Proper microphone selection (there are lots to choose from), and the placement of the mics with respect to the talent are the first two steps in achieving great presence. Generally microphones used to record studio voice talent have a unidirectional pick-up pattern. This would be analogous to a close-up lens on a camera. An omni-directional microphone that picks up sound from all directions, would be like a wide-angle camera lens, and is seldom used in studios, because it would also pick up more room reflections and possibly unwanted sound (bleed) from other voice talent who are speaking.
It should be noted the lavaliere mics, (lavs) that are worn by the talent on film shoots are omni-directional, since the on-camera actors could be turning their heads as they speak. Lavs are usually augmented with a boom (shotgun) microphone which is highly-directional. The live sound mixer then generally decides between the two, or possibly records both and lets the audio editor choose.
In a studio setting, generally every talent gets their own microphone. If there are two actors, the mics are typically placed with the two actors facing each other. If there are three actors, the mics are placed in a triangular pattern with each talent facing the center of the room. With four people, the mics are in a diamond pattern, again with the actors all facing inward. Since the unidirectional mic picks up primarily on the front side facing each actor, arranging all the mics in this way minimizes the bleed from the other actors.
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