Microphone for video/bullet camera ?
Discussion
Just got back from a Hoon and I'm very happy with the new bullet cam (excellent quality), but need some advice for the microphone.
If I have the mic outside on the front, I get to much wind noise. If I have the mic on my rear bumper I get too much V12
.
I really want to catch the car I'm following !
1. Can anyone recomend a mic for a video camera that will cut out wind noise ?
2. Where's the best place to fit the mic on a car ?
Any help would be much appreciated.
If I have the mic outside on the front, I get to much wind noise. If I have the mic on my rear bumper I get too much V12
. I really want to catch the car I'm following !
1. Can anyone recomend a mic for a video camera that will cut out wind noise ?
2. Where's the best place to fit the mic on a car ?
Any help would be much appreciated.
I've stuck a mic in the boot.. taped secure.. was OK. Resonated at a certain rev band, but no wind noise of course
www.tvrbliss.co.uk/wmv/TVRBliss_500_03.wmv
regards, Ed
www.tvrbliss.co.uk/wmv/TVRBliss_500_03.wmv
regards, Ed
After playing around with the mic in my old car, i found that the mic worked very well when about 6-12 inches away from the engine, so for me this meant fitting it somewhere on the back of the seats or on the tailgate. With a front engined car i would imagine a good place would be on the dashhboard somewhere, possibly in the boot too, it may require a bit of trial and error though. In terms of mics to reduce wind noise, i havent really found any yet, it might be worth seeing if drive data do any though?
The only way to reduce or eliminate this background noise is to shield the microphone. I'm a television sound recordist, so take my word for it 
www.rycote.com
Another option is to turn the microphone around so it is facing toward the car, and try playing around with an aerodynamic shield over the back of it (hopefully creating a pocket of still air that the microphone head sits in).
You could also try mounting the microphone behind the car windshield, or near the drivers window (on the inside). If you want more road noise, mount it in the wheel arch somewhere out of the breeze.
Stick to omni-directional microphones.
www.rycote.com
Another option is to turn the microphone around so it is facing toward the car, and try playing around with an aerodynamic shield over the back of it (hopefully creating a pocket of still air that the microphone head sits in).
You could also try mounting the microphone behind the car windshield, or near the drivers window (on the inside). If you want more road noise, mount it in the wheel arch somewhere out of the breeze.
Stick to omni-directional microphones.
sorry
There are many different types of microphone, but their response (how they pick up sound) is characterised by a polar pattern. Directional microphones (Hyper cardioid, Super cardioid etc) are the types of mics you commonly see on film sets and tv work - they tend to pick up what they're pointed at, and reject everything else.
Cardioid mics (because the polar pattern is shaped like a loveheart) tend to be used in recording studios for vocalists, or are the tiny ickle things you see pinned to people's lapels while on TV.
Omni mics tend to pick up pretty much everything around them, their polar pattern is nearly circular. They're commonly used on stages at concerts, or by MTV vj's in noisy places, because they tend to reject any noise thats not shouted into them. That makes them very good for capturing extremely high level audio with minimal distortion (ie a car engine/road noise).
A very good professional mic is the Shure Beta 58, although not omnidirectional, you can throw it around at your leisure
www.shure.com/microphones/models/beta58a.asp
Its very cheap, less than £100, probably about £50ish on Ebay.
You may still need to shield it from any wind, a really really cheap way of doing this is to get a 2 litre coke bottle, cut the bottom third off, drill about 10 0.5cm holes in it, and stretch a wooly sock over it. Then mount the microphone centrally inside it (perhaps suspend it with elastic bands through the holes?)
I'm going to have a muck around recording the audio from my TT, when I get chance. I'll post some linkys here when I've done it. I have the full stereo rig, and radio kit, so I should get some nice results
There are many different types of microphone, but their response (how they pick up sound) is characterised by a polar pattern. Directional microphones (Hyper cardioid, Super cardioid etc) are the types of mics you commonly see on film sets and tv work - they tend to pick up what they're pointed at, and reject everything else.
Cardioid mics (because the polar pattern is shaped like a loveheart) tend to be used in recording studios for vocalists, or are the tiny ickle things you see pinned to people's lapels while on TV.
Omni mics tend to pick up pretty much everything around them, their polar pattern is nearly circular. They're commonly used on stages at concerts, or by MTV vj's in noisy places, because they tend to reject any noise thats not shouted into them. That makes them very good for capturing extremely high level audio with minimal distortion (ie a car engine/road noise).
