Tips for recording stage performances

knight427 wrote:

Hmmm, getting audio from the mixing board might be more complicated than I thought.

Perhaps not, though.  It's a fair assumption that all performers will use some form of sound reinforcement feeding house PA.   What you're asking for is known widely as a "Press Feed", generally well outfitted auditoriums have that capability.  A "Press Feed" is a full mix of the mics and sources used for auditorium PA.  The easy way to do this is to use a stand alone audio recorder, place it at the Press Feed connection, start it, and let it roll for the entire show, then retrieve it afterwards.  You'll have a bit of sync to do in post, but it's pretty easy, nothing special required.

Press Feeds are usual a panel mounted male XLR connector, so you might need an adapter for your recorder, depending on what it is.  Press Feeds can be line level or mic level, so be ready with those options.  It sounds complex, but it's really not, and it is the absolute best solution.

Regarding mic placement, I don't think I'll have the option to place a mic and recording device on stage. I think what you are implying is that a well-paced cheap mic can often sound much better than a poorly placed expensive mic. That sounds reasonable.

Yes.  In the world of mics, closer is generally better.  Shotgun mics or directional mics are all a compromise that can sometimes work, but closer is still better.

But let's bound this in a bit tighter. If my only options are using the in-camera mic or some modest on-camera mic solution, will there be any increase in audio quality with the on-camera mic? Or is it just a waste of money since my camera is stuck in the back of the auditorium?

Assuming direction connection is off the table?  Well, It all depends on the room acoustics and sound system design.  If the room is highly reverberant, you'll want your mic to be as close as possible to a PA speaker.  If the room is fairly dry acoustically, you can get away with being farther from the speakers, but you will still get a lot of room and audience noise.  Again, closer is better.  Camera mics are most often omnidirectional, meaning they pick up well from all directions.  They may be slightly directional, favoring forward, but they're still a long way from being true directional mics. One option is a directional mic, or shotgun mic, pointed at a PA speaker, but not mounted on the camera.  You'll probably want to pan the camera, but you don't want to move the mic.  Separate stands work for that.  Also, you don't have to blow your budget buying something that's not great, you can rent for a lot less and get really good equipment.

Another option might be to rent a wireless mic that you can place near a speaker.  Lensrentals.com has a number of affordable options (Rode, etc.), and you can ask them what would be best.  They also have audio recorders, look at the Zoom H6 or H4 which can connect directly to any press feed and record almost forever.  Ask about getting the right cable with your rental.  I just used my H6, used an XLR-F plugged into a press feed, to 1/4" TRS plugged into the H6 line it.  Worked perfectly.