Microphone recommendations for recording Narration?

[VideoTechMan]

Im looking for opinions or perhaps some links on getting a decent microphone to record narration for a video. I have gotten a request for my first project from my friend's chorus to make a DVD with some titles and narration. I honestly am not sure what kind of narration I can do for the video yet but going to work on it, but tis obvious I am going to have to purchase a microphone to do the job. Any suggestions and tips? Thanks!

VTM

[Tommyknocker]

I would use Video Studio for final editing. It has two soundtracks for putting your sound bite graphically where you want them.

If you are a little self conscious about recording and editing your voice over, see if you can get a member of your congregation with a good speaking to do it for you. It helps to recruit them if you remind them Who it really is for.

[JimJohnD]

If you are using XLR connections you might check out:

Shure Beta 58
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=127122&is=REG
This is almost a standard in the live sound area. Good tone for general purpose recording.


Beyerdynamic M88TG
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=92702&is=REG
This is my favorite for voice-over work. It has a clean low end for male voices. It's more money but if it is specifically for voice-overs it would be well worth it.

[Blazey]

Shure sm57. ABout $100 and is the industry standard for pretty much everything.

[housepig]

I'd agree with Blazey, an SM57 is a good, all-around starter mic.

however, you're going to need a mixing board, or impedence adapters from XLR to whatever your soundcard uses.

and if you can find an inexpensive board with phantom power, you can use condenser mics instead of dynamic mics (like the SM57 and 58 ). condensers are more sensitive and generally produce a clearer result than dynamic mics.

if you go that route, check out your local Guitar Center and see if you can score an Oktava 319 on sale - they regularly get marked down to $99, and I've seen them go as low as $69. excellent mic for voice.

[Blazey]

In lieu of the mixing board an ART Studio Tube MP is another great piece of equipment. It is a tube preamp with variable gain,, XLR ins/outs as well as TRS ins/outs so you can easily match your sound cards inputs and not worry about sending in too hot of a signal. I use the sm 57/TubeMP setup for recording vocals, mic'ing guitar cabinets and even miking acoustic drums. Can't go wrong.

Now for audio editors, if you just need simple stereo or mono, Sound Forge 7.0 is the best. For quite a bit less $ opt for Sony's Studio version of SOund FOrge. It will probably be excellent for your purposes of a narrative overdub.

If you need multiple audio tracks (background music behind your narration or surround) Guitar Tracks Pro is cheap and easy. The other Cakewalk products are good but not too user friendly. Vegas 5.0, although called a video editor, is a full blown multi track Audio recording studio as well, and my favorite choice for multi track recording and mixing.

That's everything I know.
Sorry to be so long winded.

[housepig]

Audacity will also allow you to record and mix multiple tracks of audio, and it's free.

[noki]

which ever mic you get be sure it attaches to your neck or ear...a constant distance from the mic to your mouth is crucial to high quality recordings. do not get a free-standing mike for that reason. also get one with noise-cancelation.

[housepig]

which ever mic you get be sure it attaches to your neck or ear...a constant distance from the mic to your mouth is crucial to high quality recordings.

also critical is avoiding other sources of noise... which is why a neck- or ear-attached is a bad idea. motion of the mic or cable will produce unnecessary noise.

get a mic with a stand, set it up so you don't need to touch it, and stand or sit a constant distance from the mic while you narrate.

[Blazey]

Better still, get a long Mic cable and record in a quiet room FAR away from the noisy fan as your CPU really starts cookin' while it's recording audio. Even a relatively quiet fan will produce VERY noticable background niose. Use a pop filter too.

[vhelp]

Hi guys.

I'm in to this sort of MIC stuff too

Anyways. Wait a minute.. What about those mics that the News people use,
that they whare around their TIE or COLLAR. And, their voice always sound
so good. For example, and although I live in New York, I have a Connecticut
tv station (WB20) and when the news come on at 10pm, they always sound
so good.. quality 'wise.
.
On that note, I was at Best Buy (they have a store in Hartdale, NY on Central
Park Avenue (usually refered toas Central Avenue) and I came accross one
of those little black "pen looking" mics. I was tempted to buy it, ($39) but I
thought that it was probably a louzy quality, though the box does say pro quality.

Anybody have any suggestions on these types of mics that the News media
people use (around their tie) and all ??

Cheers,
-vhelp

[VideoTechMan]

Thanks for the responses guys.....I do have an audio mixer that has XLR inputs for mics, so I would assume that the XLR's would have better quality compared to the headphone-type jack. A good clean sound from a mic, especially for video is important.

As for software, I have Adobe Audition that came with the Video Collection Pro so I would figure that Audition would do well with the track voiceovers.

The DVD I was asked to make is a promo DVD for the chorus from a performance they did in Washington DC 2 weekends ago, so im going to try to make it the best quality I can.

I will check out the mics that were suggested....and I do have a table mic stand, so I wont have to hold the mic while during the narration. Thanks again guys

VTM

[housepig]

What about those mics that the News people use,
that they whare around their TIE or COLLAR. And, their voice always sound
so good.

those are called lavlier mics.

the thing is, those are most likely not the only mics on set - I would venture a guess that there are boom mics or suspended microphones above them, out of sight, or concealed on the desk.

lavliers, if they are high quality (and hence $$$), can do good work, but they are also succeptable to motion noise, rubbing on clothing, etc. most articles on audio for video caution not to rely on lavliers alone, unless it's absolutely necessary.

@vtechman -

make sure you get or make a pop filter - not only will it break up plosives on "b" & "p", it's a good cheater way to make sure you are a constant distance from the mic - if you're nose is always touching the fabric, you know you're always x distance...