a good mic

[gpforet001]

Price is not really my motivator here.

Can you tell me the context of the shot you made with the 66 on your camera? What was the surrounding noise floor like? Was there sound sources behind the actor and how bad did that sound contaminate the audio track?

Indeed the mic will be boom poled.

My initial question was regarding the senn 66, and understand it's tone may be a little thin for some. This led to a discussion of my need for a long shotgun.

My question now is regarding off-axis rejection. Boom-poled or not, if the pick-up pattern of the mic is too wide for the shot, then off-axis sound will enter, if I understand the behavior of these mics.

Isn't it possible to have great technique and still be using the wrong mic for the job. I find this often in live theatre applications, and if the mic is wrong for the job, then there's not a whole lot that can be done with technique to correct it.

Originally Posted by 2001 Productions

FWIW, my current feature used the Senny M66 (one that's about 25 years old!) straight into my Canon A1 and, while I'm sure my ear is nowhere near as keen as Alcove's, I'm pretty happy with what I got.

It's perhaps prudent to reiterate - particularly for beginners - that the quality of the mic itself is secondary to it's placement. You can buy a $1200 mic and mount it on your camera, but you're much better off buying a $250 mic and spending the rest on a good boom op, IMHO.

[2001 Productions]

My project was a feature, so there were a thousand different contexts: interiors, exteriors, noisy environments, quiet environments, live spaces and dead spaces...you name it! We used the M66 for 95% of the movie (I also used a Senny wireless lav on a couple of occasions). Most often, we employed the traditional mic-above-the-talent setup to minimize background noise. Occasionally, when that was not possible or practical, we mounted the mic on a pistol grip or came up from below, but those occasions were extremely rare.

While the M66 did not entirely eliminate bg noise, there was a definite difference in s/n ratio depending on the orientation. We just moved the boom op around until we found a compromise between staying clear of frame and finding the optimum sweet spot.

[gpforet001]

Wonderful, and thanks for the synapsis.

Originally Posted by 2001 Productions

My project was a feature, so there were a thousand different contexts: interiors, exteriors, noisy environments, quiet environments, live spaces and dead spaces...you name it! We used the M66 for 95% of the movie (I also used a Senny wireless lav on a couple of occasions). Most often, we employed the traditional mic-above-the-talent setup to minimize background noise. Occasionally, when that was not possible or practical, we mounted the mic on a pistol grip or came up from below, but those occasions were extremely rare.

While the M66 did not entirely eliminate bg noise, there was a definite difference in s/n ratio depending on the orientation. We just moved the boom op around until we found a compromise between staying clear of frame and finding the optimum sweet spot.