What is a Shotgun Microphone?

Video Transcript

"The next mic we're going to set up, most people know as a shotgun mic. The two mics I'm going to show you, through, are technically a cardioid and a supercardioid. What does that mean? Basically, that the pick up pattern for these microphones is mostly in front. Unlike our Lavalier, which is technically an omnidirectional mic, it picks up in all directions, and the Lavalier's mainly a small area. A cardioid, like this one right here, is picking up a heart-shaped pattern in front of it, it's pretty wide, but you're not getting a whole bunch of stuff behind it. Essentially, you're pointing the microphone at your subject and that's mainly what you're hearing. You're not hearing the band playing behind them. Super cardioid, or is sometimes called a hypercardioid, is truly a shotgun mic. That just means the pickup pattern is almost, very much, directly in front of the microphone. It's just a much skinnier pattern and you point this directly at your subject and you've got a really great sound. It's just them and you're not getting a lot of extraneous noise, almost like a Lavalier, and this is what a lot of movie and tv productions are using to get that good sound without having the distracting Lavalier on their talent. Definitely, just an all around great mic to have. I really like this cardioid for just everyday situations because it's not as directional as the shotgun. I would use the shotgun if I knew exactly what I was shooting. But, if it's just kind of a B role, just walking around getting footage of people, this cardioid makes just for a great everyday mic. I'm going to show you how to get that set up on the XH A1, which is great because they have a little mounting place for it right on the camera, so let's get started."