Boom mic and fan noise

[John Hope]

Hi,
Are you recommending putting a boom mic over the camera?
Or will the fan noise make the audio useless?
Thanks

 

[ericyoung]

If you mean mounting a mic on the camera, it's not necessarily useless, depending on how loud your fans are running relative to the subject audio.

This is assuming the mount does a decent job of physically isolating fan vibrations transmitted through the camera body, but it won't be anywhere near the optimal place for it, and the sound quality will suffer compared to a mic nearer the subject(s).

It's about signal-to-noise ratio, and mic characteristics. Mic choice and placement are key to optimal sound.

 

[John Hope]

Thanks Ericyoung,
is it true that now the fan noise is way lower than before?

 

[Justin O'Neill]

It depends what the application is but the adaptive fan modes in the latest beta 5 firmware keep the fans pretty freaking quiet. I doubt a boom mic would pic it up. And this is with the old fan system. The new one will be even quieter.

 

[John Hope]

That's a good news...
Now is it possible to keep the fan quite low even when the camera doesn't record? Because i think to record into the samurai without having the camera recording..... :blush:

 

[Bob Gundu]

That's a good news...
Now is it possible to keep the fan quite low even when the camera doesn't record? Because i think to record into the samurai without having the camera recording..... :blush:

It is possible, be aware that with long takes the camera is going to get hot. Best to leave it on adaptive mode.

 

[John Hope]

Ok, i will.
Thanks for your all precious suggestions

 

[Scott Crawley]

The entire point of putting it on a boom is to make it more mobile and get it closer to the source. Why do you want to position it right over the camera?

Maybe I am misunderstanding your terminology. Are you using the words "boom mic" as a term to describe a shotgun microphone, or are you referring to any microphone on a boom pole?

Hi,
Are you recommending putting a boom mic over the camera?
Or will the fan noise make the audio useless?
Thanks

 

[John Hope]

Yes a shotgun mic. I would like it mounted on the camera (Rode Videomic Pro) in order to shoot some fast interview without having to put a lavalier on the guests

 

[Bob Gundu]

Yes a shotgun mic. I would like it mounted on the camera (Rode Videomic Pro) in order to shoot some fast interview without having to put a lavalier on the guests

Ouch... I don't think you're going to happy with those results. It's not going to be anything near the quality of a lav. You are describing pretty much a scratch mic scenario for a guide track.

 

[Scott Crawley]

Is "just better than useless" quality OK with you? If so then go for it. Otherwise, employ an assistant with an actual boom pole and at least half a brain. The results will be better. Better still would be to use someone with a good attention span and a little experience recording with a shotgun mic, and best case would be an actual sound professional.

Edit: I mean a very good attention span. They actually need to be able to focus on what they are doing for the duration of the interviews. I've seen too many daydreaming stoners holding boom poles and pointing them all over the place. ;-)

Yes a shotgun mic. I would like it mounted on the camera (Rode Videomic Pro) in order to shoot some fast interview without having to put a lavalier on the guests

 

[Patrick Tresch]

It depends what the application is but the adaptive fan modes in the latest beta 5 firmware keep the fans pretty freaking quiet. I doubt a boom mic would pic it up. And this is with the old fan system. The new one will be even quieter.

Hello Justin,

You are right saying Adaptive mode is the key but sadly the new Red fans don't hold better results for the quietness than the old bottom fan. Nor bottom 2.0 nor top fan.

Pat

Ps I wouldn't put a mic.on top of.the.camera. for interviews if it s recorded in a quiet room. On a cold street it could.be.ok.

 

[John Hope]

I see.
Due to the mic position and kind or due to the camera noise... or both?

 

[Scott Crawley]

It is just good recording technique; get the mic as close to the source as possible. If the mic is on camera you can walk it in, but then you begin trading off picture and interview quality too. There is more to consider than just fan noise. It is a balancing act to be sure.

I see.
Due to the mic position and kind or due to the camera noise... or both?

 

[John Hope]

I agree.
Anyway just a week away and i will test everything....
I watched a lot of great documentaries shot with the Scarlet, so i suppose that with good miking (i.e. lavalier) it's fan noise is neglecttable... or not?

 

[Scott Crawley]

If you mean negligible, then yes. It can be a complete non issue if you know what you are doing. A lav is your best choice particularly if you are learning.

I agree.
Anyway just a week away and i will test everything....
I watched a lot of great documentaries shot with the Scarlet, so i suppose that with good miking (i.e. lavalier) it's fan noise is neglecttable... or not?

 

[John Hope]

Yes and learning english too from Switzerland...

 

[Patrick Tresch]

Yes and learning english too from Switzerland...

Cool where are you based? I could send you a FanPlate in!

For the mic. You get best results and farly easy to use (second choice after a real boom operator) is a mic-tripod. Worth all lavaliers in the world. ;-)

Pat

 

[John Hope]

Cool where are you based? I could send you a FanPlate in!

For the mic. You get best results and farly easy to use (second choice after a real boom operator) is a mic-tripod. Worth all lavaliers in the world. ;-)

Pat

Very interesting.
I have to check the mic-tripod option. A sound designer told me the same thing yesterday....
Fanplate? wow! didn't know that!

 

[Scott Crawley]

That is very cool of you Patrick. (Sorry about the pun.)

I will spare the OP and not debate the details of a tripod/shotgun v. Lav debate since we don't have all of the particulars. I will just say this is not a one size fits all kind of question.

Cool where are you based? I could send you a FanPlate in!

For the mic. You get best results and farly easy to use (second choice after a real boom operator) is a mic-tripod. Worth all lavaliers in the world. ;-)

Pat