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You Are Here: creation process: production: sound: Types of Microphones
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Types of Microphones
A cardioid mic has a somewhat directional pickup pattern, so it is less sensitive to sounds from behind, than it is to the sides and front. It is often used from above, on a fishpole.
(Also known to some people as the apple microphone.)
The microphone on the camera has a super-cardioid pattern, more directional in pickup.
A shotgun mic is an even more directional super-cardioid. In film and video, this allows you to record close perspective sound, with less background noise, from a greater distance to avoid placing the mic in the visible frame. There may be some sacrifice of sound quality compared to a simpler cardioid mic.
The supercardioid, hypercardioid, and ultracardioid pickup patterns narrow the angle of sound ickup in front (by eliminating most of the sounds cominf from the side) but become more sensitive to sounds at the back of the microphone. They seem to have a long "reach," which means that they produce sounds that seem to come from close by, although the mic may be a good distance away from the source.
The lavalier mic is small enough to be hidden on a person's clothes, to provide close perspective sound of their voice. It will also pick up other voices or sounds from nearby. Unless equipped with a wireless transmitter, it is best suited to static scenes.
A lavalier has an omni-directional pickup pattern, so the direction it is pointing is not significant.
When recording with the camera, the Automatic Level Control sets the audio recording level. When using a recorder with manual level control, adjust the level so the loudest sounds are just below zero on the VU meter (or a little above, in the red, on an LED meter):
In studio recording, the microphone is usually placed in close perspective. For voice recording, have the narrator speak across , rather than directly into the mic.
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