shotgun microphone

6.7

A long narrow microphone that picks up sound from one direction, often from far away

noun
/ˈʃɑtˌɡʌn ˈmaɪkrəˌfoʊn/

Specialized

: micrófono direccional

The sound engineer used a shotgun microphone to record dialogue without background noise.

And what we found was that quite effective against most of the MEMS mics and small condensers, even including our shotgun microphone.

Examples

A shotgun microphone is ideal for capturing audio from a distance during film production.
This is the camera microphone, this is the shotgun microphone, and this is the wireless lavalier.
Now with the shotgun microphones, there are two covers to the there is the black one, which is mostly used for indoor shooting.
Superdirectional, or shotgun, microphones record sounds from far away.

Academic text (2007)
During the wildlife documentary, they employed a shotgun microphone to ensure clear recordings of animal calls.

Synonyms

directional microphone

vsshotgun microphone

Specialized

1 4.1

A microphone that picks up sound mainly from one direction to reduce background noise

is more specialized, having a long narrow barrel for distant focused capture

shotgun mike

vsshotgun microphone

Specialized

7.7

A long, narrow microphone that records sound clearly from one direction

is the fuller formal name rather than the shorter informal form

gun mike

vsshotgun microphone

Informal

8.2

A long, narrow microphone that picks up sound from far away in one direction

is more about focused area capture than distance emphasis

gun microphone

vsshotgun microphone

Specialized

7.5

A long, thin microphone that you point at a sound to record it from far away

is narrower and built to capture sound from a more focused area

directional mike

vsshotgun microphone

Informal

5.1

A microphone that mostly picks up sound from one direction to reduce background noise

is more extreme, using a long barrel to reach distant focused sound

How Directional

parabolic reflector

Specialized

8.0

shotgun microphone

Specialized

6.7

directional mike

Informal

5.1

cardioid microphone

Specialized

6.1

Surface Forms

shotgun microphone singular

shotgun microphones plural

Morphology

shotgun + microphone

The meaning is partially derivable: a B1 learner who knows 'shotgun' (a long-barrelled, directional gun) and 'microphone' (sound-capturing device) can infer a microphone with a long, narrow shape and directional focus. However, the specific technical implication of being a 'highly directional' mic used to capture distant/focused sound is specialised and not fully predictable without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Shotgun microphone may come from its long, narrow tube that looks like a shotgun barrel. That shape helps the microphone 'aim' at sound from one direction, so it can capture clear audio from far away.