[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'249333\' date=\'Oct 17 2010, 08:23 AM\'][quote name=\'TPIRFAN1964\' post=\'249258\' date=\'Oct 15 2010, 03:12 PM\']Why he feels he has to have the microphone right up to his mouth is beyond me.[/quote]
I don't think it's all that uncommon, actually. The closer you are to the mic, the better your voice is picked up.
This is primarily a radio thing, though, right?
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Interesting side notes on working the mic for TV, and specifically for "Price". Traditionally TV announcers would work about a half-foot from the mic. The early and mid-century mics couldn't handle the close proximity, and the style was a carry-over from radio days when a little room ambience was considered desirable and was the norm. Johnny O commented to me how he had to tighten up on the mic as the "Price" audience became more raucus over the early years. By the time Rod was there, he was eating the mic, and it was re-mounted on the podium to permit that placement without blocking his sightlines. During those years the proximity sound became the norm - think of the promo and movie trailer voice-overs you hear now in which you hear all the breath sounds and zero room ambience. Think, Don LaFontaine's "In a world..." style.
By the time I got to "Price" I was told it was imperative to swallow that mic because the audience was so hot that far too much audience was in the mix unless I dominated my mic. Audio folks mixing the show at the time explained the difficulty they had keeping a good balance when both Bob's and the announcer's mics were both potted-up simultaneously - the room is that hot.
Don Skinner is mixing the show these days, and he explained to me that all of those problems are gone now that the show is stored digitally on servers instead of tape. There are now several tracks in order to isolate different mics for remixing in post. Just the same, pros are all working most mics closely now because of the greater intimacy and subtlety required in most VO work. But put a pro in front of a Neumann U87 or similar, and watch him back away. The distance is also appropriate for replicating the most natural voice sounds. That's why you see pro talent place themselves a foot or more away from the mic when recording for animated features - check out the bonus features on some of those DVDs where they show the recording process.
Some semi-pros swallow the mic because that's what they see done, without necessarily understanding a specific microphone's sweet spot, pattern and particularities, and without necessarily considering how his use of the mic impacts the nature and nuances of the performance he wants to give.
Randy
tvrandywest.com
