Why Holding The Microphone Actually Makes Sense.

This is a quick one about why you should actually hold your microphone and why it makes sense. It's something a lot of KZbinrs do these days, and no, it isn't "wrong", people just aren't used to it.
Follow me on:
📷 Instagram: / georgekamenov
MotionVFX plugins I use: tinyurl.com/GKMotionVFX
Use code "GEORGE10" for 10% off!
🎵 Where I get music for my videos:
Audiio: tinyurl.com/GKAudiio
($70 off your first year with code SAVE70)
Track Club: tinyurl.com/TrackClubGK
(2 Free Months!)
Partally graded using Phantom LUTs:
tinyurl.com/PhantomLUTs
Use code "George" for 15% off!
Another way to support the channel:
www.buymeacoffee.com/georgeka...
My Main Camera: geni.us/8Kyk8L
Second Camera: geni.us/UTWOTa
Main Zoom Lens: geni.us/11V8A4n
Main Prime Lens: geni.us/VVFmt7
My Favorite (Budget) Microphone: geni.us/kpFgvm
Budget Lighting Kit: geni.us/MSY1Sp
Tube Lights: geni.us/yCDaeT
On-Camera Monitor: geni.us/TPBO9LX
Camera Bag: geni.us/TlpZxiL
❗ Disclaimer:
Some of the links in the description are affiliate links, meaning I get a small compensation (at no extra cost to you) when purchases are made. Thank you for supporting the channel :)

[@itanio]

Your vocals were perfectly clean and consistent on this clip. Best argument right there!

[@georgekamenov_]

To be completely fair, the room I'm in is horribly treated so acoustics aren't great, but as long as the audio is actually usable, that's good enough for me hahaha.

[@dondouglas]

George, your video is great, you point out exactly those ticks that so many KZbinrs have. Your didactics is unappealable: humor!!! Suddenly I see a lot of your videos and beyond the topic I love the approach, what is needed on the internet is more intelligence and less histrionics. Brilliant !

[@georgekamenov_]

Thank you! Happy to hear you're enjoying the videos 😁

[@livinginoklahomacityofficial]

I like how you actively made "clipping a mic to your shirt" into a 72-step process that made it somehow appear to be some absolutely daunting task 😂😂

[@georgekamenov_]

Not 72 but just enough to not be worth it for a quick KZbin video that people will watch for completely different reasons than where my mic is placed 😅

[@livinginoklahomacityofficial]

@georgekamenov_ that's reasonable. The problem with most creators who do the whole "holding a mic designed to be positioned in static position on clothing" thing, is that 1. They rarely hold it in a static place like you did in this video, but rather they tend to wildly gesticulate which makes the signal/volume all over the place, or 2. They hold it WAY too close to their mouths causing peaking, or at the very least significantly degrading the audio quality. And yes, it makes people look clueless lol.

[@evayap_]

I love how the item you hold gets more and more ridiculous 😂

[@georgekamenov_]

Currently eating a sandwich made with the last mic holder in this video 😂

[@alexanderkapsiotis8050]

Thank you for the laughs! Toast mic acoustics: 5/5

[@georgekamenov_]

Glad you liked it! I was also kind of surprised because the toast mic sounded like it had the least background noise and reverb, I might be on to something 😂😂😂

[@travelwithroland2]

Different microphones have different ‘ranges’. Example… certain mics need you to be close, some can be setup to pick up for a distance away. It depends on the mic. If you get close with the wrong mic, you will have popping all over the place. Proximity effect is nothing to do with sounding better. It has the interesting effect of making it sound bass’ier when really close because of the position and placement of sound waves. I don’t want to go into it here, but it can make you voice sound better, bassier or worse, depending on what you do with it. For a vlog you should always have a pop shield on or use a pop filter because then you don’t get the peaking of noise which makes it far harder to get -14 lufs with -1.5 peak. It can be a huge pain to get that consistently over a 20 minute video using your compression techniques. Good use of a mic is really important as well… you need to know your mic. Some mics are very forgiving, some don’t forgive at all. Some vlog systems really cut the noise and pop less than other systems… know your own mic. One size does not fit all. Also- use your Normalise function, but not on each part of the clip- it is better to get the correct volume on the mic in the first place.. so your mic placement is so critical at this point. Just experiment and see which is best for your mic. You may need to turn up the gain on your mic or you might need to turn it down. Whether someone uses their mic hand held or not is not as important as getting the right distance for that mic. Also- if you hand hold you can unintentionally add unwanted sounds to your recording. It actually may be worse using your lapel mic holder. So be careful with how you use your mic.

[@georgekamenov_]

Oh, absolutely. But this video wasn't really meant to go into the different types of microphones. It was more focused specifically on the ones like the DJI mic and other small lavs that people hold in videos. But I agree, understanding the technical specs of your mic goes a long way in getting the best audio you can. The proximity effect is tricky because, as you said, it can contribute to better audio, but like I also mentioned, a mic needs to be positioned close to the mouth within reason, or it ends up doing the opposite and ruining audio. But the main reason I brought up the proximity effect is as an example of using it as a creative tool, kind of like when I mentioned people using it when they want to make something funny 😁

[@AndreSjoberg]

The toast is totally a 5/5 :D I bought the dji mic 2 and quickly discovered that it, when clipped to my hoodie, made my voice sound *really* muffled, especially compared to the røde wireless pro - and many creators discovered this and that’s where the trend started, spreading from wired lavs being held instead of being clipped. My theory is that many didn’t know how to eq and compress the audio, so instead they started holding the lav/mic in front of their mouth to get clearer audio. Personally I bought the dji mic 2 because I need both my hands when filming and making stuff for my channel, and when the first wireless clip on mics came out one of hhe big selling points was the clip on feature for having your hands free -but that does of course not excuse the stupid moaning about it from attention seekers ;)

