Hey guys,
my work is setting up a like a court room downstairs and they need to recording the hearings. I've heard of something called a boundary mic. is that practical? Or should i just use traditional mics and a mixer and line it in to a pc/laptop. sorry i cant really provide you with a budget but nothing overkill please. keeping in mind this is work-related so practicality is key.
thanks in advance guys.
oh n if this is already covered in another thread. sorry.
Boundry mics simply cover an area in a broad spectrum, in somewhat of a 360 hemisphere fashion. However, depending on the size of the room and what standards have been asked of you, in might not be as simple as just slapping up a BM and calling it a day. A boundary mic to me would work better covering an audience or a small panel of speakers. Something that dosn't require critical focus.
And like anything audio...it all depends. It depends on what you have to work with, what the needs are and if a budget for extra items is possible.
-Some setups go the old school route with a portable digital multitrack recorder (like a laptop with DAW software) running multiple cable feeds directly to traditional mics (like an SM57) placed on miniature stands in front of the speaker. It ends up looking like a talkshow host mic setup. This can also be wireless.
-Or you could go the wireless route using clip on lavalier mics on key persons. However, that route can be pretty expensive.
- Or you can do a combination of the above two.
The important thing to remember is you're going to need some type of ultra reliable recording setup (including the hardrive) that's easy to setup, is minimal and presents the least possible intrusion on the situation you're recording. It dosn't have to be incredibly expensive. A very clean setup.
If you're dealing with a giant room, you might also want to think in investing in a wireless system. Long cable runs can be exceedingly difficult to manage with great potential to get in the way. Also, you're probably gonna want to stick to mics that are "road worthy". Dynamic mics, such as the sm57, are a good place to start for close miking situations. Stuff that needs to be the focal point.
Boundry miking and/or stereo miking techniques would be better for ambient/general room coverage. Hope this helps.
