| They're the big hairy things that you often see on microphones when recording is taking place outside. The windshield is made up of three parts. First there is a four-point shock mount suspension unit (on Rycote's Full Windshield System, the world standard) that the mic sits in, then there is the wind shield itself (also known as the windscreen, blimp or zeppelin due to its shape) that encases the mic, and then finally there is the windjammer (what I call the tribble) which is the big furry sock that covers the whole unit. The sock and zeppelin work as a filter that blocks out frequencies that are too strong for the diaphragm inside the capsule of the mic, and these mics can be held shotgun fashion or on a fish pole (otherwise known as a boom) and are usually positioned above the sound source at a distance approximately two to three feet and just out of view of the camers. If for some reason the mic can not be positioned above the source then it is usually positioned below, although with regards to dialogue recording this means the mic would be positioned somewhere around the chest area and so consideration would have to be given to the extra low frequencies resonating from the chest cavity. It must be said that microphone choice is very much a black art, with very few concrete ideas. It is as much about opinion, personal taste and choice as it is about fact, and any one question to a room full of sound recorders would yield a dozen different answers. Check out these industry mics below. |
