What kinda mic stand for a Directional Mic
Hey everyone,
As you may know a lot of videocreators are using directional mics and I'm not sure which tripods they are using. At first I thought something like they use for dynamic mics but those aren't that high. I also like to see links or recommendationsš
Best Answers
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Sounds like you are looking for a boom mic stand:
Hope this will help a little.
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@QwertzuiopĆ¼20 AHA! Thank you for the additional details. Now we have a much better idea of what you're looking for.
To restate (to be 100% certain I have this correct) you want a stand to elevate your microphone, on set, above actors, replacing a "boom pole" operator.
This means you need something that can get a microphone at least 7-8 feet tall and with an extending arm so you can keep the base out of frame.
As @tddavis says, you need a boom stand, although the ones he showed don't seem suitable.
The good news is there are multiple options to do what you want to do. The bad news is a suitable stand is most likely over $100 and has some other considerations. Let's run through those.
Ok, to have a stand that's 7, 8 or 10 feet tall with a boom arm extending out 6, 7 feet means the stand will be top heavy. This means the stand either needs very wide feet and/or needs to be heavy so the stand doesn't tip over. You can use a lighter stand, but that means you'll have to carry sandbags as weights (sandbags don't have to be filled with sand, btw). Sandbags can be carried pre filled, or can be filled on set. Carrying filled is heavy, filling on set takes time and assumes there's something already on set you can fill with. This is situation dependent - if shooting in a desert you can find sand. Shooting by a river/stream? Get a watertight sandbag and fill with water. Other locations might be trickier to fill a bag on set. But you certainly don't want the stand to tip over since that could damage your mics or hurt an actor. We REALLY don't want to hurt anyone on set.
Here's an option:
Now, we can tell this stand was designed for studio use, cuz of the wheels. Maybe the wheels can be removed? Still, for this stand outside, I'd want a sandbag or two for safety. This particular stand is just under $100, which makes it one of the cheaper I've seen.
This guy goes 7' up with an 8-foot boom arm.
Or this one, which can go 8 feet up with an 8 foot boom.
Searches for "Overhead Boom Stand" should find you more.
A key thing to look for is a counterweight on the boom arm. Just extending a mic out 8' requires a counterweight at the other end. Because of this I highly recommend sticking with stands designed as overhead studio stands. You could save some money by buying something like an 8-foot light stand with a separate boom arm, but the separate boom arm likely won't have a counterweight, and a light stand isn't designed for boom arms, so you'll REALLY need to sandbag.
Hope this helps, now that I understand what you're looking for.
I think I like the Amazon stand I linked here, but I only did about five minutes of searching.
Now, to go completely away from the boom stand concept, consider wireless lav mics. A wireless lav set is going to be more expensive, but is smaller and a lot lighter.
As an example, here's the Rode Go II. It's a tiny little kit, two transmitters, one receiver with a shoe to fit on a camera. The transmitters themselves have built in mics, or you can connect a wired lav (maybe $30-$50 each). The transmitters are tiny, so can be hidden easily on an actor's costume, or hidden on set (for example, if shooting a breakfast scene the transmitter could be hidden in a fruit bowl.
Just another option, depending on your budget.
Incidentally, this vendor is selling this kit $70 under everyone else's price (so you'd be able to get the Rode and two wired lavs for the price everyone else just sells the Rode for). I recently picked up one of these for myself (replacing a much older, larger and more expensive wireless set) and am very happy with the purchase. I also lent them out to a buddy working audio on a Blumhouse feature and he was pretty impressed with the quality of the gear at its price point. He was using this alongside single mics that were $1500 each, so that's a good endorsement.
There's also this kit, but I've never seen or tried this before. Good price point, but I'd want to look for reviews.
Answers
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YOu have some terminology issues here. Most "dynamic" mics ARE directional mics. Dynamic vs condenser has to do with the underlying tech in the transducer (mechanism that converts the audio vibrations in the air into electrical signals.
This article goes into more detail:
Otherwise there are "onidirectional" mics, which pick up sound from all directions, "cardiod" mics, "hypercardioid" mics. Cardioid and hypercardioid mics are both "directional." hypercardioids are often called "shotgun" mics or "unidirectional". Then there are "Figure 8" microphones. Again, this article will explain better:
Now, when you're asking about mic stands "like they use for dynamic mics..." that's an utterly meaningless way to phrase it. The pickup pattern of a microphone doesn't matter for purposes of buying a stand. Seriously.
The things to look for in a mic stand all have to do with where you're using it. If on a desktop only, you might want a mini/desktop stand or one of those things that clamps to the edge of a desk. If you're heading out into the wilds you might want a straight stand with "tripod feet" instead of a weighted base (for portability). You might get a mic stand with an extending boom arm. This is more designed for musicians who have to fit mic stands around their music stand, but also work well for extending over a desk. I don't actually own any mic stands anymore - I just screw a clamp into one of my photography monopods when I need a mic stand.
I won't give any recommendations or links, because mic stands are really one of those things where - for the most part - any is as good as another (unless you're looking at one of those spring arm things that clamp to desks). Just decide if you want/need a single stand, a boom arm stand or a desktop stand. If you're going out shooting/vlogging and already use a tripod/monopod you might not want a mic stand at all - you might want a mini clamp/articulating arm that clamps to the tripod leg and a mic clamp to attach to the arm.
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@Triem23 I have a Dynamic mic with a super cardioid polar pattern. In using the comica vm-20 (what I've sold my rode videomic ntg for that) and I wanted something where I dont't hold the mic over the heads of the people anymore because I also have to check audio, Video and everything else. I only find mic stands for those dynamic mics which people like to use to sing or record stuff
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I already know how mics work I have a condenser microphone and absorbing material on my walls for voiceovers (that's on a cheap desk clamp) and I have lavalier mics (that I can't use for the scenario I'm planning to do.
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But thanks for the link I actually never have used a dynamic mic with cardioid polar pattern so thanks I might use that in future but I usually like to have my mics not visible.
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@Triem23 yeah thanks thats exactly what i was looking forš