Microphones

Understanding Microphones

Mics turn sound into electrical signals.

The microphone determines how sound is picked up.

• What are you recording?

• Do you want sound from other directions?

• Understanding audio bleed​

Understanding Polar Patterns

• Equal sound in all directions

• Good for choirs and orchestras

• Good for lapel mics

• Bad for studio recording

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Omnidirectional

• Gets sound from the front and back

• Little to no audio bleed

• Good for radio shows

• Good for singing in a studio

• Bad for plosives

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Bi-directional

• When you use certain consonant sounds, they "pop" in the microphone.

• P, K, T, D, F, B sounds

• We use a pop filter to prevent this

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What are "plosives?"

• Most common mic pattern

• Comes from the front

• Good for most situations

• Mild audio bleed

• Prone to feedback

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Cardioid

• Even less audio bleed than cardioid

• Requires the user to not move their head

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Hypercardioid

Match

Match the following polar patterns to their name

Omnidirectional

Bi-directional

Cardioid

Hypercardioid

• Omnidirectional

• Bi-directional

• Cardioid

• Hypercardioid

Drag and Drop

A lapel mic is usually ​

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

omnidirectional

bi-directional

cartioid

hypercartioid

Fill in the Blank

You accidentally pick up noise from the next classroom on your recording. This is an example of audio_____.

Now that you know about polar patterns, it's time to learn about different types of microphone.

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Types of Microphone

What is a Diaphragm?

A diaphragm is a thin membrane that vibrates when sound is applied. We have several in our body. Speakers use them, and so do microphones. Watch the experiment and see how they work!

• Best for replicating subtle sounds

• Large or small

• Extremely sensitive

• Delicate

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Condenser

• Good for loud sounds

• Tough

• Less sensitive

• Good for live events

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Dynamic

• Also called a lapel mic

• Omnidirectional

• Dynamic

• Connected to a radio pack on the belt

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Lavalier

• Extremely directional

• Attached to a stick called a boom

• Sometimes called boom mics

• Frequently used in television and film

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Shotgun mics

• Usually cardioid

• Comes in many varieties

• Can be dynamic or condenser

• The most common

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Handheld mics

Dropdown

You want to record a podcast. To do so, you want a ​

Select answer

mic.

Dropdown

You're going out on the street to take interviews. The polar pattern you're looking for is probably ​

Select answer

Hotspot

Which of the polar patterns would a lavalier mic have?

Multiple Choice

Which microphone do we have in class?

• Shotgun

• Lavalier

• Handheld

• Ribbon

Hotspot

Which polar pattern does our classroom microphone have?