Shotgun mic?????

Where should shotgun mics be used? Indoors or outdoors? Shotguns like Rode Video Mic, Audio-Technica AT-897, and mics like that? Does a person really need to have two different kinds of shotgun mics? One for indoor and one for out?

Good question ingeborgdot.
I'm not an expert, but I would say you can use the same shotgun microphone indoors and outdoors. What differs from indoors and outdoors is how you use a mic muff or a blimp outside to stop wind noise.

I posted a thread on how some use shotgun mics: http://forum.ibroadcastnetwork.org/s...hlight=Shotgun

Mike Phillips and Curtis Judd know a lot about audio.

Curtis has a cool YouTube channel doing mic comparisons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Dxllviue8

That's a great video. Unfortunately my results with the 4053B were not as impressive as his. The acoustics of the recording environment make a significant difference.

I have not tried those mics.

As Mike said;

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mcphillips

The acoustics of the recording environment make a significant difference.

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That is a very important point.

I think I am learning that about outdoor and indoor but when your budget doesn't allow for that, it would mean I would have to buy 4 mics. I need a mic for 2 different cameras. A cheaper one for my cheap cameras and a semi nice one for my professional camcorder. I guess I am looking for the best alternative if there is one at all. I would be able to go $200 for cheaper mic that would make the cheap camcorder sound better. I know the Rode Videomic would make it sound 20 times better no matter where you used it and it has a kit with boompole plus other things for under $200. I was wondering if the AT-875 would be more of an indoor choice than other shotguns because it is a shorter mic. We are not professionals by any means and being in an educational setting we just don't have the budget. Not having anything at all does not give my students a chance to learn how to properly use this type of equipment so I am trying to get us into this inexpensively but yet I don't want to buy crap. I hope this makes sense. I am trying to use each mic for a multipurpose setting I guess. I would use a boom of some sort after talking to many people. I just need to find a boom pole and some type of holder that is inexpensive that would work. Why are the mic holders on the camcorders for anyway? Just curious.

I was also considering a shotgun microphone for a few interviews I plan on doing. What are some tips you could give me to make it sound as good as possible