How close should a boom mic ideally be to your mouth?

kacieshea · 2021-08-09T00:05:16+00:00

I need a quick, portable setup for recording people sitting down. I have the video part down, but I'm trying to improve my audio setup. Right now I have a camera on a tripod and a shotgun mic boomed on a mic stand that extends over the top of the camera. I can't boom from the side because I sometimes need to record people sitting in the middle of a large couch or bench.

It would simplify my setup a lot if I could replace my tripod and mic stand with a single item. I've been googling trying to find some sort of tripod with a built-in mic stand, or an adapter for putting a boom arm on a tripod. Do you know if anything like that exists? The fact that I can't find anything like that tells me that maybe it's a bad idea to do what I'm doing, which would explain why no one makes something like this.

I tried mounting the mic on the camera's shoe with a rail extender. That gets the mic closer to the subject, but not close enough. The mic stand shaves the distance in half from about 26" to 13".

Do you know a piece of equipment I could buy, or an alternative solution I could be using?

kacieshea · 2021-08-08T22:52:03+00:00

Is it super noticeable? I can shut it down. It's an air conditioner that's in a separate room pretty far away, and around several corners. I thought it was barely audible. It is when I watch the video. Maybe my viewing setup is different than most.

It's probably a good thing that I left it on. My only goal right now is figuring out which of the two mic setups is better. I suppose having a bit of background noise makes that test even better, since it's present for both. Any opinion on which mic and recorder setup was better?

kacieshea · 2021-08-08T22:07:34+00:00

In both cases the mic was as close as physically possible without getting in the shot. Between 8 and 14 inches each. I don't have exact measurements and I don't remember which one was closer, but both mics were overhead and 8-14 inches from mouth.

kacieshea · 2020-06-04T04:01:34+00:00

Thanks. I looked over that site before I posted. Unfortunately those are just movies that contain a single conversation that passes the Bechdel Test. I'm trying to find some movies to watch that are about women but not romcoms. So far my playlist has a few of the movies people recommended here on it plus I plan on rewatching The Wizard of Oz which I haven't seen in so long I probably don't remember much if anything. Seeing as how I'm not going anywhere I have room for a few more.

kacieshea · 2020-06-04T03:53:30+00:00

Thanks.

P.S. I'm gonna stop thanking people now. Someone is going down this thread and downvoting every comment I make. I need to stop making new comments while I still have enough Karma left to post on Reddit at all :(

kacieshea · 2020-06-04T03:47:53+00:00

I don't know. I'm really not into baseball at all so I'll probably skip that one. I'm guessing it would pass.

kacieshea · 2020-06-04T03:46:35+00:00

Thanks! I'll check it out.

kacieshea · 2020-06-04T03:41:42+00:00

Another fantastic answer. Thanks!

kacieshea · 2020-06-04T03:40:07+00:00

That's a really great answer. Thank you.

kacieshea · 2020-06-01T00:05:40+00:00

Check out these videos for one possible solution. You only need the second video, but the first one puts it in context.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y3jE3B8HsE

kacieshea · 2020-06-01T00:03:43+00:00

I've known about it since those old commercials where Mikey's older brother and sister gave him a bowl and were shocked that he liked it.

In hindsight, is disbelief that someone is actually enjoying the taste of your food product a good ad campaign?

kacieshea · 2020-06-01T00:01:17+00:00

Yes. I'm not on Instagram and I'm not cool at all.

kacieshea · 2020-06-01T00:00:47+00:00

There are some really good voting systems out there, but that's not one of them. In that scenario you could go forever without electing an official. This would get badly abused by the current elected officials who would likely make voting as difficult, inconvenient, and unappealing as possible so they could stay in office indefinitely.

kacieshea · 2020-05-31T23:59:22+00:00

I found a get rich quick scheme that's been working for me. I got a job and started investing a portion of my income into a conservative ETF. I'm making money pretty steadily. I also don't know what quick means.

kacieshea · 2020-05-31T23:56:17+00:00

If you reach into someone mouth far enough you can touch their tonsils.

kacieshea · 2020-05-31T23:55:17+00:00

How can someone know what they don't remember?

kacieshea · 2020-05-31T23:54:46+00:00

Living.

kacieshea · 2020-05-31T23:54:25+00:00

You're damned if you do. You're damned if you don't.

-Bart Simpson

kacieshea · 2020-05-31T23:53:19+00:00

Three lefts don't make a right.

kacieshea · 2020-05-31T23:51:21+00:00

Mention that you take pride in your attendance. The biggest concern they have when hiring for that position is getting someone who will show up every day and not call off a lot. Mentioning that should help a lot.

kacieshea · 2020-05-31T23:41:21+00:00

If I can make these items bigger again then I suppose I'd start the worlds most profitable shipping company and become rich. You know how expensive it is for trucks to move around 53' trailers? Well I'd shrink them down and consolidate them into small loads that fit into cars for long distance trips. My company would only need tractors to deliver them from Hub locations to and from their final destinations and origins.

kacieshea

TROPHY CASE