[Ambient mics] help glue the sound together and bring a sense of the space that correlates to what an at-home audience sees and expects things will sound like.
Audience mics play a big part in making a live event feel like a live event to an audience watching and listening at home. They help glue the sound together and bring a sense of the space that correlates to what an at-home audience sees and expects things will sound like.
First, let’s clear up a concept. There are a couple of different approaches for using microphones in the room for live streaming and recording. The first approach involves what I call audience mics. I’ve also heard these referred to as crowd mics or audience response mics. The goal with these is to capture the sound of the people in the room attending the event.
The second approach would be using room mics or ambient mics that capture the sound of the room. This may include the sound of attenders, but room mics also capture the acoustic ambience created by live performers on stage, along with anything else creating sound in the room, including the loudspeaker system. Some engineers prefer room mics because they often provide free reverb, but I prefer audience mics for a few reasons.
Room mics vs. ambient mics
The reason I prefer audience mics, for starters, is that room mics can create timing issues between the room sound and the performance. This can sometimes be fixed in post-production, but it’s difficult to compensate for in a live broadcast. Fixing it for a live broadcast can also affect overall sync with any video in use.
Room mics also emphasize the mix happening in the room. This is usually fine if the FOH mix is being broadcast. If the balance in the room is quite different or the house engineer is getting overly active with effects and delays, those decisions will all be reflected in the room mics and may not blend with the broadcast mix.
Then, there’s the issue of pitch correction or autotune use. When pitch correction does not match in the room mics, the room mics may create a chorus-type effect on the vocals when used in the mix.
Audience mics, on the other hand, maximize the sound of the audience. Room ambience will remain in the mics because it’s impossible to completely isolate the audience, however, it won’t be the focus. In my experience, this ambience is more manageable and easier to blend in with the actual mix.
Results will vary, but just about any average microphone can get you started.
Which mics are best? And where?
So let’s look at practical ways to add some audience mics. First, we’re going to need some microphones. There’s an old audio engineering adage that says the best mic is the one you have, and I believe that is very true when it comes to audience mics. Results will vary, but just about any average microphone can get you started. A pair of microphones used for stereo mic’ing is generally preferable to provide a wider sound and depth of the audience. My personal preference is a pair of short shotgun microphones. I’m not generally picky about models or brands with these, although better microphones usually get better results.
An engineer for the MTV Music Awards told me many years ago that you can’t have too many audience mics.
I like to place these mics as close to the audience as possible, about five or six feet above the heads of the audience in the front rows. I typically place these on mic stands or some kind of mount aimed over the first few rows towards the front third or half of the audience. This way, I’m focusing the mics primarily on a wider area of the crowd to eliminate the chances of capturing “that one guy.” I will also attempt to position the mics where sources I do not want to capture are placed in the nulls of the microphone’s pickup pattern to maximize rejection. For example, I want to make sure the PA system and any monitor wedges are in those nulls of the microphones as much as possible.
Placement can get tricky when it comes to stage aesthetics in some churches, and may need to be compromised to appease all parties involved in the service. One thing to keep in mind is that the further away the mics get from the crowd, the less of the crowd they will capture relative to the ambience in the room. Shotgun mics do capture audio sources further away when compared to standard mics, but they’re not a magic bullet. The real power in shotgun mics, for me, is the tightness of their pickup pattern to reject more of the non-audience ambience.
The photo above demonstrates how I like to aim the mics. From a practical standpoint, this is a good placement on the side of the stage on top of a wall. Sonically, these would capture the audience better if they could be placed closer, but this is one of the types of compromises we often must make in audience mic placement.
Two shotgun mics will get us started and serve most environments quite well. What if we want to take our audience mics to the next level, though?
Next-level mic’ing
If I can get my shotguns in a good location, my next add for audience mics would pair each shotgun with a large diaphragm condenser mic. These additional microphones will capture a wider perspective of the audience closer to the stage and can offer a little more presence to the audience. I’ll place each mic pair so the diaphragms are as close as possible to maximize phase alignment between them. This helps them combine and blend better with the shotgun mics.
For a special event being captured for future release, I would go another step. An engineer for the MTV Music Awards told me many years ago that you can’t have too many audience mics, so I like to set up as many microphones as possible throughout the venue for live recordings. Placement needs to be considered so these microphones won’t detract from the event or be damaged by attenders. These additional microphones may be hung from the ceiling or placed along side walls. Once again, I would aim them as much as possible to place stage noise and the PA into the null of each microphone. These microphones probably wouldn’t be useful for live streaming due to time arrival differences, however, they can help a lot for post-production needs.
I often ride the mics down a bit during music to give it clarity, but up during sections where the audience may be emphasized, such as when the band pulls back and the audience is singing or applauding.
Mixing know-how
When it comes to mixing audience mics, I find it’s challenging to just set and forget them. The shotguns at the front of the stage work best when this approach is necessary, such as when there isn’t a dedicated broadcast mix engineer. I find that the best results from audience mics come from judiciously using them at key times in the service. For example, I often ride the mics down a bit during music to give it clarity, but up during sections where the audience may be emphasized, such as when the band pulls back and the audience is singing or applauding.
Generally, any processing I do to the mics is to enhance the audience while minimizing other elements bleeding into the mics. My approach consists mostly of EQ. I typically high-pass to remove room rumble and bass, sometimes going as high is 250-500 Hz, followed by an additional filter in the low-mids to reduce any extra mud that conflicts with the mix of the music. I may also focus an EQ in the mid-range and sometimes higher frequencies to further bring out the audience. In general, brighter sounding audience mics feel more intimate and closer, while darker audience mics make the audience sound farther away. What works for you will depend on your own tastes and artistic intent.