[@georgekamenov_]

Yeah, the type of clothing you've got on can cause a ton of issues with audio. Some make it muffled but I've got a winter jacket that makes the audio from the dji mic sound like I threw it in a plastic bag, so holding it is just the better option when I'm wearing that. And yeah, taking advantage of the proximity effect can save time from having to EQ later 😁

[@byDanimal]

George, that was masterful 👏. Please continue to use wooden spoons, tongs, utensils, and of course food to hold your microphone. I've thought about trying to get a nice holder for the wireless mics but really that seems like a chore. I agree with you, sometimes holding the microphone is just the right way.

[@georgekamenov_]

Hahaha thanks, I'm glad you liked the video. I definitely think there's a time and place for doing things the "right way" with proper holders and stands and what not, but sometimes you just gotta make a microphone sandwich 😂😂

[@Mr_Yeah]

Yeah, you did it right throughout the video, but too many KZbinrs have those mics too close in front of their mouths, which is objectively wrong because the audio suffers a lot from that, and that annoyed me countless times

[@georgekamenov_]

Yeah, I've noticed that too. That's why I made sure to mention the part about having it close enough to your mouth within reason 😁

[@PawFromTheBroons]

Thanks!

[@georgekamenov_]

You're welcome :D

[@BeginningsAndPaths]

I don't think it's a trend rather - as you said - a convenience, especially when you records yourself while walking or have to move actively. In such cases you may have positioned the mic on your shirt or your jacket perfectly, but at some point the mic could move, turn or be misplaced during the shooting because of your movements and you can find yourself with a very bad audio.

[@georgekamenov_]

Yeah, in scenarios where you're moving a lot managing audio is a nightmare. The reason I called it a trend is because I've definitely talked to people who don't know anything about filmmaking or videography and pretty much use the microphone like that because that's what they've seen from others, but for people who know what they're doing, sometimes it is just all about convenience😅

[@AndreSjoberg]

@@georgekamenov_You’re totally right on the trend thing, for a lot of people it became something they dis because others did it, but not understanding why and then holding it waaay too close to the mouth snd distorting things :)

[@rickfarber4243]

Terrific video. One question, though - it looked a little too yellow to be whole wheat, so was that honey bread?

[@georgekamenov_]

Just checked. Apparently it is supposed to be protein bread. Tastes pretty good and holds a mic like you wouldn't believe 🤣

[@danielschaller-digitalmark9068]

one thing to be careful though, in case you would eat the sandwich, being hungry after recording the video, mind the DJI (Disgusting Junk Inside)... great video and so right you are...

[@georgekamenov_]

Glad you liked it! And I did definitely eat the sandwich after, just made a few adjustments to what was in it before that hahahaha 😂

[@deepnightown]

Fkn genious! 😂

[@swolodkin]

There's nothing wrong with holding your mic when recording audio / video. It's extremely useful for vocalists to do so for proper microphone technique. I wondered about this myself a while back and found a YT video that explained some KZbinr's were holding their microphone (dangling cord and all) to make a "political statement" indicating they were not part of the oppressive, mainstream and/or professional creators that go out of their way to conceal the mic from the frame. I thought this to be a childish and egotistical concept, but to each his own...

[@georgekamenov_]

Can't speak about why others do it but for me it's nothing that deep like a sign of protest. I just do it because sometimes the convenience of it is worth more than looking professional hahaha

[@anamorphicalan]

you forgot lav the ear lol

[@georgekamenov_]

Haha, yeah. I did tape it to my forehead in a previous video which worked pretty well, so maybe that's almost the same? 😂

[@anamorphicalan]

@@georgekamenov_ 哈はい하 mic your hair. I can with long hair

[@BlaineWestropp1]

Stop it George! Stop it right now!

[@georgekamenov_]

No way >:( Next time I'm holding 2 mics and there's nothing you can do about it. But you can feel free to join the movement 😂

[@WasabiNoise]

Do something!

[@coin777]

For some people KZbin is a job not fun.

[@georgekamenov_]

@@coin777 The second you say that sentence seriously is the second you've officially missed the point in KZbin. But you're correct. It is a job for a lot of people, to a certain extent, myself included. So why not make it as dull and uptight as possible by worrying where a microphone is placed, right? 😂

[@IRDeady]

From the outside looking in it is kind of annoying actually as petty as that might sound. Not in any significant way, but I would be lying if I said I haven't lost just that little bit of respect for some of my favorite channels because it makes it seem like they think holding a mic is somehow going to translate to channel growth. It comes off as desperate and out of touch. They look like trend chasers, which is something I have always tried to avoid on youtube and the channels I like are unique and creative, so it's sad to see these people who I have been watching for years suddenly blindly follow such a meaningless trend. Not to imply that anyone owes me my particular version of authenticity through their work. Just explaining why I think it bothers viewers.

[@georgekamenov_]

No, I get that part. But a lot of people genuinely don't do it because it's a trend and instead because it makes it easier to record something quicker and get it out there. And also, with how many people bring it up nowadays, some creators have started doing it ironically just for a bit of fun. Don't look too deep into it 😅

[@lostinayaland]

LOL facts!! Also let's just take a minute to talk about the audio itself - so crisp 🤌

[@georgekamenov_]

Thanks, glad you thought it sounded good 😁