I Love the Trend of People Holding Microphones in Videos

Content creation fads come and go, and right now it seems incredibly popular to hold a microphone in videos. This is quite departure from conventional wisdom among those of us who make videos, but I honestly like this trends more than I thought I would.

We Used to Work Hard to Make Mics Invisible

Long before I was a content creator on YouTube, I loved watching content made by people just like me, who were trying to make something of acceptable quality with a limited budget.

When I first started making YouTube content years ago, I wanted to make the mic as unobtrusive as possible. Which is why I made use of a lavalier (AKA “lapel”) microphone on a black shirt.

This let me get decent sound for cheap, without drawing attention to the mic itself. However, after the channel started making a little money, we invested in a Zoom H5 Handy Recorder as well as a shotgun mic capsule, which allows you to record something at a distance in a narrow “beam” of sound. This let us place the mic just out of frame, while still getting good vocal audio. You can hear (but not see) this setup in action here:

Now Everyone Is Holding Mics Again

So, basically, I had to spend almost $400 just to get a mic out of the frame, but the joke was on me, it seems, because numerous YouTubers and content creators have embraced a budget approach where they simply hold the mic like they’re a 90s TV reporter.

I first saw this trend with people holding tiny lavalier mics pinched between their fingers, which is funny and therefore attention-grabbing. Since then, it seems that all mics are fair game now, and people have embraced this aesthetic.

The creator I watch the most often that’s been doing this almost from the start is Casual Geographic, who has cycled through a number of tiny mics over the years.

Audio Quality Has Improved by Leaps and Bounds

One side effect of this is that videos have taken a nice jump in quality. While content creators have become quite good at making videos look nice with good lighting and editing, bad sound is common. Rooms are untreated, volumes are not normalized, and actually listening to a lot of this content can be taxing because of it. Using on-camera mics or off-screen condenser mics are a big reason for this, but with the trend of holding mics comes the use of dynamic microphones.

Dynamic mics are much less sensitive than condenser mics, and although they capture less detail, you get better sound isolation, less background noise, and generally good vocal reproduction. Just listen to this video I made with my wife as a promo for our (now defunct) podcast.

Nice warm and clear vocals with nary a hint of room tone, all by using a pair of $15 dynamic microphones.

It Makes Talking Head Videos More Interesting

I like the gonzo aspect of holding a mic in a video, and honestly, it seems to have a psychological effect on presenters as well. Having something to hold helps you act more naturally, and it gives your hands something to do. Goodness knows, I struggle with that!

For some reason, it makes talking head videos less cringey and the presenter seems to be more relaxed with the safety blanket holding a microphone provides.

I Hope This Trend Never Dies

For the genre of commentary video, I honestly hope people keep holding on to their microphones in their videos. I haven’t started doing it myself, but I have decided to stop hiding the mic in my videos. Instead, it’s a prominent prop in them now.

I am thinking of starting another channel, however, where I will be trying out the handheld microphone thing for myself using my RØDE Wireless Go II system. Since it’s now acceptable, I might as well take advantage of the ease and convenience having a mic in hand brings to the table.