Connecting a directional microphone to your camera
Professional directional microphones like the ME66 come with three-pin XLR connectors, but most consumer cameras do not have XLR connectors for microphones. Instead, they have small 1/8 inch mini-jack audio connectors. The answer is a universal microphone adapter like the Beachtek DA2. A universal microphone adapter allows you to use professional microphones with any consumer camcorder that has a mini-jack microphone input. (Just make sure that you do not get a microphone that requires phantom power, as this is a professional standard that requires power to come from the camera or device the mic is plugged into. Consumer camcorders cannot supply this power.) As an extra bonus, if your camera doesn't have a headphone jack, most adapters have a headphone output, so you can plug in your headphones in and listen to the sound as it is being recorded.
The best way to use a directional microphone is to “boom” the microphone in the air over the talent, with the microphone pointing down at the speaker's lips.
The boom operator’s job is to keep the microphone as close as possible to the speaking talent, without allowing it to appear in the picture.
The job of boom operator is difficult. It requires physical strength and sensitivity to what is being filmed. For example, when the camera pulls back for a wider shot, the boom operator has to move the microphone up and back to keep it out of the picture. When the camera moves in, the boom operator has to move the microphone in closer at the same time.
Boom operator holding a directional microphone over the interviewee.
Secret 42 -- Directional microphone on a camera
You can also mount a ‘short’ directional microphone (like the ME66) on a camera. Top-of-the-line prosumer cameras come with special rubberized mounts designed to hold directional microphones. This arrangement will give you OK sound, but to get the best results you still have to get fairly close to the person you are filming and really is only recommended for interview situations.
Directional microphone mounted on a prosumer camera.
Summary One of the most important elements of video is sound. Audiences seem to ‘turn off’ immediately if a film or video has bad sound. It’s as if somehow people will tolerate poorly shot images, but they will not forgive bad sound.
First-time film and video makers tend to neglect sound. The result is amateurish sound tracks with ‘muddy’ dialog, unwanted background noise and unfixable reverberation (echoes).
However, with a little preparation, planning and care you can get good sound--with clear crisp dialog--at very reasonable cost.
Survey your locations for sound, use good microphones, place the microphones properly, and listen to the sound with headphones as you shoot your video.
Inspired by such available-light and low budget films like Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi and Jon Jost's Frameup, filmmaker Tony Levelle set out on a mission to learn how to do the same. He had the good fortune to attend a seminar by Dorothy Fadiman who not only finished all the films she started and got every film into distribution, but kept them there! He eventually worked with Fadiman and his co-authored book - PRODUCING WITH PASSION: Making Films That Change the World - is the result of their collaboration to share these techniques with others. The quality of this book so impressed the publisher (MWP) that even before it was finished they signed Tony to solo author DIGITAL VIDEO SECRETS: What the Pros Know and The Manuals Don't Tell You. Tony exemplifies the qualities all filmmakers need to survive: passion, persistence and vision.
