I'm working on a video project and I need to get my hands on some lavalier mics. I don't have a whole lot of experience in this field so I'm looking for some advice. Where can I rent some of these mics? Someone's letting me borrow a mixer that accepts xlr and 1/4" jacks and I'm planning to hook that up straight to a regular consumer grade JVC digital video camera. I can purchase some more equipment but I don't want to spend much, if at all.

The project consists of video taping four people sitting at a table conversing, no walking around, nothing too special. We tried taping today, but the audio sounded pretty poor and I'm guessing hooking up a lavalier mic to each person would help a lot. Do you think that's overkill? Any suggestions/alternatives? Thanks.

5/15/2007 11:10:28 PM

shit an omni boom would go a long way in improving your quality

having a mic on each will be the best way because then you can compensate for differences in levels between people and if they dont move much, you wont have to worry about feedback

and if they arent moving, you dont even need wireless mics

depending on the level of quality that you want, it can get very complicated and very expensive very quickly

5/16/2007 12:50:46 AM

Creative Acoustics rents out audio equipment.. Our HS rented from them when we did spring musicals.

A tabletop PCC mic will also work..

5/16/2007 1:46:15 AM

^^great, that's exactly what I think.

^thanks, I actually went there yesterday and this guy Steve was very helpful, but they didn't have any wired lavalier mics. He said they aren't in much demand for them to keep them in stock. The wireless mics were too expensive to rent or purchase from them. He did, however, let me rent a boundary mic for two days for only $10. It's the kind that lays flat on the table between everybody, it's supposed to block out any background noise and noise due to air motion, and he said I'll be amazed, but I'm skeptical and the cost is a bit steep for one device if we won't be able to equalize everybody's volume separately. It's $90, but I looked online and I can get Audio Technica lavalier mics for $26.24 each with free shipping at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B00006I51V/ref=s9_asin_image_1-2288_g1/103-7221905-5155009?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=09ZGZQT2ZVHFZTCKYK2J&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=288448401&pf_rd_i=507846
Unfortunately they won't get here soon enough.

In the meantime I'm checking craigslist and ebay... any other suggestions?

5/16/2007 8:50:56 AM

lavalier mikes break frequently. make sure whoever you go with will swap them out no questions asked.

i did some tech shit back in the day and it's really hit or miss with rentals (hell with new ones too).

dunno any local places though, sorry.

5/16/2007 10:50:15 PM

^very true. Very, very true. The only company I know of that claims to fix them (and does it) with no questions is Shure...but that is why they cost $$$.

5/18/2007 8:04:18 AM

I do this all the time to record focus groups and u-studies. You don't need individual mics.



Invest in a shure table mic and a quality pre-amp.



I usually use a video mixer and take the video from the camera and the audio from my mic/pre-amp setup and record direct to DVD. The video mixer gives me the flexibility to send the signal anywhere, though - PC, DVD, VHS (ha), DV recorder, slingbox for internet broadcast... you get the picture

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 8:32 AM. Reason : I rarely, if ever record directly to dv tape in the camera, especially if using a consumer camera]

5/18/2007 8:30:36 AM