Lavalier microphone vs. shotgun microphone
A lav clips to the speaker and follows them; a shotgun stays just out of frame and aims tightly from a boom.
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What it is
A lavalier is the tiny microphone clipped to or hidden on the speaker's body, so its distance stays fairly constant as the person moves. A shotgun is a directional microphone usually held on a boom just outside the frame, aimed at the mouth. The lav buys mobility and consistency; the shotgun usually buys a more open, natural voice when a boom operator can keep it close. The defaults have been stable for decades: the Sennheiser MKH 416 on the boom, a Sanken COS-11D or DPA 4060 on the body.
Reach for a lav in walk-and-talks, wide shots, presentations, or any setup where a boom cannot follow. Reach for a shotgun in controlled interviews and narrative scenes where it can hover close above the speaker. Professional dialogue often records both: boom as the main sound, lav as insurance, with each isolated on its own track.
Gotcha: neither mic defeats distance. A shotgun across the room records a roomy voice, and a hidden lav can scrape against clothes or sound chesty. Indoors, strong wall reflections can also color an interference tube shotgun. Place first, monitor for rustle and shadows, and never mix the lav and boom together blindly because their timing difference can cause comb filtering.
Ask AI for it
Plan this interview with a RODE Lavalier II plugged into a Wireless GO II transmitter and a Sennheiser MKH 416 shotgun. Clip the lav 15 to 20 cm below the mouth, secure the cable against clothing rustle, boom the MKH 416 just outside frame aimed at the mouth, and record each mic to its own 48 kHz 24-bit mono track. Slate both tracks, monitor for room reflections and boom shadows, and choose the cleaner track in the edit instead of summing them by default.