Sound: I remember in the "old" days, newscasters, whilst wearing clip-on microphones, also had a battery of microphones (usually two) mounted on the desk in front of them. I recall seeing this as recently as the BBC virtual glass operation.
Nowadays, there is nothing on the desk, partially because the design of the desktop doesn't contain a little alcove within which to hide the microphones, which also used to be nestled amongst the buried monitors.
Question: if - for whatever reason - the clip-on microphone fails, where or what is the back-up these days? And are there concealed microphones somewhere on the newsdesks which still act as back-up? If so, where are these positioned in the case of BBC, ITN and Sky newsdesks, because my eagle-eye can't see 'em??
These days standby mics can be pretty difficult to spot.
Broadcasters have used PZM mics (Pressure Zone) in the past, that look like PC mice on the desk, and don't look like "mics" at all. They sound pretty good in such situations.
People also used lapel mic capsules taped to the edges of desks (not ideal, but better than nothing)
When using radio mics, double-micing can help cope with mic failure, but doesn't protect you from one of the most common failures (the mics falling off or not being put on)
Nowadays, there is nothing on the desk, partially because the design of the desktop doesn't contain a little alcove within which to hide the microphones, which also used to be nestled amongst the buried monitors.
Question: if - for whatever reason - the clip-on microphone fails, where or what is the back-up these days? And are there concealed microphones somewhere on the newsdesks which still act as back-up? If so, where are these positioned in the case of BBC, ITN and Sky newsdesks, because my eagle-eye can't see 'em??
These days standby mics can be pretty difficult to spot.
It's a general rule for all professional users of RF kit (including wireless mics, cameras, talkback and so on), that you don't use it unless you have to. The list of things that can go wrong is so much bigger, and many of the items on that list you don't have direct control over (interferance from other users [deliberate or accidental] and issues with building structure are the main ones). You always have to have a backup plan with radio mics, and be ready to implement them at any time (I remember Jake Humphrey talking about having to run at the last minute to a "safe position" where they had backup cabled mics just before the opening of a grand prix as they lost their radio mic signals). With cabled mics, the only real fault you can get is them getting unplugged / wire breaks (it's very very unusual for a mic to just *go*, there's normally warning signs like them sounding funny or distortion, hums or crackling appearing on the output, giving you time to swap it out).
The corporate & conferencing market has produced results in making small, high quality microphones, designed for concealing and descrete installation in boardrooms and the like.
Nowadays, there is nothing on the desk, partially because the design of the desktop doesn't contain a little alcove within which to hide the microphones, which also used to be nestled amongst the buried monitors.
Question: if - for whatever reason - the clip-on microphone fails, where or what is the back-up these days? And are there concealed microphones somewhere on the newsdesks which still act as back-up? If so, where are these positioned in the case of BBC, ITN and Sky newsdesks, because my eagle-eye can't see 'em??
These days standby mics can be pretty difficult to spot.
Very clever indeed. I had regularly seen those little black lumps on the newsdesk (such as the one on Adam Boulton's desk above) but had always assumed they were the transmitters for bluetooth wireless mice and computer keyboards. Duh! Now I know. Thanks for the info.
So in the case where the radio mic on Adam's jacket fails, does someone have to manually flick a switch to activate that black blob on the desk, or is it always on anyway, or does it automatically activate when the signal is lost from the lapelle?
And what sort of range does the speaker need to be within to pick up the sound from those, whilst still maintaining the optimum output quality of a radio mic? I assume something like a 1 metre envelope???
The PZM microphones are more sensitive than a standard lapel mic, you could get a usable signal from one from several metres away, background noise permitting. That said, to get the best signal-to-noise ratio, you want the mic as close as possible.
Both mics (along with all other sources) will always be available on the sound desk, so if the signal disapears, the op will just fade up the backup source. Any sort of automatic switch would just be more equipment to potentially go wrong. It's very unusual to see a sound engineer without at least one hand on the desk - always waiting for something to go wrong or need altering.
Very clever indeed. I had regularly seen those little black lumps on the newsdesk (such as the one on Adam Boulton's desk above) but had always assumed they were the transmitters for bluetooth wireless mice and computer keyboards. Duh! Now I know. Thanks for the info.
