Category / Gear tips

by Jake

Three people, two mics: Time to improvise!

Aside from the 4 a.m. call time (ouch), today was a typical day of shooting on location. The setting for part of the shoot was an unassuming classroom auditorium, far from the glitz and glamour of a television set. The star of the show is a charismatic host — a master of balancing fun with professionalism, a man known for his ability to make any conversation engaging and insightful.

Alongside him were two guests, women from the local university, ready to share their perspectives and engage in a lively discussion about cheese (yes really. It’s pretty cool). As the videographer running the shoot, it was my job to make sure that the video and the audio got captured, and captured well.

The Missing Mic Dilemma

As I unlatched my audio gear case, a wave of confusion washed over me. Instead of the expected three lavalier mics, there were two. The third was conspicuously missing, and a quick scan of the auditorium confirmed that it was nowhere to be found. A quicker scan of adjoining rooms and the other gear bags and cases confirmed the disappearance.

A less experienced videographer might have panicked at this point. Continue reading →

by Jake

Replacing Rode VideoMic shock mount bands

(Above: The original Rode VideoMic, with its problematic, but easily-replaceable rubber bands. Photo copyright Kei Izumi.)

I’ve used DSLRs to shoot video from the very beginning of my business, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that the built-in microphone on my Canon 5DII was awful. My solution came in the form of the original Rode VideoMic. It mounts directly on the hotshoe of the camera, gets perfectly usable directional sound, and came with a nifty shock mount that uses teeny-tiny little custom rubber bands to float the microphone in the air, away from any potential bangs and jostles.

But there was a problem. The little rubber bands break. They get old and squeak. I watched the supply that came with the camera dwindle smaller and smaller as they gradually broke, and this week at the very end of a shoot, disaster struck — four of ’em decided to break within about five minutes of each other.

My glorious little mic no longer floated on air. But I found a fast, easy fix that (so far at least) is working wonderfully.

Continue reading →