1. What Will the Mic Be Used For?<\/h3>\n
The most important question you need to ask yourself is:\u00a0what am I using this mic for?<\/strong>\u00a0Different productions and scenes call for different mics, so it’s really important to\u00a0know what the situation is before you purchase<\/a>\u00a0your mic. Let’s look at the three major options for mics and what part of the production they best fit into.<\/p>\n Video Mics<\/strong> Once you know what your production needs are, you can begin searching for mics \u2014 but there are just a few more questions to ask before you make your purchase. Before we get to those questions, let’s check out this video from Film Riot where Ryan Connolly<\/a> gives us some\u00a0advice on mics for production<\/a>.<\/p>\nShotgun Mics<\/h4>\n
![\"Video](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Sennheiser-NTG3.jpg\" "\\"Video")
Shotgun mics are good for several things on a production set. They get their name from the way they record\u00a0sound. You point the mic at what you want to\u00a0capture\u00a0and it not only gets this sound, but it grabs surrounding sound. You can use shotgun mics to capture the dialogue of a scene or the sound details of a scene. They are also used\u00a0quite often for capturing foley sounds and ambient room tone. While shotgun mics are extremely good in spaces, they tend to pick up more sound than you need for dialogue. With that in mind, your best bet is to utilize a shotgun mic in conjunction with a lav.<\/p>\n\n
Lav Mics<\/h4>\n
![\"Video](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Sennheiser-ME-2.jpg\" "\\"Video")
A lavalier mic (or lapel mic) is the gold-standard mic for capturing dialogue. These mics capture incredible audio when conducting an interview for television, documentary film, or industrial video. Lavs come in a wired version and a wireless version, with both versions being small enough to hide beneath the collar of a shirt or on the underside of a jacket. You’ll want to get these mics as close to the center of the chest as possible. Lavs are light enough that a little gaffer tape will\u00a0be all you need to stick the mic under your subject’s shirt. Just remember to be courteous and professional when applying a lav mic.<\/p>\n\n
![\"Video](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Rode-Video-Mic.jpg\" "\\"Video")
Video mics are a type of shotgun mic, but these particular mics aren’t really for capturing the final audio for a production. They connect straight to the camera in order to capture scratch-track audio that will allow your editor to easily sync the video and high-end sound together in post.<\/p>\n\n