Theatrical Mic Attachment

Re: Theatrical Mic Attachment

Having done live sound for local concerts/performances, etc. since the 90's recently I had the opportunity to sub as the (vocal/voice) sound-tech for one performance of a local HS musical "Wizard of Oz". The gig went well...although I felt a bit weird giving the "lion" a condom (yes, giving a condom to a male HS student....) as his costume is HOT/SWEATY to put his wireless body-pack in... A veteran tech friend of mine had me fill-in as he triple-booked himself...

BTW: the HS owns all 12 wireless mics...(....about 8-12 year old units....sounded good....I did not check the frequency, no....but I AM curious...)

There were a couple of actresses that put their mics on backwards thus I had to boost the highs a bit...not a biggie..

The kids used skin-toned medical tape (from Walgreens) to secure their mics.

Best, Mike M
 
Re: Theatrical Mic Attachment

Mike Monte said:
Having done live sound for local concerts/performances, etc. since the 90's recently I had the opportunity to sub as the (vocal/voice) sound-tech for one performance of a local HS musical "Wizard of Oz". The gig went well...although I felt a bit weird giving the "lion" a condom (yes, giving a condom to a male HS student....) as his costume is HOT/SWEATY to put his wireless body-pack in... A veteran tech friend of mine had me fill-in as he triple-booked himself...

BTW: the HS owns all 12 wireless mics...(....about 8-12 year old units....sounded good....I did not check the frequency, no....but I AM curious...)

There were a couple of actresses that put their mics on backwards thus I had to boost the highs a bit...not a biggie..

The kids used skin-toned medical tape (from Walgreens) to secure their mics.

Best, Mike M
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We don’t use condoms we use sheathes from sheathes wireless. http://www.sheathes.com/wireless/ they are much cheaper bought this way then buying condoms from a drug store. Standard condoms usually have powder in them and that can be a problem. The sheathes come in bulk, not individually packaged and we tell everyone dealing with these that they are sheathes. We use them on every wireless and put a cotton ball in the top and then put the whole thing into a mic pack that Velcro’s to itself around their waist.
 
Re: Theatrical Mic Attachment

Kevin Maxwell said:
I thought that the purpose of Skin-Prep was to leave a barrier between the skin and the tape so that you don’t have a problem with ripping off skin. I have tired it on myself and that is the way that is seems to work for me. It’s common medical use is for people that have to constantly have devices and such taped to them and it prevents or minimizes the problems of the irritation of the medical tape.

It is without the Skin-Prep that I have had the problems. I only use it on the problem actors. I have threatened to start using staples for mic attachment. ;-)
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True, it does protect the skin but the tape does stick a lot better as well.
From the product information page

Features & Benefits



  • [*=left]Helps tape and film adhesion.
    [*=left]Allows skin to "breathe" so tapes and films adhere better.
 
Re: Theatrical Mic Attachment

Kevin Maxwell said:
I thought that the purpose of Skin-Prep was to leave a barrier between the skin and the tape so that you don’t have a problem with ripping off skin. I have tired it on myself and that is the way that is seems to work for me. It’s common medical use is for people that have to constantly have devices and such taped to them and it prevents or minimizes the problems of the irritation of the medical tape.

It is without the Skin-Prep that I have had the problems. I only use it on the problem actors. I have threatened to start using staples for mic attachment. ;-)
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I agree that is its purpose and its stated use. I have found that it is GREAT most actors. Generally I have only had a problem with it if the person already irritates easily with transpore or the actor likes to use a lot of tape. For the sensitive skin cases I have found the natural oil and sweat can sometimes help keep removal irritation down.

But in the end, its most important to constantly work with your actors and use a unique solution for each one if they need it. There is no one size fits all in this line of work. Some people love skin prep and some people hate it. Some people love micropore but hate transpore. Some people love halo rigs but hate the feeling of toupee clips. Finding the solution that works best for FOH sound and comfort to the actor is such a balancing act. And some people need staples and industrial adhesive. I give that to people who break my mics.
 
Re: Theatrical Mic Attachment

I’m late to the party but wanted chime in.

-Please stop taping mics to actors faces. It looks terrible. If the aesthetic of a visible microphone is ok then go with a boom mounted option.

