Hiding lav under clothes

S

Stevie Z

Member
Howdy, I'm a newbie and I'm wondering what's the best way to fasten a lav mic under my narrator's shirts without it making a bunch of noise. Thanks...
 
Depend on the shirt ,the sex of your narrator ,the material and the mike it self
there is Poul Simon song about it ( 50 ways..)
 
If it is a female, then a cleavage location (bra) usually works best. For a male, it can be a little more difficult to find a hidden location that won't have clothing rub noise problems. There are some pretty clever mics that have caps that look like clothing buttons. As Exile said, there are many ways to accomplish this.
 
Stevie Z said:
I'm wondering what's the best way to fasten a lav mic under my narrator's shirts without it making a bunch of noise.
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The same way you get to Carnegie Hall. :laugh:
 
And if it is hiding a mic in a under a females shirt, then the practice can be a bit of fun too!
 
khmuse said:
If it is a female, then a cleavage location (bra) usually works best. For a male, it can be a little more difficult to find a hidden location that won't have clothing rub noise problems. There are some pretty clever mics that have caps that look like clothing buttons. As Exile said, there are many ways to accomplish this.
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the pin mike - i checked that one - it sounds ok - not something that better then sony ecm 77 , comes in2 variants for interiors and other for exteriors .
about setting the mike - if the material is quit thick and dark color you can tape the mike to the shirt , make small loop under to get less influences on the head while the person moves and the cable is changing position .
the cotton and velvet shirts will work better then synthetic ones , you will get less noise from the shoirt , so it quit important tell your talent to come with not synthetic material .

white shirts or very thin one which make the mike or the tape been seen
ask for talent come with t shirt under and place the mike there .
if the under wear is not possible , place the mike on the body , ( the hear is problematic so or you shave it or you place surgery tape over the skin and make the apilation later:-),place the mike over , if its a hot day , clean the skin with alcohol before you tape the mike .for man you have the hall in the middle which is a good place since the mike dont touch the upper shirt .
if the shirt with batons you can place the mike between the 2 sections ,place a little bit of double side so the head would sit in the air without touching the shirt - might be problematic with lite colors or if you have side shots .
for ties you can place the mike inside the knot or make a hall and place the the mike inside the tie ( you need to prepare the tie be for for that)
if the shirt have pocket , you can come with the head from inside ( you need make small hall inside the pocket )
if you use b-6 - you can place the mike behind the baton ,
it could be done with microphones like sanken or mke if the baton is big enough
if its t shrts , and they are not dark colors , place the mike directly on the body , if you will tape to the t shirt color , your sound will be to trout(y)?

some microphones have cages which reduce the noise from the shirts( tram) , sometimes it work , sometimes not.
the best is to do some experiment until you will get the best results with different setting and clothes so when you come to the set you will know for sure what not to do:-)
eventually you will get rusle any time , but if you place it right it would be minor



i
 
thats depends on her look - if she ugly i do it my self since my boman don't deserve to suffer more then he usually while working with me , if she is beautiful it depends on how he was on the shooting :-)
the other sex i usialy miking my self if i have time
 
Actually Exiles list made me remember a trick I learned on-line and regularly use with the B-6. Hollow out a pen and run your mic thru that. With the pen in a breast pocket, no one is the wiser.

Good luck


Thanks Yankee, I was worried that no one would get it or I would reveal what a geezer I am becoming.
 
Many thanks to you all. Actually, you guys sound like you're having way too much fun... I can hardly wait to get my hands, I mean the mic, on some women.
 
Stevie Z said:
I can hardly wait to get my hands, I mean the mic, on some women.
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Well... my friend Pat likes to tell the story of when he got to mic Cindy Crawford. Everyone always gets jealous, and then he counters it by saying "yeah, but the same day I also had to mic Marty Allen, so that kind of canceled it out."
 
I make little tape cages for my mics. There are two ways to do it. I cut bunyon pads in half, they work quite well. Or I use surgical tape (it is very quiet, and hods well), rolling one piece about two inches long so you roll ithorizontally, curve it in a u shape, and then use a second piece to place on top of the u. Works out great.
 
Yeah, the laving between cleavage thing gets old real fast. You have no idea what each woman's reaction will be. Experienced actors just laugh and have fun with it. You get someone who is a novice or maybe has some personal issue with being touched...nightmare. Honestly I got a million stories of laughter and horror from micing talent, but I am too much of a gentlemen to discuss with anyone but the wife. :happy:

Seriously, you get all "locker roomy" with some of the guys and the talent catches wind of it...kiss your job and reputation goodbye. This is actually one of the first things the mixer I apprenticed under imparted to me.

Best
 
wabbit said:
Seriously, you get all "locker roomy" with some of the guys and the talent catches wind of it...kiss your job and reputation goodbye. This is actually one of the first things the mixer I apprenticed under imparted to me.
Best
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+1. Unless I have a good relationship with the women I try not to smile at all and be very indifferent. Though there are some actresses that I work with often that like to see me blush so there is always that too. Definately, never ever joke about doing that while you are anywhere near the set and only with some people.

That being said I use use moleskin and gaff tape alot. Surgical tape when I need to tape to skin, also have some bunyon pads, though I have yet to need them. Paper tape works in a pinch too. If you have time its good to put a loop or two just under the capsule. Its amazing how much noise is created when the first 6 inches or so of cable is rubbed or messed with.
 
Had a fun time trying to find a place to put lav mic and wireless transmitter on very hot actress recently. Asked her if I could try to attach it to underwear, and she smiled at me and said "Sure, if I was wearing some." That kind of makes the rest of the day a whole lot better.

Steve
 
There is a type of surgical tape called Hypafix...it is used to hold IV tubing down on patients. I use it on my wireless mics...I tape right over the head (the tape is pourous (sp?) so there is little to no impact on the sound captured). It also depends on the mic you are using...I rarely get clothing rub on B6's, but if I have to use my stock Senn (came with the G1 kit) forget it...clothing noise for days. The Hypafix tape is expensive, but worth it. Also, check out Jay Rose's book for a lesson on creating tape triangles and planting your mic between them...that also helps.
 
Topstick is invaluable. Also have used many different surgical tapes, I will give Hypfix a try. A lot of surgical tape gives in to sweat way to quickly.

Cheers
 
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