So in the case where the radio mic on Adam's jacket fails, does someone have to manually flick a switch to activate that black blob on the desk, or is it always on anyway, or does it automatically activate when the signal is lost from the lapelle?
And what sort of range does the speaker need to be within to pick up the sound from those, whilst still maintaining the optimum output quality of a radio mic? I assume something like a 1 metre envelope???
I may be wrong, but I expect you'd always leave your boundary mic (another name for those PZM desk mics) OPEN rather than fading it up after a failure of another. A good sound operative will balance the inputs from all the open mics.
In theatre you'd blend boundary mics on the front edge of the apron (stage), suspended mics and the principle performers radio mics together during the performance.
In terms of range, a boundary mic will pick up quite far - certainly guests around the newsdesk will be picked up - but it wouldn't sound entirely great without a dedicated lapel mic too.
I know this is not strictly related to tv pres, Gavin, but I will ask anyway: "boundary mics" employed at the front of stage in a theatre, as suggested in your post above: how do they then avoid picking-up any chitter chatter or rustling of bon-bon bags from the audience members in the front row, who could be (and certainly in the case of the beloved Glasgow Pavilion) quite close to the range/envelope of said mics? (**)
Conceivably, stories about "mince" and "wash-hoose chunter" could be heard throughout, no??
(**) possibly entirely an irrelevant question, if in the case of The Royal Albert Hall or Sydney Opera House.
Bill Turnbull's earpiece mentioned over in the other thread: are these things (the mouldings) just cast at a local audio clinic or studio, or specially made by a media audio company with a big HQ somewhere? In other words, when the BBC needs twenty earpieces to be moulded, with whom do they place the Purchase Order?
I know this is not strictly related to tv pres, Gavin, but I will ask anyway: "boundary mics" employed at the front of stage in a theatre, as suggested in your post above: how do they then avoid picking-up any chitter chatter or rustling of bon-bon bags from the audience members in the front row, who could be (and certainly in the case of the beloved Glasgow Pavilion) quite close to the range/envelope of said mics? (**)
Conceivably, stories about "mince" and "wash-hoose chunter" could be heard throughout, no??
(**) possibly entirely an irrelevant question, if in the case of The Royal Albert Hall or Sydney Opera House.
All (reputable) microphone manufacturers provide polar plots detailing the sensitivity of their microphones, which depending on design is not always (and normally isn't) omni-directional. This is the polar plot for a Crown PCC-160 - one of the most popular "front-of-stage" microphones around. From the plot you can see there is a front and back to the microphone, with a much reduced sensitivity to sounds behind it.
On live music, we use microphones with a drop in sensitivty towards the rear for the same reason, although in this case we do it to reduce the amount of noise coming from monitor wedge speakers (which also helps increase the available gain before feedback) rather than noisy audience members.
I know this is not strictly related to tv pres, Gavin, but I will ask anyway: "boundary mics" employed at the front of stage in a theatre, as suggested in your post above: how do they then avoid picking-up any chitter chatter or rustling of bon-bon bags from the audience members in the front row, who could be (and certainly in the case of the beloved Glasgow Pavilion) quite close to the range/envelope of said mics? (**)
Conceivably, stories about "mince" and "wash-hoose chunter" could be heard throughout, no??
Boundary mics are designed to pick up direct sounds which land on the capsule surface, rather than picking up both direct
and
reflected sounds that other mics tend to. In the case of stage work, this means only sound from above the mic (i.e. the performers) should be picked up. The "pressure zone" is the all-important aspect - although its worth pointing out that "PZM" is a trademark of one company, in the way that people often call public address systems "Tannoy" or vacuum cleaners "Hoovers".
Quote:
Bill Turnbull's earpiece mentioned over in the other thread: are these things (the mouldings) just cast at a local audio clinic or studio, or specially made by a media audio company with a big HQ somewhere? In other words, when the BBC needs twenty earpieces to be moulded, with whom do they place the Purchase Order?
You'd normally send your talent to a hearing aid clinic as required, as its pretty specialist - although not as expensive as you might imagine. The equipment part is made by a number of manufacturers, and you'd just attach this to your custom ear-insert. There's no technology involved in that bit - its just a snug locator to connect the clear tube that sound is passing through.
