Several requests came in to look at more professional level microphones for recording dialogue sound for film and video. So let’s have a look at and a listen to three higher-end microphones that are well suited for recording dialogue while indoors. We’ll have a separate episode on shotgun microphones which are better suited for outdoor use.
The Schoeps CMC641 is used in many mid to large budget film and TV productions. It's one of my favorite all-purpose microphones when recording dialogue indoors. It's only potential downside, and not an issue I've encountered yet, is that it can have issues when recording in very wet/humid environments (e.g., jungles or rain forests).
My newest addition is the Sennheiser MKH 8050. This one is also a good all-rounder but does have its own signature sound that works particularly well for voices with a lot of mid-range energy. For these voices, it seems to smooth them out in a rather pleasant way (this definitely applies to my voice).
Then there's my long-time friend the Audio Technica AT4053B. This one is actually a hyper-cardioid microphone. It works really well and sounds great for many voices. The only time I don't love the sound of this mic is when recording people with particularly sibilant voices (lots of "S" and "C" sizzling energy). It also has high pass filter and -10dB pad for recording especially loud sound sources.
If I could only choose one of them? Wow, that's tough but it would probably be between the Schoeps and the Sennheiser. Please don't make me choose. ;-)
Links to other gear discussed or used to shoot this episode:
Rycote Shockmount - Shockmounts are a necessity when you're handling a boom pole with a microphone on it otherwise you'll end up with a bunch of handling noise in your recording.
Aputure COB120t LED Light - My main light for headshots and product shots
Aputure Light Dome Soft Box - I use this for almost every interview/talking head shot
Sound Devices 633 Audio Recorder - a pro-grade recorder/mixer which makes most microphones sound their best
Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro - The camera I used for most of this episode. It's pretty good.
Panasonic GH5 - The camera I used for the product shots in this episode. It's a good all-rounder as well.
Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd
