Things You'll Need:
- Lavalier microphone
- Dynamic microphone
- Video camera
- XLR cable
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Step 1
Do an inventory of all your equipment before you leave for the shoot. Once at the shoot, you may not have the luxury of spreading all your things out or going back to get something you missed, so this step can be crucial. The wireless system is going to require batteries, so make sure the ones in it are fresh and that you have extra.
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Step 2
Connect a very short XLR cable to the wireless receiver box and mount it on your camera. Some cameras have special mounts for wireless systems. If yours doesn’t, the wireless receiver can be easily clipped to the side of your camera or thrown in a pocket. The connecting cable between the camera and the receiver should be as short as possible to eliminate clutter. The cable gets plugged into channel one of your camera.
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Step 3
Hook the lavalier microphone to your host/speaker. It should be somewhere around the upper chest area. Men usually wear it on their ties or shirt pockets. Women can wear it on a blouse collar or a necklace. While the mic should be as inconspicuous as possible, don’t let it get lost under fabric or the sound will become muddled.
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Step 4
Insert the second and much longer XLR cable into channel two. This cable is going to lead right into the dynamic microphone. Since the host or speaker will probably not be extremely close to the camera, this cable needs to be long enough to accommodate a large range of movement. No less than 20 feet on the dynamic XLR cable.
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Step 5
Run a test to see if the microphones are connected correctly. You should be recording the two microphones as two separate tracks. Do not record in stereo or the two mics will merge into one track that cannot be separated or easily manipulated during editing. Also be sure to turn of your camera’s internal microphone.
