Learning About Microphone Windscreens & Foam Covers

Microphone windscreens are essential if you want to achieve quality pro audio with your film projects. Sudden gusts of wind can completely overwhelm key dialogue and other important sounds. The wind itself has no sound; instead, the actual sound of wind comes from the movement of air across surfaces. Luckily, there are several available options if you want to safeguard your shotgun mic against the wind.

How Microphone Windscreens & Foam Covers Work

Even if you have the most sophisticated shotgun mics on the market, the sound may be useless if you're shooting outdoors without adequate wind protection. Although there are a few different types of wind protection options available, they all operate under the same basic principles. Wind protection aims to keep the air off the mic capsules. Covering your microphones accomplishes this to some degree, but you may also need additional protection. Lycra and other similar materials can "cut" into the wind, providing even more wind noise cancellation, when coupled with mic covers.

Softies for Mic Wind Protection

Wrap softies directly over your mics for solid protection. Softies feature synthetic fur that helps break up the wind. The longer the fur, the better the wind protection. Softies offer a simple and straightforward solution, and these microphone wind muffs are most suitable with mild breezes that don't turn into strong gusts of wind. 

Using Zeppelins

Zeppelins are multi-layered microphone windscreens that fully enclose shotgun mics and protect against the wind. Zeppelins include inner chambers of non-moving air, and often feature outer layers of wind-cutting materials, such as fur. Unlike softies, which touch the surface of the mics, zeppelins leave microphones exposed within a layer of air inside enclosed structure. Also, some zeppelins can help reduce vibrations from handling boompoles and fishpoles. Zeppelins are the most effective and professional solutions for wind protection. They also offer increased versatility, as you can remove the outer layers if need be.

If you need professional microphone windscreens, check out B&H Photo and Video for a wide assortment of options, and other location sound audio equipment.