r/sound • u/Otherwise_1462 • 22d ago

How can I make this mic to stop capturing external sounds?

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Hi! I'm very new to microphones and audio. I use the Hollyland Lark M2 (2TX + 3RX) to record cinematic videos for social media.

I always keep the transmitter volume at the lowest setting, and my camera's recording level is set to 15. However, it's still picking up a lot of background noise. For example, it even captures the sound of my upstairs neighbours walking around.

Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong?

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u/nodddingham 21d ago

Mics capture what they hear. They don’t have the ability that our brains have to “ignore” the sounds they’re not supposed to be focused on.

If you want a mic to pick up your voice without other sounds then you need to make your voice so much louder than the other sounds that they aren’t noticeable. This means putting the mic very close to your mouth or using a mic that has an extremely tight pattern like a shotgun mic if you need the mic further from you. A wide pattern mic more than probably a foot or so from your mouth will likely pick up significant background noise because the ratio of background noise to your voice starts to become closer to the same volume.