Lavaliers and the HVX200

J

JPschmidt

Active member
I have a client who wants me to pick out some lavalier mics and what every accessories they would need (that my client will be purchasing) for a shoot I'm doing for him.

The shoot itself is on a cruise ship with a 2 camera set up (two HVX200s) and speakers.

I have never worked with a lavalier system before, what do I need? What brands would you suggest? (i dont wanna to too expensive, he wants mid road stuff) How do I set it up, etc?

Any and all help would be awesome. Thanks!

JP. Schmidt

PS. I do want them wireless
 
Many out there better the Sennheisers but they all cost more. The Sennheisers G2 or G3 are the cheapest ones that really work. Really pretty easy to figure out but you might have some cross talk with other wireless/signals on the ship.
 
I use Senns in my church, they're good. I also use an Azden system, dual receiver for two mics, plugs straight into the HVX XLRs, works very well.
 
awesome guys, thank you! Is there anything special I need to know about working with these? I mean of course i'll test them before the shoot, but anything to keep an eye out for?
 
Mount them dead center on the client's chest, if possible. If working outdoors on a cruise ship, you are going to have to deal with an awful lot of Wind too. This is extremely important. Oversight can blow your gig. Make sure to get good foam windscreens, the metal mesh ones with a foam cover are best. However, It can get obnoxious looking to have all this mounted externally. I have not worked with the senns described here, but most good, professional lapels have a tendency to lean towards the higher frequencies in pickup. They do this because they expect that they will be buried beneath at least one layer of clothing, therefore equaling them back out so they don't sound muffled. I like trams for this reason,. But those are not exactly budget mics.

If you have the time, you should learn the ropes on putting them beneath a shirt, suit jacket, or clothing in general. That will help with the wind problem. You will run into other issues like clothing rubbing up against the capsule, ETC. But you can learn how to do this easily enough. It isn't rocket science.

If you can put them below clothing and keep them off cam, it also opens up your opportunity to use more complex methods/treatments of wind reduction and mounting. Like stickys and furries that can stick to the skin allowing for the most universal mounting possibilities. Again, I cannot speak for these senns, but most lapel manufacturers will have some sort of cage or "system" to keep the lapel from rubbing against clothing.

Also, do NOT let the client remove the lapel when done. If you run it underneath clothing, the first thing the will do is try to yank the mic out by the wire, ripping off the capsule. Stay attentive!! If you are not used to wiring someone up, just be confident putting it on, taking it off. It is always a little awkward voiding someones "space" The more you make it look like you have done it a billion times, the less nervous they will feel letting you help them pull the wire under clothing, or working in and around their body. You might do well to see if there is a female around that can assist you, (assuming you are male) Most females don't like a guy wiring them under the shirt for obvious reasons. Experienced actresses usually understand. But letting someone wire themselves up, no matter how much they claim they can do it themselves, will usually put your production in the hot seat in the end.

That Female rule does not apply the other way around. Most guys would jump at the chance to be wired by a female :-)

Good luck, hope this helps!! I hope I have not made things more confusing!! Anyone else can chime in and correct me here, I did not write the book, I just copied it....:-)

David
 
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