Topic: How would you mic this?

[som]

I am going to record the local production of Annie that my daughter is in. It's in a medium sized theatre, say 300 seats. For any given number, the singers may be on stage right or left, or it may be a chorus piece with the actors spread across the stage. The accompaniment is piano, upright bass and drums/percussion. The band is over on the far left. Nothing is mic'ed, neither the actors or the instruments.

I have two pair of mics to work with, Core Sounds low-cost "binaurals" (I know, I know) and SP-CMC8's (AT943c's).

Any recommendation on mic placement / which mics to use is appreciated!

[jpschust]

run the mics from center, run one set xy and the other set ortf, then mix things down to a pair of channels.  that will give you a gigantic soundstage.

props to matt d for the idea.

[MattD]

Thanks for the recognition

As a caveat, this is easy for me to do since I can easily have all 4 tracks clocked together. I think it'd be more than a royal pain in the ass if you want to try this with 2 A/Ds that aren't wordclocked.

To answer your question, I'd say it depends on how important the band is and how it sounds from where you sit. If you're fine with the sound, stick with what Jonny said. If not, mic the band and run a wide config close to the stage. You'll still probably have the band on the left in that one, but you'll be up close to the singers/actors. As a plus, you can use the band to sync the two sources, assuming you're going off different clocks.

[som]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm not too savvy in post-production stuff, merging multiple sources together, that sort of thing. Normalization and the occasional hi-pass filter is about all I do.

I will have 2-3 chances to tape this. I think I might try the split omnis up close to the stage for one go, and then the cards further back.

 

[spcyrfc]

with split omni's, depending on how wide the stage is, you might consider Healy pattern.

<--------
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< denotes direction of capsule.
the mics are spaced about 17cm apart 180 degrees to eachother and at a right angle to the stage.  this should pick up the whole stage and also a bit of the band, though one channeled.

it might be worthwhile, since it is the same production to mic the stage for one run and the band for another so you have both with an upfront sound.

luke

[Chuck]

PZM's on the stage apron work pretty well for this type of thing too.

[som]

Ooh, there's a thought.....I can borrow a PZM mic, maybe I'll give that a try. I have three attempts at recording this, and I hope to hit on a good method that works so I'll know what to do for future shows.

+T everyone.

[Chuck]

I've got a modified Radio Shack PZM or two around somewhere.
Let me know if you want to go that route.