Lav on a suit

Sound Chaser

Sound Chaser

Active member
Would appreciate your suggestions on wiring a lav mic on talent wearing a suit.

I have never gotten satisfactory results and can not plant one in the hair.

THX
 
If the mic needs to be hidden do yourself a favor
get a top address microphone (as opposed to a side address like a tram)
and put it in the tie knot.

put the mic through the top of the knot and keep going till you
poke the capsule out the bottom of the knot (but up a smidge so you cant see it)
Run the cable under the collar and down the back if he is wearing a jacket,
if not then run it down the inside of the front of the shirt.

Wrap the mic head in moleskin or g-tape..etc so the mic is nice and thick
in the knot so it doesnt move around.

While the sound can be "throaty" at times compared to lower on the chest
it will by far be the least issues with clothing noise.
 
Rippie said:
put it in the tie knot.

put the mic through the top of the knot and keep going till you
poke the capsule out the bottom of the knot (but up a smidge so you cant see it)
Click to expand...
So are you inferring that the mic should be facing downward away from the source?
I am using a front address Sennheiser MK Gold lav mics.
 
Sound Chaser said:
So are you inferring that the mic should be facing downward away from the source?
I am using a front address Sennheiser MK Gold lav mics.
Click to expand...


Which 'MK Gold' mic? I'm not aware of a front address version (actually that would be side-address like the Trams). I think all the MK series are end address. Be that as it may, lavs for video/film work are usually omni and so it doesn't matter if they're pointed at the mouth or away from it. It only makes a difference if the lav is cardioid, but those are usually reserved for live sound reinforcment applications where feedback control is a priority and would almost never chosen for dialog recording. In fact, pointing away reduces the chance of 'nose snort' exhalations hitting the mic diaphram, not that that is very likely if the mic is under the chin in the necktie knot area.
 
Sound Chaser said:
So are you inferring that the mic should be facing downward away from the source?
I am using a front address Sennheiser MK Gold lav mics.
Click to expand...
Yes.
ALL lav's that are used in tv/film are omni directional.
They pick up sound equally whichever direction they are.

If you ever see shows from europe its actually pretty standard
to see mic's clipped upside down.

It actually makes sense because the exposed element is pointing away from the mouth (sneezes, plosive P's, rain..etc)
 
My mistake. The exact model is MKE2E omni lav. So I will try your suggested method.
p.s. I wish they would make a a lav 'tie clip'
 
Well there is a thing called a "pin mic" out there that
looks like a pin you'd wear. You can put whatever you want in front of it,
an american flag..etc or put a button in front of it and use it like that.

The biggest problem with a suit is everything is so tight it creates a clothing on clothing rustle.
The knot works well to get away from that but the biggest issue there is
the tightness off the shirt collar against the neck/beard.
Thats why I gave up hiding mic's under collars. The tie helps isolate it a bit better
(but its still there)


The only thing worse than a guy in a suit is a WOMAN in a suit.
Tight fitting, usually silk type shirts...NO tie knot to get it away from that.
I sigh everytime I get to a job and see that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top