ACADEMY SHOOT INTERVIEWS
Great audio is essential for any video, but is especially important for a talking-head interview, where what’s being said is the priority. Your on-camera mic definitely won’t cut it, and even a directional shotgun boommic is not perfect. You reallywant the mic as close to the mouth of the subject as possible. An obvious way is to use a mic on a boom, usually just out of shot, directly above the talent. Another option is a lavmic, as close to the speaker’s mouth as possible. You can clip these on a lapel, and might require a wind muff if you’re outside. Ideally, it’s best to hide the mic out of sight. Rycote have a selection of products to do just this, such as special sticky pads to tape to the talent’s skin under a shirt. Just be sure the material doesn’t make a noise when it moves across the mic. Of course, a real professional would record with a lavmic and a boommic, just to be safe! GETTING AUDIO RIGHT IS CRUCIAL
lens in their face’ – their words, not mine. It’s a simple thing, but one that helps get the best out of people. A similar product to the Magic Video Box is from another British company: the VoxBox Pro. Now in Mark II guise, it costs £1798. This kit comes in a hard case and can be left, fully assembled, in there for super-fast use. Instead of coming with a riser plate, it slides directly onto standard camera rails. The height is adjustable. It comes with a set of soft doughnut-shaped seals to seal the light between the lens and the box. The box can also be fitted to a light stand, in case you want to use smaller cameras or those without rails. The VoxBox Pro II also comes with a clamp-on side mirror that can be angled around, so the interviewer doesn’t have to be exactly 90° to the camera. The Magic Video Box or VoxBox Pro II can also be used as a teleprompter, either by turning the box on its side – so the mirror glass is in a horizontal position – or by moving the glass. Then you can use a tablet computer on the bottom, which acts as a teleprompter. The presenter can see the words, but is looking directly into the camera – a two-in-one solution. The VoxBox also comes with a tablet holder. There are several different apps you can use to turn your standard-sized tablet into a teleprompter, but they can be a bit fiddly to get running in time with what’s being said. We tried an app called PromptSmart Pro Teleprompter, which costs £17.99 and uses voice-tracking technology. You can use a smartphone as a remote control, but we like the tech. Plug your tablet into the audio output on a camera and, as you read out the words on screen, the app recognises where you are. It then keeps the words moving at the correct time. It’s basically a great bit of kit, for not a lot of money.
Inside the big box unit is a shoot- though mirror glass at 45°. This special beam-splitter mirror glass lets you shoot right through it. It robs a tiny bit of light, but we didn’t detect a big colour shift. So, if the box is placed with the mirror set in the vertical position, the interviewer then sits at 90° to the camera. The person being interviewed is looking directly into the lens, but sees a reflection of the interviewer, and vice versa. The kit also comes with a rod and cloth to fasten across the box, which forms a blind, so the talent can’t see the side of the interviewer’s face. They just look right at the reflection. We tried it with several interviewees, none of whomwere used to talking directly to the camera. And it made a big difference as to how comfortable they felt, as none liked trying to talk to a ‘large camera and
“The special beam-splittermirror glass lets you shoot right through, but robs a tiny bit of light”
VOX POP The mirror box systems are ideal for large cameras, as they can be fitted to standard 15mm rails
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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