I’ve been researching some of the recommended prescreen techniques and came across a couple articles and videos (one in backstage) that recommend using external microphones. We did not use mics for S or D1. What say you, MT pre-screeners?
Son used a “Snowball” microphone, made by Blue Microphone. I think we bought it at the Apple store, but I googled and found them at Amazon, Best Buy, etc. Son was in charge of everything tech. Filmed on his laptop.
We didn’t use a microphone, but filmed in a space with excellent acoustics.
@artskids - I thought we use an external microphone for the vocal portion of the prescreen the day we filmed, but I may be misremembering, or conglomerating with any of the other dozen times the kid has filmed over the past few years
^^^I don’t think so and the young man doesn’t recall - he’s done a million since, too. I know I didn’t use them for D1 and was hoping to do the song portion and vocal portion at voice teacher’s studio without a mic - she has excellent light :-). I may do a dry run to see how it sounds.
For monologes, I seriously doubt that you need an external mic unless you have to use a room with *a lot * of ambient noise.
Recording songs is trickier.
I think for typical prescreen video situations, i.e., a small, carpeted room in a home or a vinyl-floored room in a church or school using a recorded track, a phone or video camera will work fine for songs without an external mic. Here is a great post from @VoiceTeacher about DIY techniques for shooting prescreen videos:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17085841#Comment_17085841
Using a live piano with accompanist is trickier than using a recorded track, because you can easily adjust the sound volume and position of the audio playback from a track. Using a piano, especially in a “live” room (i.e., wood floors, high ceiling, etc.) can be problematic using the mic on a phone or video cam. This is because the mics on phones and most video cams are “omnidirectional” and will pick up sound equally from all sides. Hence, the piano, even if placed behind the camera, may still overwhelm the audio. An external, “directional” mic, that you point at the singer and away from the piano, can help mitigate this problem. No matter what, if you use a piano, then make sure there is enough space in the room to position the singer and phone/camera far enough away to balance the sound.
Hence, if you are going to record in a smallish room with using a track, then you probably don’t need an external mic. If you are going to record with a live piano and/or use a large, “live” room, then I would seriously consider investing around $50-60 in an external mic for your phone or $80-100 for a video cam. The Rode VideoMic Me directional mic is a good choice for an iphone at around $60 (does NOT work with an iPhone 7, however).
Thank you @EmsDad! Seems to be worth the investment. I haven’t upgraded my iPhone from the 6 so that should work! We have a few choices on locations for the prescreen - one a small, carpeted room and one a stage. Both would be with live accompaniment so will be making this investment!