From: "Aaron Bishop" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Video/Audio Production
Being an audio man myself, I echo Bill's comments about mics...if you're
using a dinky little ElectroVoice 635a...you audio's gonna suck. Period.
Granted the 635a's are indestructible and work underwater (well, that's not
true...but they're ALMOST *that tough*) but the audio quality is miserable.
Bluntly speaking, no handheld mic is going to measure up to a studio mic.
But if you must use studio mics, the AudioTechnicas are usually the best.
The AT-805's are pretty good, as are the ATM33a's.
Shure handhelds I have near-universally found to be lacking. Except the
VP64, which **for a budget mic** sounds pretty good. In reality it's not
that good, but it IS pretty cheap.
Electrovoice....don't get me started on EV handhelds...<shudder>
Studio mics on the other hand, are whole 'nother story. The Shure SM7 is
an EXCELLENT mic (although it's a little "warm" (i.e. more bass) for some
people's tastes). Robyn Quivers (Howard Stern's sidekick) uses a SM7.
The Electrovoice RE-series are very widely used in radio stations worldwide
as they're a very forgiving microphone. Purists don't like the RE-series
though, as the audio isn't as good for voice and it sucks for instruments.
I have to agree, but if you're dealing with a lot of people on the same
studio, then it's much better. The Neumann U87a is the crown daddy of them
all. Howard Stern himself uses one...these run about $2500 each but
they're arguably the best talking mics ever made. A lot of public radio
stations that do a lot of news use these. I love 'em, but damn are they
expensive and they require some funky phantom power setups.
For your setup you might need a shotgun mic if the point is that the
announcer's microphone is not meant to be seen on-camera...or maybe a
lavalier (the tie-clip mics). I don't know too much about either...except
the rule of thumb in studio mics also applies here: if you spend under $400
- it's probably crap. If you spend over $1000, it's probably a very good
mic.
Aaron Bishop
CW Audio Engineer
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: "Bill Brown" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Video/Audio Production
Lights - No camera, whether SVHS, Hi8, mini-DV, DV or Betacam will yield a
high-quality image without proper lighting. What many people forget is
that
producing an image is about working with light, regardless of the camera.
Pick up a book on video production, learn how to light a subject using a
three-point lighting scheme and rent or buy lights; I guarantee you that
the
output of any camera will improve if you follow this advice. Better still,
if you can afford to, hire a lighting cameraperson. Just make sure they
understand and bear in mind the technical considerations that come with
shooting for streaming media, i.e. composing for a small frame size,
limiting motion (subject & camera), choosing an appropriate background,
etc.
Mics - Also, do not forget about audio, use a good quality lavaliere or
shotgun mic; never use the camera mic if you can avoid it. Good audio is
as
or more important than the quality of your image. The audience won't watch
what they can't hear, especially if the image isn't chasing, being chased
or
blowing up.
That having been said... my current choice of camera is Canon's XL-1
(mini-DV). At less than $4,000, it delivers an image comparable to my old
Betacam 300A ($35,000 at the time.) For lighting I recommend Arri and for
microphones Sony and Sennheiser.
Happy Producing,
Bill Brown
Freelance Video
& Streaming Media Producer
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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