Recording equipment for outdoor interviews

[Supeen13]

Hello everyone,

So I'm new to this website, not the activity. I have been making amateur videos since I was a child. I am recently beginning to work on a set of public service messages. For this, my client wants me to purchase some better equipment for outdoor shooting. I am good with the video, but I need help with he audio. Most of it will be shot out doors on busy streets with lots and lots of loud background noise. I made a test video on a quiter street with my mobile phone, and the birds, cars and people chattering is horrendous. I need only the interviewer and the interviewee audible. I will add my own background noise in post production. So I need help selecting a good set of sound recording equipment. Sadly, I'm quite low on budget as it isn't a highly sponsored project yet. I am currently considering collar mics that can record on their own. Do let me know what products I should consider?

I would love to have sound like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DWnjcSo9J0

Thank you!

[Cornucopia]

You gave, as an example, a scene where there is no breeze, no traffic, no other people & no wildlife (prob cuz chernobyl killed it all). Of course it's going to sound quieter.

Rule #1 of sound isolation: since closeness = loudness, you want the desired sounds as close to the mike as possible and undesired as far away as possible. Think boom+shotgun, lapel lav, handheld or headset mikes.

You gets what you pays for: low/no budget = low(er) quality.

Sound-isolating gobos & baffles & curtains/partitions can help a bit with reducing the leakage of unwanted sound into your recording area.
Good location scouting, proactive scheduling (Sunday AM during church?), closely monitoring the weather, and even working with (bribing?) public officials to cordon off areas for dedicated recording use are things pros would do to get better shots & sound.

Scott

[jagabo]

And a dead cat to reduce wind noise, if necessary.

[Cornucopia]

Should go without saying if you have a boom/shotgun rig.

[ozymango]

How much of a budget have you got to work with? For about a hundred bucks US you can get yourself a Tascam DR-05 digital audio recorder, which is a really great little recorder that'll let you record 48khz WAV files that you can sync/mix with your camcorder (or video recording device) audio. If you can give more details on your budget and what equipment you've already got to work with, that'd be a big help in best advising you on some options.