<p>Here's a video that covers everything you need to know about sound recording for video: <a href="http://nofilmschool.com/2015/08/24-sound-basics-will-help-you-lay-sturdy-foundation" rel="nofollow">http://nofilmschool.com/2015/08/24-sound-basics-will-help-you-lay-sturdy-foundation</a></p>

<p>If you don't have 18 minutes to spend, the specific answer to your question is that basically you cannot capture well the human voice when a mic is more than 3 feet away.  Even if you use a high-quality mic and a high-quality pre-amp, the quality of your audio will drop precipitously as you break the 3-foot rule.  (There are exceptions such as professional singers and actors hitting PZM stage mics, but even that is not great.)  </p>

<p>If you place mics around the room in such a way that nobody has to throw their voice more than 3 feet to reach a microphone, then you might have a solution.  But that might require 20-40 microphones, and an audio system capable of recording 20-40 inputs simultaneously.  Impractical.</p>

<p>Alternatively, you could have 3 mics, one for each zone of 15-30 people, which you can rapidly run to whichever audience member is trying to speak.  When they hold the mic (at least 1-2" from their mouth and at most 3 feet away), you should get fairly good results.  That would require an audio system that can record four tracks simultaneously (one for the podium mic and 3 for the audience mics), which is very simple nowadays.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-17T01:46:43.717Z
Appreciate your input so much, and pointing to a good source. I guess I am looking for omnidirectional mic that I can place it in the middle of the audience on a stand and run through the audio board then connect to the camera.
Ganbayar Gansukh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-17T01:23:11.327Z
2015-09-17T01:23:11.327Z
Michael Tiemann
<p>What is the best way to record/capture audience audio when questions asked or interacted with the presenter without passing secondary mic hand to hand? </p>

<p>Currently we have a presenter's mic that is going through audio board and on camera mic that captures general audience audio. But it creates a bad audio as camera is placed at the back at the room. </p>

<p>Has any one tried placing mics around the room to capture it? Any solutions would be greatly appreciated.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-16T21:08:36.607Z
possible duplicate of [Capturing room audio (audience questions/comments)](http://video.stackexchange.com/questions/16026/capturing-room-audio-audience-questions-comments)
audionuma
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-16T22:30:21.683Z
this used to be AVP for Audio Video Production but now Audio has its own. I flagged your question to be migrated there. http://sound.stackexchange.com
Ryan
<audio><audio-recording>
How to get audience audio in a small conference/training for 40-80 people?
Ganbayar Gansukh
# How to get audience audio in a small conference/training for 40-80 people?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-09-16)

What is the best way to record/capture audience audio when questions asked or interacted with the presenter without passing secondary mic hand to hand?

Currently we have a presenter's mic that is going through audio board and on camera mic that captures general audience audio. But it creates a bad audio as camera is placed at the back at the room.

Has any one tried placing mics around the room to capture it? Any solutions would be greatly appreciated.

**Tags:** audio, audio-recording

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: possible duplicate of [Capturing room audio (audience questions/comments)](http://video.stackexchange.com/questions/16026/capturing-room-audio-audience-questions-comments)  
> **username_2**: this used to be AVP for Audio Video Production but now Audio has its own. I flagged your question to be migrated there. http://sound.stackexchange.com  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-09-17. Score: 1

Here's a video that covers everything you need to know about sound recording for video: <http://nofilmschool.com/2015/08/24-sound-basics-will-help-you-lay-sturdy-foundation>

If you don't have 18 minutes to spend, the specific answer to your question is that basically you cannot capture well the human voice when a mic is more than 3 feet away. Even if you use a high-quality mic and a high-quality pre-amp, the quality of your audio will drop precipitously as you break the 3-foot rule. (There are exceptions such as professional singers and actors hitting PZM stage mics, but even that is not great.)

If you place mics around the room in such a way that nobody has to throw their voice more than 3 feet to reach a microphone, then you might have a solution. But that might require 20-40 microphones, and an audio system capable of recording 20-40 inputs simultaneously. Impractical.

Alternatively, you could have 3 mics, one for each zone of 15-30 people, which you can rapidly run to whichever audience member is trying to speak. When they hold the mic (at least 1-2" from their mouth and at most 3 feet away), you should get fairly good results. That would require an audio system that can record four tracks simultaneously (one for the podium mic and 3 for the audience mics), which is very simple nowadays.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Appreciate your input so much, and pointing to a good source. I guess I am looking for omnidirectional mic that I can place it in the middle of the audience on a stand and run through the audio board then connect to the camera.  

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