Best Mic for Interiors: Is the Sennheiser 416 Right?

[Harburt]

There seems to be a lot of mixed opinions on which mics are best for interior shoots - I noticed that in several of his posts Uncle Bob seems to be explicitly against the use of 416's for interiors, however many people I have worked with disagree, saying that with the right placement the 416 is fine for interiors.

In my experience of mics in general I feel a 416 is too sensitive. While its directionality does enable you to focus on the subject, the mic still picks up too much reverb and ambience from the set.

I understand the suggestion that a super cardioid is better for picking up dialogue as you don't need to move the mic about as much when moving between two or more actors who are talking - but is it the case that a supercardioid is going to be less sensitive, i.e. it won't pick up as many reflections from the room?

In my mind the ideal mic for interiors would have a broad focal area like a super cardioid but would not be so sensitive as a 416 so as to avoid picking up too much extraneous noise from the set, giving a clear direct sound for the dialogue.

With that in mind, anyone have any suggestion for particular mics that might fit that description - or alternatively any other suggestions for what type of mic works best for interiors? (Please note I am not talking about clip mics here, I mean mics that will be boomed)

All ideas and suggestions welcome

Cheers

 

[Bob Kessler]

Re: Mic for interiors?

It is not a question of sensitivity but of polar patterns and acoustics. Try this link to see what the various polar patterns look like. (BTW, they refer to shotguns as rifles.)

 

[Harburt]

I understand why polar pattern is important, but surely sensitivity must play some role - you wouldn't use an SM58 to pick up someone on the other side of a room, and you wouldn't use a 416 for a concert. Those are extreme examples, but there are more realistic situations where I am certain that mic sensitivity is an important issue.

For example, if you're shooting a conversation between two people on location in a living room that is not ideally set up for sound - it would be good to try and get radio mics on them, but if that's not an option and you have to go with one mic boomed between them, then would you not want to go for a mic that is not incredibly sensitive? If it's too sensitive you're gonna pick up every sound reflection of every wall and surface? You could improve it with good positioning, but in the long run wouldn't it be better to use a less sensitive mic that will pick up the individuals with a decent amount of clarity but won't get all the reflections?

Or am I missing something here?

I would also like to know a bit more about time coding and how film gets time coded - but I'll save that for another post, haha