▶ In radio, in particular, when positioning a microphone in front of a seated or standing performer it is important to

▶ In radio, in particular, when positioning a microphone in

front of a seated or standing performer it is important to

keep excessive sound that is refl ected from surfaces, furniture,

and equipment from reaching the mic to preserve the

medium’s sonic intimacy.

▶ To reduce unwanted sounds such as popping and sibilance,

use a mic with a windscreen or pop fi lter or speak within

the pickup pattern across the mic, or both.

▶ The closer a mic is placed to a sound source, the closer to

the audience the sound source is perceived to be; the farther

a mic is placed from a sound source, the farther from

the audience the sound source is perceived to be.

▶ In disc jockey, interview, and panel programs, the participants

should sound as though they are coming from the

front and center of the aural space. With more than one

participant, using individual microphones, the loudness

levels for the participants must be similar if the sound is to

be perceived as coming from the front and center of the

aural space.

▶ Dramatizations on radio involve creating a “theater of

the mind,” using sound to impel the listener to “see” the

action.

▶ To create perspective using one microphone in radio

distances relative to the mic and to one another, as the

dramatic action dictates.

▶ Using the multimicrophone technique in radio dramatization,

perspective is created in the postproduction mix.

▶ For stereo radio dramatizations, coincident or near-coincident

microphone arrays (also called X-Y miking) are usually

employed. Coincident miking positions two microphones,

usually directional (or a stereo mic), in virtually the same

space with their diaphragms located vertically on the same

axis. Near-coincident miking positions two mics, usually

directional, horizontally on the same plane, angled a few

inches apart.

▶ A main difference and advantage of surround-sound miking

of radio dramatizations is being able to position performers

much as they would be on a stage and recording

them from those perspectives or recording them conventionally

and creating those perspectives in postproduction.

▶ In radio, microphones can be placed anywhere without

regard for appearance so long as the participants are comfortable

and the mics do not get in their way. If the radio

program is also televised, some care for appearance should

be taken. In television, if a mic is not in the picture, it must

be positioned close enough to the performer so that the

sound is on-mic.

▶ Generally, for optimal sound pickup the recommended

placement for a mini-mic is in the area of the performer’s

sternum, about 6 to 8 inches below the chin.

▶ In television a desk mic is often used as a prop. If the desk

mic is live, make sure it does not block the performer’s

face, interfere with the performer’s frontal working space,

or pick up studio noises.

▶ The handheld mic allows the host to control audience

questioning and mic-to-source distance and, like the desk

mic, helps generate a closer psychological rapport with

the audience.

▶ The boom microphone, like the mini-mic hidden under

clothing, is used when mics must be out of the picture.

Often one boom mic covers more than one performer.

T-rovide adequate sound pickup, and to move the boom at

the right time to the right place, the boom operator must

anticipate when one performer is about to stop talking and

another is about to start.

▶ Different techniques are used in controlling levels, leakage,

and feedback of mic feeds from multiple sound sources:

following the three-to-one rule, moderate limiting or

compression, noise gating, or using an automatic microphone

mixer.

overall sound blend and to prevent one voice or group of

voices from dominating.

▶ Increasing audience laughter or applause, or both, by

using recorded laughter or applause tracks adds to a

program’s spontaneity and excitement. But these effects

should not be so loud as to compete with the sound of the

program participants.

▶ For stereo, audience sound is usually panned left-to-right

with a lower level in the center. Or it is placed left and right

of center, where the participants’ audio is placed. For surround

sound, feeding audience mics to the rear channels