-Halo rigs are great for rehearsal or maybe for a performance without a lot of movement. They are potentially troublesome for any performer with quick costume changes

-For traditional lavs use wigs to hide mics (and ideally transmitters) any time you can. Pin the mic to the wig cap.

-When there is no wig use the performer’s hair to hide the wire. Use toupee clips lashed onto the wire with elastic. An omni lav in the hairline close to the center of the forehead sounds great and is nearly invisible.

-If a hat is worn for the entire performance put the transmitter and lav in the hat.

-If lines are spoken with and without a hat or with different hats consider making a rig that sits on the ear and extends toward the cheekbone only as far as a sideburn. Plan to boost high frequencies with strip eq or a boost cap on the lav.

The most important thing is consistent placement. A change of 1/4” can be very noticeable.

-JS
 
Re: Theatrical Mic Attachment

Jake Scudder said:
I’m late to the party but wanted chime in.

-Please stop taping mics to actors faces. It looks terrible. If the aesthetic of a visible microphone is ok then go with a boom mounted option.

-Halo rigs are great for rehearsal or maybe for a performance without a lot of movement. They are potentially troublesome for any performer with quick costume changes

-For traditional lavs use wigs to hide mics (and ideally transmitters) any time you can. Pin the mic to the wig cap.

-When there is no wig use the performer’s hair to hide the wire. Use toupee clips lashed onto the wire with elastic. An omni lav in the hairline close to the center of the forehead sounds great and is nearly invisible.

-If a hat is worn for the entire performance put the transmitter and lav in the hat.

-If lines are spoken with and without a hat or with different hats consider making a rig that sits on the ear and extends toward the cheekbone only as far as a sideburn. Plan to boost high frequencies with strip eq or a boost cap on the lav.

The most important thing is consistent placement. A change of 1/4” can be very noticeable.

-JS
Click to expand...

I saw a lav taped to a face today in a local production (took wife out for her birthday) and have to agree it didn't look good at all.

Given the constraints for this particular actor (no wig, close-cropped hair, multiple hats, multiple costume changes) I'm not quite sure how else they could have done it. I'm going to go ahead and guess that a visible boom probably wouldn't be acceptable for Inspector Javert in Les Miserables.

Just curious--what might you try in that kind of situation?
 
Re: Theatrical Mic Attachment

Jeff Carter said:
I saw a lav taped to a face today in a local production (took wife out for her birthday) and have to agree it didn't look good at all.

Given the constraints for this particular actor (no wig, close-cropped hair, multiple hats, multiple costume changes) I'm not quite sure how else they could have done it. I'm going to go ahead and guess that a visible boom probably wouldn't be acceptable for Inspector Javert in Les Miserables.

Just curious--what might you try in that kind of situation?
Click to expand...

If you are able to paint the mics you might be surprised how little hair it takes to hide a small mic wire. You can add flocking to the wire to help hide it and at least knock down any glare.

At the extreme there is one option I have seen, but not personally had the need to try. That is to sew/glue the actor’s own hair onto the mic wire. This obviously requires a production where hair cuts are performed in house.

The ear rig position I described above is a big compromise in frequency response so I like to keep it as a last resort. That said, can’t remember ever having done a show without at least one and I imagine that would be the best option in a small local production.

Attached is a photo of an old rehearsal rig I have laying around. It’s made with a Telex ear clip and Sennheiser MKE-1. It’s finished with Hellermann sleeves and floral wire.
 

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Re: Theatrical Mic Attachment

I agree that tape-to-cheek isn't aesthetically pleasing, but sometimes it's the only option. I'm consulting right now on a production of RENT in a 1920's wooden "barn" where mics any further back than halfway up the cheek were just too ringy at the levels we were trying to achieve. Of course, as we've already established, for *that* show it doesn't matter if the mics are visible, but it would still be nice to be able to hide them better. Also, frankly, at our level of production tech assistance, I have enough trouble teaching people to tape mics on reliably and consistently even like that, without making it any more complicated or different for each person.
 
Re: Theatrical Mic Attachment

I pretty much have been using the toupee clip option for everyone this time around. Of course, my sound designer doesn't really have a clue, so he's been demanding that I tape it on their forehead further down from the hairline, rather than hiding it in there. Then again, most people have hats. All in all, it's not bad, and it's not my artistic decision, so I'll live. Still looks better than taping it to the cheek, and avoids the paperwork of gaining access to an ear set.
 
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