1. Sound Design and Technology (Microphone Pickup Patterns)
Microphones discriminate in what they hear according to their pickup patterns.
Pickup pattern – the visual pattern illustrating the intensity of a microphone’s output (measured in dB) relative to the direction from which the sound comes
Mic pickup patterns range from omnidirectional to figure-8 – you’ll get these on the next slide. ;)
High-quality dynamic or condenser mics with cardioid pickup patterns are generally the most useful in theatre.
It is almost impossible to tell a mic’s pickup pattern by looking at it – you have to reference the manufacturer’s manual.
A basic illustration of what a mic pickup pattern “looks” like. The spherical grid represents the area where the mic picks up sound.
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2. Sound Design and Technology (Microphone Pickup Patterns)
Cardioid
A cardioid microphone has the most sensitivity at the front and is least sensitive at the back. It isolates from unwanted ambient sound and is much more resistant to feedback than omnidirectional microphones. That makes a cardioid microphone particularly suitable for loud stages.
Supercardioid
Supercardioid microphones offer a narrower pickup than cardioids and a greater rejection of ambient sound. But they also have some pickup directly at the rear. Hence it is important to place monitor speakers correctly. Supercardioids are most suitable when single sound sources need to be picked up in loud environments. They are the most resistant to feedback.
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3. Sound Design and Technology (Microphone Pickup Patterns)
Omnidirectional
The omnidirectional microphone has equal output or sensitivity at all angles, this means it picks up sound from all directions. Therefore the microphone has not to be aimed in a certain direction which is helpful especially with lavalier microphones. A disadvantage is that an omni cannot be aimed away from undesired sources such as PA speakers which may cause feedback
Figure of Eight (bidirectional)
A microphone with a figure of eight polar pattern picks up the sound from in front of the microphone and from the rear but not the side (90 degree angle). Microphones with this Figure of Eight polar pattern are typically ribbon or Large Diaphragm Microphones.
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4. Sound Design and Technology (Live-Mixing Sound)
The best place to mix sound for any show is inside the house.
Every performance is different, so the mixing will always be slightly different.
Ambient noises from different audiences at every performance also effect the mix.
If you aren’t able to sit in the house, the use of pre-fader listening helps the sound engineer know what is being sent through loudspeakers to the audience.
Pre-fader listening (PFL) – the ability to hear a live mix of sound before it is processed by a mixer or any other devices.
Mixing sound from within the performance space is best so that the op can hear what the audience hears.
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5. Sound Design and Technology (BE SURE YOU STUDY!)
For this quiz, you will need to be able to:
Identify key facts about the types of pickup patterns.
Recognize the pickup pattern chart for each type
Define vocabulary terms
Correctly identify facts and ideas regarding mics and live mixing.
Due to the amount of information, this set of notes contains only 4 slides. BE SURE YOU STUDY!
Your quiz is on FRIDAY, MARCH 3! 5