@Curtis another super-informative presentation and demonstration - really useful for me as I’ve just started working on productions with hidden lav mics (previously I had only used boom mics or externally mounted lavs). The big problem I had on a recent shoot was clothing rustle with the Rode Lav II mics that are included in the Rode Wireless Pro kit. It was interesting to see that you had similar issues, even with the Bubblebee lav cover and Viviana lav strap - so this looks like a common challenge! What would you recommend to mitigate or remove clothing noise if you are limited by mic placement position and clothing choice? It looks like sticking the mic to the clothing works better than sticking to the skin (or in a stationary chest strap). Would double-sided tape to immobilise the mic by sticking to both inner clothing and the skin be a solution? I assume that preventing anything (skin or clothing) from moving over the mic would be the best option? Like you, I find the boom mic sound generally much more forgiving and higher fidelity, but of course it does require more equipment or crew, and most producers want back-up lav mics in any case…. Great content - you’re an absolute gold-mine of useful information - please keep up the good work!
Thanks John. We're working to have a utility sound technician join one of our upcoming streams to teach us all about this subject. This is one of the specialties of a utility sound technician.
Interestingly the term “Wireless” refers to not using a mic cable. XLR mic cables are never referred to as wires, so “Cable-less” should be used instead of “Wireless.” But I’m guessing it refers to the internal of a lav mic cable being reminiscent of a thin wire inside rather than a cable which would sound larger and thicker. I wonder if it actually derives from detectives hiding a mic on someone to secretly get information from a culprit. I remember all the police shows on TV in the 70’s referred to it as someone “Wearing a wire” when hiding a mic on them.
I use a lav mic under the bill of a baseball hat and then put a fluffy muff over the mic and use this outdoors for most of my TH-cam videos. The wind muff shows but that is ok for my use. I could use a clip on my chest but sometimes a mic on the chest gets obstructed by other objects in the scene, prone position for a rifle shooter for example. I would not use the hat bill location for photography demo videos where I might have the camera up to eye level as a camera would then be between the mic and mouth, and that would change the sound too much I think.
@Curtis another super-informative presentation and demonstration - really useful for me as I’ve just started working on productions with hidden lav mics (previously I had only used boom mics or externally mounted lavs).
The big problem I had on a recent shoot was clothing rustle with the Rode Lav II mics that are included in the Rode Wireless Pro kit. It was interesting to see that you had similar issues, even with the Bubblebee lav cover and Viviana lav strap - so this looks like a common challenge!
What would you recommend to mitigate or remove clothing noise if you are limited by mic placement position and clothing choice?
It looks like sticking the mic to the clothing works better than sticking to the skin (or in a stationary chest strap). Would double-sided tape to immobilise the mic by sticking to both inner clothing and the skin be a solution? I assume that preventing anything (skin or clothing) from moving over the mic would be the best option?
Like you, I find the boom mic sound generally much more forgiving and higher fidelity, but of course it does require more equipment or crew, and most producers want back-up lav mics in any case….
Great content - you’re an absolute gold-mine of useful information - please keep up the good work!
Thanks John. We're working to have a utility sound technician join one of our upcoming streams to teach us all about this subject. This is one of the specialties of a utility sound technician.
Interestingly the term “Wireless” refers to not using a mic cable. XLR mic cables are never referred to as wires, so “Cable-less” should be used instead of “Wireless.” But I’m guessing it refers to the internal of a lav mic cable being reminiscent of a thin wire inside rather than a cable which would sound larger and thicker.
I wonder if it actually derives from detectives hiding a mic on someone to secretly get information from a culprit. I remember all the police shows on TV in the 70’s referred to it as someone “Wearing a wire” when hiding a mic on them.
Ah, could be.
I use a lav mic under the bill of a baseball hat and then put a fluffy muff over the mic and use this outdoors for most of my TH-cam videos. The wind muff shows but that is ok for my use. I could use a clip on my chest but sometimes a mic on the chest gets obstructed by other objects in the scene, prone position for a rifle shooter for example. I would not use the hat bill location for photography demo videos where I might have the camera up to eye level as a camera would then be between the mic and mouth, and that would change the sound too much I think.
Great idea!
Nice technique 👍