Date:         Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:07:41 -0500
Reply-To:     Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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Sender:       Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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From:         Parker Dinkins <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      Re: Oral History tools (was The end of the cassette ? ? ?
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I did the video and audio for almost 100 interviews for the New Orleans Jazz
Commission and others, and my experience is different with the audio.

Often times going into someone's home, or any other previously unscouted
location chosen by the subject can put you in a surprisingly noisy location.
In New Orleans, most people we interviewed had window AC units, floor fans
and other noisy distractions - to say nothing of traffic, telephones, and
children at play nearby.

The only solution I found reliable was a high quality phantom clipon mic. I
find the term 'lavalier' to be misleading, since few mics are worn in
necklace fashion any more.

It doesn't take much skill to attach a clipon mic - you make a loop and
clamp it, so that any pulls on the wire are transferred to the clothes, not
the mic element itself. Location Sound (Hollywood, US) used to have an
excellent tutorial on this in their catalog.

It's important to monitor any recording so that someone can actually hear
any problems as they occur. If the subject starts playing absentmindedly
with the clipon mic, you can just wave him off of it - especially since you
already told him not to do that. The subject stops immediately.

I've had to repair (using CEDAR DNS) sound tracks recorded with Sennheiser
shotguns because they contained too much central AC noise. The Sennheiser
shotguns are wonderful, but problems can arise with them, especially if the
audio is not being monitored. Since we're talking brands, I used Sanken
COS-11S, terminated as COS-11BP, as well as the Sennheiser wireless clipons,
SK3063/EK3041.

--
Parker Dinkins
http://internetmastering.net
CD Mastering - MasterDigital Corp.



on 7/30/08 9:14 PM US/Central, Richard L. Hess at [log in to unmask]
wrote:

> I really, really like the Sennheiser short shotguns.