I don’t have the patience to watch a three-hour video, but I did glance at the Joe Rogan-Donald Trump discussion:
It looks uncomfortable to have to keep one’s head in the same position for three hours. Why aren’t both guys wearing lav mics so that they can move around, sit back comfortably, etc.?
Readers: If you watched the three-hour video what did you learn from it? (I wouldn’t trust a highlights reel due to the likelihood of either pro- or anti-Trump bias.)
Related… a 1992 appearance by Donald Trump on the David Letterman show. There seems to be a ceremonial mic on Letterman’s desk, but I’m assuming that both speakers are wearing lav mics and those are the primary sources for what we hear on the soundtrack. If the technology was good enough 32 years ago, why not today?
Here’s a Saturday Night Live broadcast in which both speakers are wearing lav mics:
Related:
- What’s a good introduction to Joe Rogan? (2022; see discussion in the comments about why Rogan and guests are wearing headphones)
Greenspun is a real trooper for sitting through 3 hours of politicians. Been customary for at least 15 years for the stage mic to be promotional. Leo Laporte got PR40’s for free from Bob Heil. Pretty sure Rogan’s SM7B’s are promotional.
lion: Thanks. So far I need to watch only 2:59:30 more to be able to claim to have watched 3 hours.
If you watched the three-hour video what did you learn from it? Tump will win the election!
Rogan was civil and didn’t really ask any hard questions. It was more of a getting to know the man interview. As such, Trump came across well. He seemed decent and likable with a bit of a tendency to ramble. The big win for Trump was that unlike Kamala he showed up and was willing to do the interview, making Kamala look like she has no confidence in herself.
Philip, while I don’t have an answer to your question, I have one for you, which, as an expert witness yourself, you might be able to shed light on: Why aren’t lav mics used in courtrooms?
There have been instances where judges remind individuals on the stand to “speak into the mic.” However, those testifying often lean toward the microphone but then turn their heads to address the jury, attorneys, judge, or audience. I guess, this back-and-forth dance around the microphone creates a more dynamic / physiological response that further tests out the person on the stand?!
And no, I didn’t watch the interview, nor bits of it online. I live in an all blue state of Maskachu$etts where my vote is stolen by the elites of the state.
Because turning cameras to fixed mikes is infinitely easier to automate compares to moving lavs.
I usually just look at video comments to figure out what is in them. Saves a lot of time. Sometimea Bard will summarize YouTube videos pretty well but refuses to look at anything political, at least regarding Trump.
Something unexpected that I learned from this interview. Both Rogan and Trump have soft and interesting voices. They put me into a sound sleep and I am not being sarcastic or negative. They both have great voices. If you shut your eyes you will realize this and feel la la land fast approaching.
It’s interesting that Trump did 1 hour with Lex Fridman, who loves to do endless extra-long interviews and entire 3 hours with Rogan.
I haven’t mastered stamina or free time to listen to Trump on Rogan yet. On Fridman, while he didn’t say anything new, he came across as composed.
I suspect most interesting bit from Rogan will be from later shows when he goes on his rumbles and reflects on previous conversations. This is when he gives his own analysis, which is quite often insightful.
PS I listen to these things on 1.5-2 speed
In this is Joe’s reaction from October 26!
Sooner than I expected lol
Watching the reaction, haven’t even listened to original yet.
https://youtu.be/qt977IBQ8FM
They don’t do lav mikes anymore because it removes the awkward “retrieval of the microphone when a participant storms off in disgust” phase. (And also the “bathroom break mic disaster”)
Google Gemini’s summary of the podcast transcript:
This three-hour Joe Rogan Experience podcast interview with Donald Trump covers a wide range of topics. It begins with Trump discussing his shift from being embraced by mainstream media figures like those on The View to becoming the target of intense criticism after announcing his presidential candidacy. He talks about the surreal experience of entering the White House and the challenges of appointing officials, admitting to making some poor choices. Trump emphasizes his focus on governing and “survival” due to constant attacks.
A significant portion of the interview centers around economic policy. Trump touts his tax cuts and deregulation as key drivers of economic growth, arguing that they would have led to debt reduction if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. He criticizes environmental regulations as obstacles to economic growth and advocates for tariffs, even suggesting replacing income tax with them. He also discusses energy policy, supporting increased domestic oil production and criticizing windmills and electric car mandates. He champions nuclear power as a clean energy solution and criticizes wasteful government spending on infrastructure projects.
Trump reiterates his claims of a stolen 2020 election, citing issues like mail-in ballots and lack of legislative approval for certain voting procedures. He mentions the Hunter Biden laptop story suppression as election interference. He criticizes the media for biased coverage and for perpetuating the Russia hoax narrative. He expresses his desire for paper ballots and voter ID laws.
Other topics include: his plans for a potential second term, including addressing the border crisis, his support for RFK Jr. as a potential health official while disagreeing with him on environmental issues, his thoughts on the dangers of nuclear war, his belief that he could have prevented the war in Ukraine, and his relationship with world leaders like Putin and Xi Jinping. He touches briefly on UFOs, expressing mild interest but no strong belief. Finally, he discusses the media landscape and the rise of new media, contrasting it with the perceived decline of mainstream outlets.
I watched the entire 3 hours yesterday. This is a pretty good summary, except reading the summary makes it sound like Trump was bringing up these topics. Most of the topics were brought up by Joe Rogan, and Trunp was just giving long answers.
Same reason why I use a Shure SM58 for my Zoom calls – dynamic mics are low sensitivity and if you speak closely to them, they don’t pickup background noise. SM58 is also use for White House press events. For movies, actors have a boom mic and a lav backup.
> I’m assuming that both speakers [on Letterman] are wearing lav mics and those are the primary sources for what we hear on the soundtrack
As a general rule, on TV talk shows sound is picked up by the use of boom mics that are just out of frame of the camera. You are correct that the physical mic on Letterman’s desk is merely ceremonial.
> Why aren’t both guys [on Rogan] wearing lav mics so that they can move around, sit back comfortably, etc.?
Podcasts are meant to simulate a radio show, not a television show, notwithstanding the fact that you can watch Rogan’s podcast via YouTube. That’s why on 99+ percent of podcasts the hosts and the guests are also wearing headphones.
I’m sure that from a technical standpoint a desk-based large microphone is superior to a lav mic. In your defense, however, I will point out that on Bill Maher’s podcast Club Random he and his guests DO use lav mics; perhaps it’s because the raison d’être is that Bill drinks and smokes to get high during the podcast, so perhaps they find it difficult to sit still.