I'm prepping for a Sound Design/Mix gig for a 360 VR Video where 12 people are tap dancing in a circle. The video is going to be shot outside and the 12 dancers will be moving around throughout the video. We're not going to use any location sound and will be replacing it all in post. I'm bringing the dancers into my studio to record them tap dancing individually to picture. This way I can have their isolated tracks and can pan them accordingly throughout the 360 video.

Few questions -

1 - I'm not sure if i should mic them in the booth (6 ft w, 10 ft long, 12 ft high) or if i should be recording them in a larger space that isn't so dead. I was concerned that if i record them in the booth, the tapping would sound a little dead, but im concerned that if i record them in a larger space and stack all 12 of them, it might be a bit much. Any suggestions?

2 - any suggestions on what kind of surface to put them on? i was thinking just a slab of wood would work. do i need to elevate it, or just tape it down to the floor?

3 - suggestions on mic choice? I own a U-87 and a 416 shotgun mic. I could also rent a mic if needed, but would prefer not to.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

why not record the location sound for reference to what it should sound like (so it matches picture) .. just point a shotgun mic at the center of the circle during the shoot .. or better yet hang one over the center .. hard to say unless you know where the camera is going to be ... so your mic(s) are out of the shot ..

what surface will they be tapping on to picture ?? seems pretty simple - match that .. if hardwood floors you can get some cheap slap together hardwood floor material at Home Depot .. slap that on a 4x8 sheet of plywood on top of a piece of carpet so it is more level .. done ..

use both mic(s) and choose the best for each foot / shoe type ..

thats my .02

john

If you use a piece of plywood for their dancing you can also place a good contact microphone on the sheet of plywood for a very good tap dance sound. I have done it numerous times and it works well. FWIW

If the shoot didn't take place yet, I would certainly try to mic it with a long shotgun and maybe a PZM mic. Then record a clean plate with the 360 cam.
Recording on set is smart for a guidetrack, or maybe even to clean the background-noise and use it in the final version. Otherwise you'll be in for a hell of an editing job.. If you really wanna do foley, I wouldn't use wood or a small booth, if it has to sound like the street.

I am not sure what tap dancing is going to sound like on a street. Tap dancers normally work on a wooden floor. Most people associate tap dancing with a certain sound of the shoe taps hitting a wooden floor. I agree that it would be a good idea to do location sound of the dancers as it would make post easier. Best of luck to the OP.

Well, i have to pan each dancer individually as they move about the 360 space. So i would have no isolation if i record the location sound

location sounds ONLY as a reference .. for tone and such ..

I was just about to say the same.
+1

If you need positional audio, maybe use an Ambisonics mic as a bed. Monaural audio (from the shoot or foley session) can be converted to b-format with the Noisemakers Ambipan plugin.