I'm thinking about buying a shotgun mic, but want to be sure it will suit my purposes, which are:
1) Mainly, for recording my guitar lesson videos (google 'daves guitar planet'). Originally, I just used an SM57 out of frame to capture both my voice and guitar (either acoustic or low volume electric). Then, I upgraded to a nice lavalier/lapel mic for voice, plus 57 on amp (or acoustic line in).
Now I'm thinking an even simpler setup might be to, at least sometimes, use a directional shotgun mic (positioned 4 to 6 feet from me). I make videos in my little room in Bangkok, Thailand. I set up against a bare wall for backdrop. My air conditioner is on the opposite wall. Regular mics would, of course, pick up a lot of aircon noise. I'm thinking a good shotgun would do a pretty good job of rejecting the aircon noise. Plus, it would do a 'good enough' job of capturing both my guitar and voice.
From watching videos about shotguns, it seems most use them on a boom outdoors, when you want to reject traffic noise, etc., but pick up the talent's voice. But I think a good shotgun should also work pretty well in the scenario above. BTW, my room is basically rectangular, but has drapes, mattress, shelving, etc., so is not very reverberant. Some have said shotguns can have a problem with reverb when used indoors, but I kind of think my room won't present this problem?
2) I might also want to use it for the same purpose while filming outside with an acoustic guitar (or maybe to capture my voice, instead of the lavalier mic, which can be a hassle). In this case, I think the shotgun might be a bit farther away...say 8 to 12 feet?
3) I've been studying the Thai language on and off over the 12 years I've been living here. I've often wondered what Thais are saying in informal conversations. (I usually can't catch colloquial, natural speed conversations.) So (though it may seem sneaky/unethical), I'd like to be able to record some conversations around me (in, say, coffee shops), then listen to them with my Thai tutor to see what they're saying. This would, of course, mean hiding the mic (in a sweater, say), and pointing it at my 'victims' while I listen with headphones plugged into my Zoom h4n to make sure it's aimed correctly, with enough gain. Subjects could be maybe 8-15 feet away? Do you think a good shotgun mic could work for this? I know there are some 'spy mics' with small parabolas attached for 'distance listening.' Maybe I'd need something like that for this purpose? Or could a shotgun work?
Also, it seems the Sennheiser MKH-416 is something of an industry standard. I could plop for that, but do you think another is 'virtually as good,' but much cheaper?
Thanks for any helpful thoughts you may have.
1) Mainly, for recording my guitar lesson videos (google 'daves guitar planet'). Originally, I just used an SM57 out of frame to capture both my voice and guitar (either acoustic or low volume electric). Then, I upgraded to a nice lavalier/lapel mic for voice, plus 57 on amp (or acoustic line in).
Now I'm thinking an even simpler setup might be to, at least sometimes, use a directional shotgun mic (positioned 4 to 6 feet from me). I make videos in my little room in Bangkok, Thailand. I set up against a bare wall for backdrop. My air conditioner is on the opposite wall. Regular mics would, of course, pick up a lot of aircon noise. I'm thinking a good shotgun would do a pretty good job of rejecting the aircon noise. Plus, it would do a 'good enough' job of capturing both my guitar and voice.
From watching videos about shotguns, it seems most use them on a boom outdoors, when you want to reject traffic noise, etc., but pick up the talent's voice. But I think a good shotgun should also work pretty well in the scenario above. BTW, my room is basically rectangular, but has drapes, mattress, shelving, etc., so is not very reverberant. Some have said shotguns can have a problem with reverb when used indoors, but I kind of think my room won't present this problem?
2) I might also want to use it for the same purpose while filming outside with an acoustic guitar (or maybe to capture my voice, instead of the lavalier mic, which can be a hassle). In this case, I think the shotgun might be a bit farther away...say 8 to 12 feet?
3) I've been studying the Thai language on and off over the 12 years I've been living here. I've often wondered what Thais are saying in informal conversations. (I usually can't catch colloquial, natural speed conversations.) So (though it may seem sneaky/unethical), I'd like to be able to record some conversations around me (in, say, coffee shops), then listen to them with my Thai tutor to see what they're saying. This would, of course, mean hiding the mic (in a sweater, say), and pointing it at my 'victims' while I listen with headphones plugged into my Zoom h4n to make sure it's aimed correctly, with enough gain. Subjects could be maybe 8-15 feet away? Do you think a good shotgun mic could work for this? I know there are some 'spy mics' with small parabolas attached for 'distance listening.' Maybe I'd need something like that for this purpose? Or could a shotgun work?
Also, it seems the Sennheiser MKH-416 is something of an industry standard. I could plop for that, but do you think another is 'virtually as good,' but much cheaper?
Thanks for any helpful thoughts you may have.