VideoMic Me-C+

I just got a Rode VideoMic Me-C+ and was very impressed by it. It’s cardioid so it’s going to be more focused and catch less of the room sound than the built in mic.

Sometimes it works to drop one of the mics in the audience and have the other one on your lapel - if they're too smart they'll filter out the audience noise, and as you pointed out you don't get to control volume individually doing it that way. You may be able to record video + audio with your phone, then separately with the Hollyland, if it saves the recording separately; mixing in post is a bit of a pain but people do it all the time. I actually find that a shotgun mic is good enough for most purposes. The modest improvement that the lav mic is offering me isn't worth the hassle. Rode has [this little guy](https://rode.com/en-us/products/videomic-me-c-plus) which might do exactly what you want. You can also just point the phone at yourself and see if the audio is good enough without doing anything fancy. It often is.

Not exactly cheap, but absolutely the tool for the job: VideoMic Me-C+ | Directional Microphone for USB-C Mobile Devices | RØDE (NL) https://share.google/jOg8LfdJp7acMgS4r

Depends... Rode Broadcaster in studio (into RCP and MacBook with Hindenburg) Shure SM48 in field if more than 2 mics needed (into Podtrak P4) Rode Micro in field with 2 or fewer mics needed into iPhone (short distances) Rode Wireless Pro with 2 or fewer mics needed into iPhone or MacBook (longer distances)

Look up Rode Video mic and read about it. It has a 3.5mm output and its own battery.

Not strictly true. This is for self tape auditions so realistically they’re not looking for studio quality. The rode video mic would be good as attaches to the phone / iPad. If you can conceal a clip on wireless mic, rode do these too?

Rode video mic. But it’s consumer grade. A big step up from phone mic for close (2-4ft). Not “top quality” because that implies you’re using a proper preamp