Thread: Which microphone for outdoor concerts?

Hi,

I am in the need to buy a microphone for my camcorder, which I can use for outdoor concerts. I have been reading lots of interviews and figured out that most seem to recommend the Røde Stereo VideoMic for concerts in general. But as people also seem to recommend the use of a cat instead of a kitten outside - and as that the Stereo Video Mic comes with a kitten and it appears that the cat, which is used by f.ex the VideoMic Pro, won't fit the Stereo one. When seeing some test videos on Youtube I also came across a test of the Stereo microphone used outside where it clearly picked up small chit chat from people standing next to the camcorder, which also made me doubt it a bit.

I would like to be able to film from an outdoor concert where I am standing at the back with the view over the audience and towards the stage. Sound should be clear and not destroyed by the wind - and at the same time I would like to avoid people next to me chit chatting destroying the sound as well. Can anyone guide me in the direction of which microphone would be best for this purpose?

Thanks in advance,

What you're asking is not possible so buy yourself a dog, they are much better than cats.

Ok now the serious answer, If you have a microphone and people are talking near it the mic will pick them up, that is the nature of things. The relative volume of the talking and the music is important. You can reduce the affect of wind noise with a correctly fitted wind shield or for a light wind, a dead cat might do. If you understand that a wind shield is slowing down the speed of the air movement with the fur and that the microphone is very very sensitive to changes in air pressure, this is the best you can hope, just to reduce the affect of it and not get rid of it completely. The only way to get rid of it completely is to put it in an air tight sealed box but then you would not get any sound.

I can't recommend the Røde Stereo VideoMic as I've never used one. I use a Zoom H4n for this type of recording, it has an adjustable stereo pick up field of 90 or 120 degrees and works very well so long as it is near enough to the stage. (like all mics need to be)

Originally Posted by Midnight Blue

You can reduce the affect of wind noise with a correctly fitted wind shield or for a light wind, a dead cat might do. If you understand that a wind shield is slowing down the speed of the air movement with the fur and that the microphone is very very sensitive to changes in air pressure, this is the best you can hope, just to reduce the affect of it and not get rid of it completely.

I can't recommend the Røde Stereo VideoMic as I've never used one. I use a Zoom H4n for this type of recording, it has an adjustable stereo pick up field of 90 or 120 degrees and works very well so long as it is near enough to the stage. (like all mics need to be)

Thanks for the reply, but I don't think the H4n is an option for me simply because of two things:
1. I wouldn't know where to put it if it wasn't mounted on the camcorder - aside from in my pocket or a bag which is probably not ideal
2. I would be afraid that if I need to edit the sound afterwards to match with the picture the synch would go off or it would be too complicated for me

Which kind of wind shield for a microphone do you recommend. It is a jungle out there if you are just looking for anything called wind shield for camcorder

Hi

I asked the same question a while back about is it hard to sync up separate audio with video/audio (camcorder) ..... but a good trick I learned off here is before you start to record make a loud clap sound and then you can easily match up the clap on both video /audio and just audio like the cool Zoom H4n recorder midnight blue has (damn him!!!!)

I understand now that "Juicedlink" products fit between the camcorder and tripod but not sure about Zoom H4n??

What camera do you have ?

Originally Posted by Midnight Blue

What camera do you have ?

Sony TD10, but the mic does not have to be Sony as I have a converter I can use. Also it does not matter if it is 3,5 or XLR as there are converters for that as well.

Like Slimbob said, It's very easy to match up the audio with the video. You can attach a ZoomH4n to your camera with a 1/4-20 Flashner or similar. You screw it onto the back of the Zoom and it just slides into the shoe on the camera. If you can't make a wind shield your self using fake fur, you could buy something like THIS.

Be aware that if the mic is not close enough to the sound source, you will be disappointed with the result. This is true of any mic you may end up with.

Is this an amplified outdoor concert or something with acoustic instruments (eg brass band)?
If the former, then see if you can't get a feed from the mixing desk. This will be vastly superior to anything you'll manage with mics.

Tim asked the only question that's important.
What are you intending to record?

Concert could be orchestra, choir, musical theatre, folk music, rock music or tons more - and the answer would be different in every single case.

The usual question is "does the performance have a natural acoustic?" What this means is that without a PA system, they balance together and the sound is sonically coherent. Examples are professional orchestras - where the composition and placement of the musicians means everything has a natural balance. In an amateur orchestra, maybe they only have two people who play flute, one double bass, ten violins, one viola etc - the result here will have 'holes' which mean the recording will sound odd - especially if the music being played passes motifs around from instrument to instrument. Same kind of thing with choirs. Amateur choirs are often lacking bass - because they don't have enough blokes! Right at the other end are rock bands where loudness depends on how big a Spinal Tap moment each player has - so you could find whatever you do, the drums are just too high.

If there is no sense of natural balance, then the worst place for the mics to be is with the camera. This will give a nice stereo audience perspective, but the wanted sound can easily be swamped out. If there is a natural balance, then a stereo mic at the sweet spot - wherever this is, is the key for a quality audio recording. This place, once you find it, will almost always be somewhere the mics are going to be really in the way and in-view.

Very often, the pictures are strong, so weak audio still works - but getting quality audio without big complications is pretty tricky. It's possible to make it work, but you need somebody to do the sound - it needs constant ears!

The mechanical sync bit is easy - never the problem it is often made out to be.

Originally Posted by paulears

Tim asked the only question that's important.
What are you intending to record?

Concert could be orchestra, choir, musical theatre, folk music, rock music or tons more - and the answer would be different in every single case.

It is mainly going to be pop music. I can give an example from last year: Chanée & N'evergreen - In A Moment Like This - YouTube - Yes, I know, I didn't use a tripod! I have bought one now - that was recorded just with my still camera's built in microphone - Panasonic Lumix FZ38 - so don't be after me.

That type of outdoor concerts is what I will be doing more of now.