What is that microphone?

Messerschmitt

Senior Member
Hey guys,

I`m trying to find out what Jojo Mayer used for recording in his "Street Beatz" video. I can clearly see the mic but i have no idea what it is. Seems like a condenser mic to me, but i have as much knowledge about mics as i do about microwaves, lol. :)
Why i`m asking is because i find the idea really cool and i`d like to try it myself, and i`d want to know what gear i`d need for such a short movie like this.Some stuff is obviously greenscreened but i`m not planning to go that far, i`ll stick to a simple put-out-the-drums-and-film approach.
Any tips would be really helpful.
Thanks,

Razvan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60zMDBqCt3U
 
It's got a wireless transmitter on it, so unless there are batteries in it, it's probably not a condenser -- they require phantom power. It could be any cardioid dynamic mic... just a vocal mic with a fair amount of compression and EQ on the audio. You'll be surprised with the results you can get from one.

Edit: Wow, brainfart... a wireless transmitter needs batteries to operate at all...
 
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Probably a run-of-the-mill dynamic omni newsgathering mic on a plug-in transmitter.

A decent omni mic can sound very good as a recording mic, depending upon the recording location.
 
Probably a run-of-the-mill dynamic omni newsgathering mic on a plug-in transmitter.

A decent omni mic can sound very good as a recording mic, depending upon the recording location.

The locations are going to be big open spaces, as i`m planning to actually record on the spot, as i film.
This raises another question: would it be ok to film on the street? For a couple of minutes of playing i don`t think i`m doing anything bad but still neighbors may not be cool, they may call the cops, etc. Has anyone ever tried this before? I think that by doing some talking with the neighbors before the actual recording might help, but i`m not sure how loud the drums are in open spaces and how many neighbors i have to talk to. It`s pretty complicated, really...
I think i can borrow some vocal mics from a friend. Are these suitable for what i`m planning to record? Or shall I seek for other types of mics?
 
Here's a little background concerning the Mayer shoot. I'll try not to get too technical in my description. First of all it was shot in what is called an ENG style. ENG stands for "electronic news gathering". It's very simple shoot consisting a very limited amount of personnel, basically the way you would shoot a news reporter on the street at some event. The essentials are a good quality camcorder, tripod, microphone system, reflectors and or fill lights. I don't have any idea on the exact microphone that was used on that particular shoot, but it was a dynamic microphone with either an omni or cardioid pick up pattern, I would guess cardioid because of the limited street noise that was picked up during the shoot. The microphone had a rear mounted RF adapter that transmitted it's sound back to the camera mounted receiver. The transmitter attached to the microphone looked as if it might have been a Sennheiser 100 series. This makes the entire set-up very portable and very easy to set up and tear down quickly. Having just a snare and bass drum and a couple of cymbals, miking the kit was very simple for the experienced operator.

When the footage was edited and post produced, a chroma key, also known as a green screen was used to insert Mayers into his video. Actually before green was introduced, blue was the most common color to "key" with.

I've been on many, many shoots of this type and I would recommend getting permission in writing before piling in and disrupting the "calm" of the cities that you are interested in using as a backdrop. I remember a few times we were escorted to other areas because the proper paper work was not in our hands. Many years ago I was shooting a college recruiting video for a college in central Pennsylvania and the writer of the script wanted to show how close this college was in proximity to Baltimore, Maryland and the Inner Harbor area. We were set up close to the Aquarium when a couple of police vehicles pulled up. There was absolutely no negotiating with them, we had to return the next day with the correct papers to continue the shoot. The day when we encountered the police was a beautiful day for taping, the second day not quite so phenomenal.

If you need any specific questions answered, just ask.

Dennis
 
Thanks for the kind replies.
I was planning something like the ENG style you suggested. I need a friend to operate the camera and another one to start/stop the recording and help me haul my gear. They could be one and the same person after all but that`d be a bit more difficult.
I was planning to get a dynamic microphone for vocal recordings and place it just as the one in the video: floor level , pointing towards the snare. That goes through a standard microphone cable and adaptor into Audacity or Adobe Audition. I`ve had good recording results with Adobe Audition , recording a whole kit with just one mic. Then i would simply sync the video with the recording .
What i`d like to know is:
1.) How will the drums sound in big open spaces and how will that affect the recording. It`s pretty clear i`d have a different sound then the one i got in my ex-rehearsal space. Maybe alter the tuning a bit? If yes, how?
2.) What specs should the microphone have for such recordings? Or will any microphone do the job?
 
I don't know what your kit sounds like the way you normally have it tuned. With recording your drums outside, there shouldn't be any adverse reflections that would alter their sound. I would just tune them as you would normally and check their sound when you get them on location. It shouldn't take much time to tweak them if they're not to your liking. I tune my kits in my home studio knowing that they will translate very well in most other environments.

It's also almost impossible the second guess the type of microphone that will work well for outside recording of your drums. Personally I would take five or six different microphones and audition them when I'm on location. The thing that I would definitely have with me is a wind filter to fit the entire head of the microphone. There's nothing like wind noise to ruin a perfectly good take and sometimes you won't even notice some of these until you get the recordings back to the editing room where these blems will stand out like a sore thumb. Maybe you can rent a couple of good quality microphones for the shoot. The ones that I would take along are the Sennheiser MD441, an Electrovoice RE20, a Shure SM57 or 58 and an omni directional microphone such as an Electrovoice RE55 or 635A might come in handy. I usually take along a Sennheiser 416 short shotgun when shooting ENG style, but a stand mounted hand held will work for what you need. Don't forget about a good quality set of closed back headphones for critical monitoring. What you plan to spend is relative to the look and professional feel of the project that you want to convey. If it's entirely for self use, most any microphone or camera will suffice.

Dennis
 
I work as a cameraman, I use the Shure SM63 a lot. Can't remember what the one in Jojo's vid looks like but that's a possible option. Not too expensive and sounds nice.

prod_img_sm63_l.jpg
 
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