giant squid lav

Im looking to do some interviews and going to get a lav. Ive narrowed it down to the giant squid with my zoom h1. Only thing is which lav do i get. I see theres a couple diff. versions and just wanna know which one to get. I see people saying get the 40$ mono one but theres 2 diff models.

http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-mono.html

http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-monocardioid.html

Thx for your help.


Also how did the person mic the athlete? Im going to be doing the same thing. Does he have the zoom h1 (Just what im going to be using) in the athletes pocket?

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=3vu6DX8txr4

I think this video was shot using so sort of wireless system. If you look closely at he back of the stone lifter dude (Tom) he has some sort of transmitter and antenna sticking out. The Tx is attached to his shorts waistband. Pretty common placement for Tx units.

Now you could do this with a H1 in the pocket or attached via some sort of belt. The problem is that you will have no way to monitor the recorder to tell if you are getting clothes rustle or scrapping of the mic on all sorts of things. Just do a lot of testing with your new mic and placement of this mic before committing to a paid project. You would hate having to go back to your client saying all the audio was jacked up because the mic was rubbing against a shirt badly.

Ok awesome thx. If it had to be re-shoot its not a problem. Im doing a documentary shoot with someone just starting crossfit. We're gonna work on it for a couple months so he can see the changes. Which mic should i get? Theres the 2 versions and just wanna make sure i get the right one. Its mostly just going to be for the interview parts but maybe do it like the person has done on the video too.

Hows the Azden WMS Pro for a wirless system?

Well is is funny. My brother owns a CrossFit gym and I have been shooting a video for him. We haven't gotten to the interview parts yet (soon though as I need that to help carry the story). I have been using mostly the onboard 7D mic for general ambiance. Not sure if I'll use any of that sound at all. Maybe, but only as B-roll at this point. But when it comes time to do the sit down interview I'll be using a boom mic over the top (Schoeps CMC6/41 or a Sennhieser 416) and a Sanken COS-11 lav mic connected to a Lectrosonics SMQV transmitter. And recorded at my Sound Devices 552 mixer. This is all part of my pro audio package. I'll also use the COS-11 and SMQV for when he is training other people or talking to clients. Maybe even if he is working out himself. Its all small, light wieght and sweat-proof.

As for the Giant Squid mics, generally most lav mics are the omnidirectional type, but I have used the cardiod ones too. Both can work, but I would tend towards the omni version. Take a listen to their sample recordings. The omni sounds a lot better and less "tinny" sounding than the cardiod version. But what's most interesting is that on the omni page there is also a audio sample of another mic, one called Iriver and that one sounds the best. Less background hiss or buzz. If that one is available in the omni then of those mics, I would choose that one.


WARNING!!! Honest Sound Snob Oppinion Ahead! WARNING!!!
...Don't read if you are easily offended...
But here's my honest, bottom line review from just what I've seen and heard of these mics on line. Personally, I wouldn't use any of these. For me and what I need to do with mics they are too big, awkward looking and that built in clip is a no go for me. Not every situation requires that the mic is seen or is clipped to the outside of a shirt, tie or coat. Stealth is my game. I do a lot of reality TV shows and I need to hide the mic and transmitter packs and even if I'm doing news or sports where the standard is to fully expose the mic head I still try to disguise it or not be so "Hey, I stuck a mic on someone, can everyone see this?" I like a cleaner look, but with no clothes rustle or scrapping sounds on the mic. And these GS mics are just too big for me. They also don't have a huge dynamic range. They sound a bit hallow with little low end and not very full. The omni did sound a lot better than the cardiod version, but not to the standard that I need from the mics I tend to use. Now for the money, they seem OK and I will give you that. They will work with your recorder in the pocket idea. But there are other mics out there that will also work for you and might be a better fit and more versatile. The Shure SM-93 has been spoken about quite a bit on this board and some here use these all the time. And Shure is a well established audio company. Also, you could order it today and get it by the early part of next week or sooner if you paid for expidited shipping. It seems there is a wait for these GS mics because the guy is making each one by hand. Nice, but that doesn't work for me. The Shure mic is a bit more money (probably less than $100), but the quality and speed of delivery are both more important to me.

I know I'm compairing my Broadcast TV gear to this mic, but that's what I own and know. It's what I do for a living.

Awesome thx alot for the help. Deff want to see your CF videos when there done too. Ill look into the Shure SM-93 too. I also have the rode shotgun mic too. Was thinking about plugging that directly to the zoom h1 and having it just off camera too, so i can have the stealth look. I think right now i might just try the zoom-rode route right now since i already have them. If it sounds good enough to me then ill just stick with it and slowly grow my audio equipment.

Your mic plan will work if that person isn't moving around a lot. Shotgun mics are generally very directional and if the person moves too much they will sound distant and "off-mic." And that usually doesnt work out well. With an active person, such as what was shown in that video you posted using a lav is the best way to go.

But play around and experiment with it. You might learn something new and find a great way to get this done with what you have available already.

And I will post my CF vids up here when I get them done.

Yea im just going to use the shotgun mic when i do the interview part. Maybe when hes working out ill just get ambient noise of everything. Maybe eventually mic the owner as he's coaching like your going to.