A very good professional mic is the Shure Beta 58, although not omnidirectional, you can throw it around at your leisure
www.shure.com/microphones/models/beta58a.asp
Its very cheap, less than £100, probably about £50ish on Ebay.
You may still need to shield it from any wind, a really really cheap way of doing this is to get a 2 litre coke bottle, cut the bottom third off, drill about 10 0.5cm holes in it, and stretch a wooly sock over it. Then mount the microphone centrally inside it (perhaps suspend it with elastic bands through the holes?)
I'm going to have a muck around recording the audio from my TT, when I get chance. I'll post some linkys here when I've done it. I have the full stereo rig, and radio kit, so I should get some nice results
parrot of doom said:
sorry
Hyper cardioid, Super cardioid etc
Come again POD ?? Basically , you're obviously the expert here so you tell me the kit I need for this.
I have , One basic DVC , linked to a bullet cam on the roof or door.
Mic needs to pick up audio from the car in front, without the windnoise of me going a rate of knots ?
Green, thats pretty much exactly right. Try and drill the holes so that no wind can pass directly through a hole and onto the microphone head if you know what I mean. Let some air in, just don't let it blast the mic (kind of like opening your car window, instead of removing the windshield).
Hypercardiod and Supercardiod are polar pattern responses. Do a bit of a google about microphone polar patterns and you'll soon understand it.
If you want good audio from the car in front, you're going to have to record it separately from the videocamera. With my kit, I'd use a portable mixer, a DAT recorder, I'd put one microphone in the engine compartment, and another microphone near the exhaust. Then I'd edit the whole thing together on the computer (probably best to discard your camcorder audio).
I've got tomorrow off, I'm going to muck around with my stereo rig and see what I can get. I'll post the results tomorrow.
Hypercardiod and Supercardiod are polar pattern responses. Do a bit of a google about microphone polar patterns and you'll soon understand it.
If you want good audio from the car in front, you're going to have to record it separately from the videocamera. With my kit, I'd use a portable mixer, a DAT recorder, I'd put one microphone in the engine compartment, and another microphone near the exhaust. Then I'd edit the whole thing together on the computer (probably best to discard your camcorder audio).
I've got tomorrow off, I'm going to muck around with my stereo rig and see what I can get. I'll post the results tomorrow.
hehe
Curiosity got the better of me, so I went out an hour or so ago to a quiet private lane a few miles away, a couple of miles long, and had a play around. Don't worry, I didn't break the speed limit
I used a m-s pair (pair of microphones that needs processing to get the stereo image), plonked it down on the tarmac on a stand behind the car, inbetween the exhausts (audi TT 225bhp), and recorded the lot through my mixer, onto an Archos AV400 (hard disc recorder).
Because it was night time, and because I can't monitor the sound and drive the car together, the audio isn't spot on, but its not bad for a blind attempt.
I also recorded some audio from the boot, but it was way distorted, easily fixable but its too late tonight Maybe tomorrow instead!
Here are the links (in windows media player format):
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audi%20TT%20audio/revving%20bollocks%20off.wma
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audi%20TT%20audio/revving%20and%20acceleration%20away.wma
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audi%20TT%20audio/accelerating%20right%20to%20left%20and%20then%20back%20again.wma
Curiosity got the better of me, so I went out an hour or so ago to a quiet private lane a few miles away, a couple of miles long, and had a play around. Don't worry, I didn't break the speed limit
I used a m-s pair (pair of microphones that needs processing to get the stereo image), plonked it down on the tarmac on a stand behind the car, inbetween the exhausts (audi TT 225bhp), and recorded the lot through my mixer, onto an Archos AV400 (hard disc recorder).
Because it was night time, and because I can't monitor the sound and drive the car together, the audio isn't spot on, but its not bad for a blind attempt.
I also recorded some audio from the boot, but it was way distorted, easily fixable but its too late tonight
Maybe tomorrow instead! Here are the links (in windows media player format):
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audi%20TT%20audio/revving%20bollocks%20off.wma
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audi%20TT%20audio/revving%20and%20acceleration%20away.wma
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audi%20TT%20audio/accelerating%20right%20to%20left%20and%20then%20back%20again.wma
Like the stereo effects on the last one. Is there a cheap mic on the market that would cope with the low frequency end of exhaust noise well ? I caught some video at a race circuit recently and was happy with everything except the lack of bass rumble that I feel adds an extra dimension to the sound.
Those mics I used are about 800 quid each (two of them).Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff