Help: mic for boss's voice over

hackazoid wrote on 2/7/2006, 4:51 PM

HELP-- My boss asked me shoot some office/warehouse scenes for a 3-5 min internal training video. The thought is that he can do voice narration over the scenes and then I can knit them together.

I recently got a Rode Video Mic that I've used to shoot general events but have never used it for commentary. Since this is a 'homemade' video, would that work in a quiet room? If so, how far from it would be recommended.

If not, is there an inexpensive hand mic as I won't get reimbursed for buying one.

Appreciate any help as this was sprung on me today and I have to start some shooting the next day or two.

Thanks, hack

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 2/7/2006, 5:32 PM

The Rode will be fine if you record it correctly.
Get it about 5-8 inches from the corner of the bosses mouth, and you'll have a rich sound. It needs to be at an angle from the face, pointing towards one side or the other of his mouth. A quiet room that doesn't have a lot of hard surfaces is best for this.

farss wrote on 2/7/2006, 5:34 PM

The Rode mic should work OK. Get it below his mouth but pointed at it, say more than 30deg below straight ahead. Get him to keep his head as still as possible. If you're recording into a camera turn the AGC off if at all possible. Watch out for any ambinet noice such as airconditioning, people talking outside the room etc. Do it after everyone has gone home if necessary.
Use some compression to fatten his voice up in post, it's pretty likely that this video will be heard in a noisy environment so the dialogue needs to come through LOUD and clear.
Bob.