vs the lav for sound quality and the fact that you never see the boom mic? Thanks. BTW please no responses about buying a better mic... this is what I must use where I am employed... Thanks!

[Dan Brockett]

Originally Posted by Scott Lancaster

For "sit down" interviews I have 2 mics: AT4073a (on a boom stand) and a Tram lav... either mic would be wired directly to the camera. Which one would give better sound for instance in an office setting? I used the AT recently, but was not totally pleased with the results, though I have been very pleased with this mic as an on-camera mic for doing quick interviews on location. Any tips for positioning the mic in a studio/indoor setting? I had the mic attached to a boom pole and mounted on a light stand with the "boommate". I had it coming from above just out of frame and the mic angled more or less straight on pointing toward the mouth of the subject.... generally isn't it best to get the mic as close as possible to the subject? Isn't it always the ideal to use a boom mic vs the lav for sound quality and the fact that you never see the boom mic? Thanks. BTW please no responses about buying a better mic... this is what I must use where I am employed... Thanks!

Hi Scott:

Your first question is impossible to answer which is the reason you should always shoot interviews with a boom AND a lavaliere whenever possible. In this way, you have choices and can go with whichever mic sounded best in each particular situation. If the room is too live or there is too much ambient noise, the lav will work better. If the room has good sound characteristics and the ambient wasn't too loud, the boom will have a fuller, richer sound usually. Bottom line, record with both boom and lav and decide in the edit bay which sounded better.

Generally, I would aim the boom actually a little bit lower at the chest so that the mic is picking p the chest as well as the mouth. The reason is that you can sometimes get a little richer sound by recording the chest cavity area rather than the mouth directly.

Yes, the closer the mic to the subject, the better.

I wouldn't say buy a better mic, the AT-4073a is a fine piece of gear for the money. Just listen for BG noise and excessive sibilance with the subject has a lot of mouth sounds or is sibilant themselves. The AT-4073a is more geared toward picking up higher frequencies than most other mics.

Best,

Dan

[Scott Lancaster]

Thanks again Dan!