Different Types of Microphones
It’s understandable that most people are excited to get out there and shoot their movie or start recording their very own podcast. Creating art of your own is incredibly fun and rewarding, but what’s not so fun is when you listen back to what you’ve recorded and find out you’re hit with tinny, dull audio full of interference, hisses and pops.
Most cameras come with internal microphones, but if you’re making a professional film, you absolutely need an external microphone and ideally a separate recording device as these have much better gain controls. The same goes for podcasts; your phone’s mic just won’t cut it.
There are several microphone types, each suited for a different job, so let’s take a look at them.
Shotgun microphones
If you’ve ever seen a movie set, you’ll have seen a shotgun microphone. It’s the most popular equipment used for recording audio by film crews because of its versatility and how it excludes unwanted noise.
Shotgun Mic mounted in a cradle
Shotgun microphones are long, thin cylinders, usually seen at the end of long boom poles, but can also be attached to cameras. They might sometimes look very fluffy when wearing a ‘Deadcat’ or look a bit like a Bluetooth speaker when fitted with a ‘Blimp’.
Blimp and Deadcat windshield
These protect from wind noise and are absolutely crucial if you plan to film outside on location, wind noise is very difficult if not impossible to remove from a recording, so it is always best to make sure it is not captured in the first place by using one if not both of these wind protectors.
Blimp windshield
What makes shotgun microphones so popular is their pattern of sound pickup. The exact pick up pattern can differ slightly depending on the model of the microphone, but generally their reach extends in front of the mic like an oval, meaning that they pick up sound based on where they’re pointed and reject sound from the sides. This makes them perfect for picking up and recording clear dialogue during filming, using one with a boom pole allows the recordist to follow the actors wherever they go and keep the shotgun mic in the perfect position to capture their speech. Their versatility makes them great for almost any situation.
Lavalier & Wireless microphones
Also known as ‘lav mics’, these small unobtrusive microphones are usually clipped to people’s clothing to record someone speaking, but they can also be put in people’s hair or above the ear.
DPA Miniature Omnidirectional Lav Microphone - Credit DPA Website
Since they go unnoticed by most people, they are perfect for recording interviews or TV presenters. They do have their downsides, though. They are prone to picking up the rustling of clothes, so placement is key especially when you need to conceal the microphone from view of the camera. There are plenty of accessories that can be used to help fix a lac mic onto a person and also reduce the amount of noise created by friction against the skin or clothing, Viviana create some really useful products to help with this.
Viviana Lav mic pad - Credit Viviana Website
Exactly what you’d expect, wireless microphones are simply mics without wires. The most common are lavalier microphones and are used for when your subject is moving around a lot or far away, and you can’t have wires messing up the shot. They are very convenient but do come with drawbacks: interference is common, and they aren’t cheap. When using wireless transmitters, this comes with the additional issue of concealing the transmitter itself onto the person who is using it. Again there are accessories specifically designed to make this task a little easier, Viviana also makes straps that can secure the transmitter packs discreetly under clothing.
Sennheiser Lav Mic Wireless Transmitter & Receiver
Photo by Erik Werlin on Unsplash
Hydrophones
Have you ever wondered how recordist capture sound from under the water? Well the answer is hydrophones.
Hydrophones are microphone specifically designed to capture sound whilst submerged. They are used a lot in wildlife documentaries to capture the songs and communication of aquatic animals like Whales and Dolphins.
The useful little microphones are also a great tool for sound designers & recordists, they can be the perfect tool to help recreate an underwater world. If you have a piece of footage that is set underwater, it would make sense to capture the sounds from that perspective as well.
If you want to learn exactly how to use a Hydrophone to record under water sound effects this blog post by ProSounds effects ,How to Record Underwater Sound Effects with a Hydrophone, shows you how.
Where can I learn more?
If you want to become an audio master, our Skillshare course ‘An Introduction to Production Sound for Film’ will have you recording perfect, professional audio in no time.
Our audio courses offer a wide range of technical knowledge and will have you confidently mic rigging microphones and checking sound levels like a pro. We’re also offering 30-day free access to all our content and more! Be sure to follow our Instagram for tips on great sound design. Just remember: practice makes perfect, so get out there and have fun.
