shotgun mics

[M Munoz]

Anybody who is looking for a shotgun microphone, why not listen to what they sound like? Check out this link:

http://www.dvcreators.net/shotgun-shootout/

Remember, even more important than microphone choice is mic placement. Get close!!! If the video guys don't yell at you at least once per day for dropping the boom into the frame, you're not being aggressive enough. :angelsad2:

 

[Alex Donkle]

Here's another site with a great breakdown of mics and opinions...

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html

 

[Allan Black]

You don't have to go far to find out the RODE NTG-3 for the price .. eats the competition.
Cheers.

 

[Marc Wielage]

There are many shotguns not in that DVCreators comparison that I would still recommend, most much higher-priced than those listed. I'd include the Sennheiser MKH60 (similar to but different from the MKH-416), the MKH70, the bigger MKH816, the Schoeps MKH641 hyper (possibly the widest-used dialogue mike in the world), the Schoeps CMIT 5U shotgun, and the Sanken CS-1 and CS-3e shotguns. Also bear in mind that it's much cheaper to rent mikes than buy them, and that a good, seasoned sound mixer probably already owns a couple dozen microphones and chooses whichever one is most appropriate.

I think the Ken Stone site has a more balanced appraisal, but they also seem to avoid really strongly recommending one microphone over another. To me, you need a hyper for interiors and a shotgun for exteriors as a minimum kit; the Schoeps 641 and Sennheiser 416 would probably be the first two I'd grab. But situations today often force mixers into using combinations of wireless lavs and shotguns; one doesn't replace the other, but often both are used in the same scene. (Check a current show like Lost and you'll get a sense of what was done with wireless lavs and what was done with shotguns.)

Bear in mind that -- as has often been said -- it's not the arrows, it's the archer. Microphone choice alone isn't always the most important issue.

 

[M Munoz]

Anybody here ever use a Sony C-74?

 

[Tom Visser]

...Also bear in mind that it's much cheaper to rent mikes than buy them, and that a good, seasoned sound mixer probably already owns a couple dozen microphones and chooses whichever one is most appropriate...

I think this is a great point. I generally list a single boom mic on my kit rental contract and then list a few others at no charge, basically stating that any one of these mics may be used as the situation arises, per my discretion. If I know I'm doing a documentary that involves a choral performance, I'll make sure my DPA stereo mics and vintage Klaus Heyne modified U87i is in my kit. If we're doing a scene on the shoulder of a freeway without traffic control, I may bring a miniature hypercardioid lav. (although radios are hired out per set, not included in my general mic collection)

 

[Rob Castiglione]

I rented a NTG-3 to play with it and have a listen. It did not do a lot for me. I suppose it shows how subjective these things are beyond a certain point.