Lavaliere/lapel — attaches to the subjects
clothing, breastbone height. Wired or wireless.
Used for interviews. Amazon.com has a descent Audio-Technica ATR-35S lavaliere mic with a 20
foot cable for about $25
Ha
nd-held — can be put on a microphone stand or held in the hand.
Wired or wireless. Used for on-the-spot interviews and voiceovers.
Shotgun — attaches to a shoe on your camcorder. Use for event
taping when you’re not close to the sound source.
Very powerful. Not good as an
interview microphone.
Pressure zone (PZM) — flat shape designed to set on a table.
Omnidirectional.
Used to tape group discussions.
Microphone types
The way a microphone is
constructed and the material used makes a difference in the quality of the
sound it picks up. From best quality to worst:
-
Condenser—requires a battery. Little more expensive. Better
sound.
-
Dynamic—no battery. Inexpensive and durable.
-
Ceramic crystal—no battery. Inexpensive. Limited frequency range.
Pickup patterns
Attaching the microphone to your camcorder
Plug the microphone into the MIC port on your camcorder (not the one with a headphone icon). Be sure to put the microphone's power switch to ON. If the microphone is connected to the camcorder but not turned on, you will get no sound at all. Save your batteries by remembering to turn the switch off when you're finished taping.
Securing the microphone cable
Wiggling
microphone cables cause static. Secure the cable at places that are likely to
wiggle. One of those spots is the cable connection to your camcorder. Most
camcorders have a folded hand strap held in place with Velcro. Open the hand
strap fold. Then form a loose S with the cable near the connection Lay it in
the hand strap and press the Velcro sides back together.
The
other likely trouble spot is on the person of your subject. You can use
painter’s tape to tape a lavaliere wire to their side and again near the
microphone. This can be hidden under their clothing.
Monitor with headphones
Use headphones while taping to
monitor the sound going into the camcorder. Headphone monitoring will avoid the
disaster of forgetting to turn on your shotgun microphone while taping. Listen
for static and unwanted background noises. Headphones usually have a phone jack connection. Insert this into the headphone port (usually has a headphone icon) on your camcorder.
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