Getting good audio without a soundman?

[sitttle]

I make documentaries and most of the time I am alone when I'm filming. Since I don't have a second person to carry a microphone I normally get bad audio. I use tie clip mics for long interviews, but when I'm interviewing people in crowded places (such as streets) where I don't have time to mic them up or at events where I am far in a crowd and some one is speaking I can't get good audio because I am holding the camera. So I was wondering if there were any options to get better audio in places with ambient noise with out a soundman? thanks

 

[ralck]

It's not the best situation, but what about a shotgun mic mounted on the camera with a shock mount? It won't be the best situation (from what I've read and been told, if you can avoid using an on-camera mic, do so), but in a situation like this, it might be justified.

I've been recomended the NTG-2 by Rode. It's a good mic at a budget price, so you won't break the bank. B&H actually has a nice kit with the microphone, the shockmount (approx. $50 value), and a mic to camera cable (approx $10-20) value. And all that for the price of just the mic at other sites!

here is a StudentFilmmakers sponsors link to the Markertek page for the mic: http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=RD-NTG1&off=1&sort=prod


Hope this helps! (Sorry I can't be too much help, I'm fairly new to sound myself, but all I know is I'll be buying an NTG-2 myself soon, so I'll pass that info along to you!)