Which Wireless Mic to Choose for Nightclub recording?

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ChrisClark

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I am using the Sennheiser EW122PG3-A to do a documentary on clubbing. I need to record human voice of myself and those I talk to at nightclubs. This comes with the EK 100 G3 Camera Mountable Receiver, SK 100 G3 Bodypack Transmitter, and the ME4 lavalier microphone. When recording, I want to maximize human voice sound volume and quality of myself and the people I talk to at nightclubs. There will typically be a great deal of background noise (DJ music over speakers, lots of people talking, etc). I have the microphone clipped onto the top of a tank top which sits underneath a button-up dress shirt.

Please let me know:
1. What would be a better microphone to enhance the sound volume and sound quality of human voice of myself and those I talk to in loud nightclubs. I am open to other types of microphones besides lavalier but it must be able to be concealed.
2. Where can I place the microphone so that I minimize noise from a shirt for instance but can still keep it concealed.
3. What should I set the sensitivity to on the transmitter. The range is -60db to 0db. The default setting is -30db. I was told that the best for human voice is -15db to -18db so I am considering setting the sensitivity to -15db.

Thank you so much in advance! The more details and suggestions the better!
 
Budget? The ME4 is probably your best bet at that price range. I like the MKE 2 a bit better, it has a lot better dynamic range that could help you out in the loud environments and it sounds much better. With that though, your big issue is the concealment thing and clothes noise. Also, these type of mics tend to really fall off when your a few feet away so you could have some really weird recordings. I would probably go with something smaller that I can get outside of my clothing... something like the countryman B3. As far as the setting goes on the pack, play with it a bit. You might have to change it depending on how loud the room is on a day to day basis.
 
Footer said:
Budget? The ME4 is probably your best bet at that price range. I like the MKE 2 a bit better, it has a lot better dynamic range that could help you out in the loud environments and it sounds much better. With that though, your big issue is the concealment thing and clothes noise. Also, these type of mics tend to really fall off when your a few feet away so you could have some really weird recordings. I would probably go with something smaller that I can get outside of my clothing... something like the countryman B3. As far as the setting goes on the pack, play with it a bit. You might have to change it depending on how loud the room is on a day to day basis.
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Thanks for the thorough reply. Money isn't an issue. I saw the MKE2 and was considering going with that. What is the best way to reduce clothes noise besides getting the mic outside of the clothing? Could I run it under my collar or up through a pocket in my shirt?

How does the countryman B3 compare to the MKE 2 in terms of quality and volume of human voice captured on the recording?

Also, another issue is there tends to be static/noise when moving. Is this the result of clothing pressing up against the mic? I am using the foam piece on top of the mic (I think it is called the wind shield). However, this didn't seem to used to be a problem. I used to be able to walk around with it and there would be no noise while walking.

I worry that I may have damaged the antenna on the transmitter. I used to hook the transmitter pack onto the inside of my pants and have the transmitter be on the inside of my pants. The antenna would get moved around, bent, and squished when I was sitting down in a car for instance. The noise happens only when I am moving so I assume it is either related to the mic rubbing against my shirt or the antenna (or maybe cord connection) being bent when I walk. What's confusing though is how I used to walk perfectly fine with no noise while having the mic attached to the inside of my shirt and having the antenna bent...
 
The way to eliminate background and clothing noise is to get the mic as close to the mouth of the person speaking as possible. This means using a Handheld wireless mic and shoving it in the face of the talker. Otherwise you will never get away from that noise. I know it's not as sexy as a hidden mic, but a person would expect to see a microphone in a club anyway, and it will make the difference between a good shot and a useless one.
 
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In that environment, a lav mic of any kind, regardless of placement, will be a disaster as the ambience will be overwhelming. Use a headworn mic, like a Countryman E6, or a DPA D:fine. Either of those will sound very good and won't be too intrusive looking. You'll need a hand held cardioid for the interviewee. Put one mic on each track so you can re-mix later. Concealing it won't matter if the results are worthless. Using one hand held mic for both voices with be very difficult to re-mix, and parts of responses will be missed.
 
The canonical mic for this seems to be the Shure SM-63L, which is available in black, and has a substantially longer handle than most handheld mics, precisely for interviewing. Put a wireless brick on the end, and it's even longer.

I would concur with FMEng: split track it, and have the interviewer wear a headworn, as close to their mouth as possible.

It may go without saying that you should use manual gain, but I'll say it anyway.

If your camera will permit you to route the same mic input to 2 separate channels, you might try my other favorite trick: record the same mic to two tracks with 12-20dB different recording levels; that makes recovering from major level excursions in post a lot easier.
 
My thought is that you need to take any sort of lavalier microphone at all and clip it to somebody and go into a nightclub and record some audio, then you will understand why we say that the 12 to 15 inch distance between a mouth and a lav is going to be way too big.
 
It could be illegal to record conversations without the knowledge of every party, depending on the state. Some places, only one party has to be aware of the recording.
 
How is it working out so far? Is the audio even usable from the other people? Your going to find this pretty hard to do and do right. I would probably mount a shotgun mic to your camera to help. I get what you are going for here... but I don't think going covert and getting a good product are both going to be possible. The background noise+proximity issues are going to be a nightmare. There is a reason you never saw Jules Asner with a lav on when doing club scenes. Props to you if it works out.
 
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