Sound Effect Recording

[silverback66]

If anyone would be able to tell me, what kind of microphones do they use to record high quality sound effects? On the Star Wars DVD's I see Ben Burt with a certain kind of microphone and obviously the results it gets are amazing. If I could get my hands on one of those I'd be one happy guy. Thanks!

[CanadaRAM]

You could use any type of microphone for sound effects recording, however ther are some types that are best suited to certain situations (Before you get too excited, many of these microphones cost more than a PowerMac G5 Quad core). The challenge is to get the sounds you want, and no others.

A real problem is wind noise. You'll see various fuzzy or foam-based enclosures around the microphone proper, to keep the wind from being picked up. These shields can look like overgrown hotdogs, and are sometimes called 'zeppelins'.

Condenser microphones such as are used in recording studios are a good place to start. But effects recording also uses small diapraghm mics that capture more high end or with more accuracy. Often, a long uni-directional or 'shotgun' mike is used to zero in on one particular sound. Contact and lavalier microphones are used where they can be attached to scenery or structures in an out of sight place. Pressure Zone or Boundary microphones are another type. Wireless transmission is increasingly used so a mic can be placed in an environment, including body-pack mics.

More mic basics
DPA Microphones