Everything I know about Microphones so far…

a microphone is a basically a speaker. 
You could use a microphone as a speaker but it would fuck up your microphone. 
You could use a speaker as a microphone but that would be really hard to do.
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Condenser – require phantom power/ electrical/ highly sensitive/
Dynamic – works with magnets and sound source must physically move coil/ don’t require phantom power / good for recording with high spl

Small/Large diaphragms
Small diaphragm: higher self noise/ low sensitivity/ high spl handling capacity/ wide frequency range/ high dynamic range
Large Diaphragm: lower self noise/ high sensitivity/ lower sply handling capacity/ narrower frequency range/ lower dynamic range

Polar Patterns –

mic setups/micing techniques

Close micing – (within 30cm)
distance micing – (30cm- 1m)
ambient micing – (beyond 1m)
Placements include on axis, off axis, rear/underside

3 to 1 Micing
Mic 1’s distance from the sound source
should be tripled and Mic 2 should be placed there.
(this should ensure no phase cancellation)

. A-B technique – common – follows 3to1 rule

. Coincident (x-y) – very close together, angled between 90 & 120 degrees
*used with cardioid
the diaphragms can be corner to corner, middle (X shaped), 100% over each other “end to end”

. Blumlein – requires figure 8 polar pattern capability – should be same brand & type

.M-S/Mid-Side
1x cardioid or omni (top) + 1x Figure 8
* must be altered in post – duplicate figure 8 track and flip it to ensure no phase cancellation

 

.ORTF (office de radiodiffusion – french)
– 2x cardioid mics 17cm and 110 degrees separation
– needs to be very accurate

*used for ensembles, wide sound sources, best at distance

.NOS
– 2x cardioid mics 30cm & 90 degrees separation
*variation on ORTF

ALL:

Other things

sibelus – ssss sounds
plosives – ‘pop’ (hard to fix in post)
feedback – mic signal feeding into speaker and back out over and over  (reverb/delay but awful)

SAE Institute – Tri 1 – A Reflection

Having completed Trimester one of BA of Audio at SAE Institute (BNE) I feel more confident in my ability to learn more than anything else.

CIU110
This subject can be mundane – defining terms and finding references will always be mundane. But I have a better understanding of why it is important to have well-rounded knowledge of what a term is and isn’t and gained a sense of why I need critical thinking skills to be successful in creative industries – something I had not considered before.
In particular I enjoyed the final assessment more than I thought. As i was reading academic and none academic sources about ‘The Shining’ and Sound design in horror films I learnt some of the reasons why I like the film and how it is practically affective.

AUD110
This was challenging. The 3 hour classes were very hard to stay engaged with, partly because the lecture slides were absurdly long – I don’t think there was a single week the class time allowed  for everything in the slides to be discussed. I found Adrian to be a passionate teacher but seemed to lack the ability to water down more complex concepts for the class and seemed to rely heavily on the slides themselves to communicate the idea.
I could’ve contributed to my own learning more in this subject as well with independent research.
This was quite disappointing as the concepts in this subject are a foundation and necessary in the learning of new ideas and other subjects.

AUD111
We spent a lot of time in studio as this class was aimed at giving students a better knowledge of studio equipment and signal flow.
I found AUD111 quite challenging as I hadn’t been in a position to use a console before.
I remember being monumentally confused  and overwhelmed in the first class and was wondering how I would ever grasp understanding in this environment.
Never the less – I passed.
The learning environment in studio is quite challenging as they’re are many students and not a lot of space combined with the fact that their is only two consoles. Class time is not the most effective in giving practical application of skills.
I under utilized my personal studio time allowances – I think because I was intimidated by the console – but avoidance is not going to teach you anything.
Once I was in the studio for longer I found ‘doing’ is the best way to learn anything, and that everything is figure-outable.
I now feel more comfortable in studio but I have a lot to learn about the equipment and how to use it.

AUD112
Definitely my favourite subject of TRI 1.
I credit this to the fact that I had some previous knowledge of protools and the fact that Rose is a truly FANTASTIC lecturer (no exaggeration).
Even though 3 hour classes are incredibly hard to stay mentally present in the entire time, I found this the easiest class to stay engaged with.
The info was concise enough to be contained within each weeks lectures and Rose contributes and communicates ideas very clearly with great visual examples.

Conclusion
The fact that SAE is a relatively small campus/uni has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include the smaller cohort allowing for more communication with the educators. A major  disadvantage I found was being the limited amount of studio time available.
The first Tri was extremely challenging but quite rewarding and I look forward to building on my knowledge.