Technology and Innovation

If you watch the TV news, you’ll often see the microphones used for recording the spoken word. These can be handheld, mounted on a stand or clipped to clothing. We also call these mics “omnidirectional.” This pattern is equally sensitive to sound in all directions. The “pickup pattern” of an omnidirectional mic resembles a large invisible ball mounted at the top (or “head”) of the mic. Because the pickup pattern does not exclude all unwanted sound, it may sometimes allow in stray audio along with the desired sound.

The choices available for better collection of audio fall into essentially two categories: mics intended for words and mics meant to pick up other sounds like music, cheers of a crowd and other ambient noises.