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Hiding lapel mics in tight t-shirts


Yelmarb

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Having a tricky time trying to hide a COS11D within a semi tight fitting t-shirt. I've tried keeping it taped on the inside of the neckline (where the material is a little thicker) but the Rycote overcovers can be seen. And without those on I get a rubbing noises and/or if there's just a puff of wind then it'll be wind noise.

Any tips?

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tape to skin between male boobs at low point with 3M transpore tape or stickies with overcovers or use RM11 with windscreen.Is it a see-thru T-shirt ?If so you may need to get a beige colored COS-11 or a Beige colored RM11 ect......ect.....ect.

J.D.

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He does have some decent moobs however these are embellished by a hairy chest. Which means I can't tape anything directly to his skin.

T-shirt isn't see through just fitted so you can see a feint outline of the cable depending on how he's body is positioned.

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I agree with JD -- Landing it in the valley is the best spot to aim for.

I understand he might be hairy, but if he's a regular actor, he's dealt with losing a few hairs to transpore before.

You could make a "landing pad" from Transpore or Moleskin , then tape the cos-11 to that to minimize hair noise, or you could ask him to manscape a tad for the sake of good sound...

Also you could try a wrap of Coban around the chest and tape the cos-11 to that. If done well, it should be nearly invisible and also give you a place to hide the wire as it goes around the back.

I recently bought a set of the lav-straps from Sound Guys Solutions and while I have not used them on screen, initial trial and error tests indicate that these will do very well for situations as you describe....Time will tell, but so far I'm happy.

Depends on how far you want to take it, but you could run the wire over the shoulder going through the collar of the shirt.

That is to say, poking a small hole in the collar fore and aft, and feeding the wire through and around.

It is time consuming and you'll need a willing wardrobe dept, and it's not exactly the most optimal placement, but it is a work around when all else fails.

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Guest Taskin

I have been dealing with exact same situation for the past month now, very annoying.

First of alI undercovers take up too much space for this situation. I use the small windshield of the COS-11.

I tape it sideways to the same place you are taping, around the neck line, but I tape it a few times along the neck line to give it some flexibility in case it pulls and run the cable all the way to the back of his neck and run it down from there. If his back can be seen, then I dont run it all the way back but down from his side, along the stitch line of the tshirt which it usually is parallel to his arm so that the cable is hidden behind the stitches of the tshirt.

Another solution is to use a Mic Bra and level the mic just where his ribcage ends in the middle of his chest, but this depends on the shape of his body and it might show, plus it is a bit too far from the mouth, so it is a last option.

This and a man in a suite with no jacket, no tie, and a hairy chest, are on the top of my "most hated costumes for placing a mic on" list.

Woman with no boobs in a very very short and skin tight dress is up there along with them... ::)

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I've done three projects with Danny Trejo, and he always wears the same tight white tank-top (it seems). The trick here is that the wire itself will show through the fabric when it's tight. I use B6's and just keep a low profile, and the Undercoats work well for me. In worst-case scenarios, I'll line the B6 up with the collar, which is not ideal placement, but it can avoid the hairy chest problem. Double-stick tape can also anchor the shirt to some degree, but I warn the actor they'll have to assist me in removing it. Shaved-chest or neck stubble can actually be a worse problem to deal with.

The large size of the COS-11 does make it a challenge in these situations. You might try a makeup sponge or the Garfield Hush Lavs and see if this can work in your situation. There literally is no "one size fits all" solution here.

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tape to skin between male boobs at low point with 3M transpore tape or stickies with overcovers or use RM11 with windscreen.Is it a see-thru T-shirt ?If so you may need to get a beige colored COS-11 or a Beige colored RM11 ect......ect.....ect.

J.D.

I'll give this one a 3rd vote. I've used an overcover with a super thin white tank and hairy chest with success. I just trimmed down the hair on the overcover to a point where it didn't make any sort of bump. This was a white undercover, with a white tank. The guy did have one of those extra deep divots in the center chest though too.

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placement in the collar isn't that bad.. it depends on how low cut the collar actually is.. if the collar is tight around the neck I agree, it's a compromise and then you might encounter other problems like beardhair rubbing the collar and thus the mic.. I had some succes asking wardrobe for a 'wifebeater' (singlet) which can be worn under the t-shirt.. you can stick the mic on the singlet.. it also depends on how tight the t-shirt is and how thin the fabric offcourse, it might show..

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Cut a hole in the collar in front of the shoulder seam and run the COS-11 or B6 down to center.

I too hate the throatiness of this approach but when I asked my post guru's if they could deal with it, they assured me they could and by golly they did.

You get no additional wind protection (beyond Sanken's metal screen and the fabric), but...

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+1 On asking for a "stunt A-shirt" to be worn under the t-shirt, and then mounting to the inside of the stunt shirt.

On recent collar mounts, I've been:

1-cutting collar-width sections of moleskin

2-placing a half-piece of the thinner-sized "Topstick" down

3-mic placed down over the Topstick

4-small "remnant" chunk of the thicker moleskin (that I save) over the base of the mic head for a bumper

5-then a second thin strip of thin moleskin covering everything.

Way less visible, and more protective than the Rycote stickies. I have been verrrry happy with the results, and speed of prep is even increasing.

Best

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I too hate the throatiness of this approach but when I asked my post guru's if they could deal with it, they assured me they could and by golly they did.

I did a show a few years ago with a talent who wore a tight t-shirt all the time and post told me the same thing and it sounded no different then other talents wireless in the final product.

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Hey, Steven, have you tried the Garfield Hush Lavs (aka makeup foam)? I've tried those with pretty good results on the B6's, at least in cases where the "bulge" doesn't show. The problem is those really tight T-shirts that leave no margin for error. It's all a compromise between visibility, clothing noise, and dialog quality.

I just saw a (major cable network) show recently where the mike itself wasn't visible, but the lav cable sure was... :(

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  • 3 months later...

+1 On asking for a "stunt A-shirt" to be worn under the t-shirt, and then mounting to the inside of the stunt shirt.

On recent collar mounts, I've been:

1-cutting collar-width sections of moleskin

2-placing a half-piece of the thinner-sized "Topstick" down

3-mic placed down over the Topstick

4-small "remnant" chunk of the thicker moleskin (that I save) over the base of the mic head for a bumper

5-then a second thin strip of thin moleskin covering everything.

Way less visible, and more protective than the Rycote stickies. I have been verrrry happy with the results, and speed of prep is even increasing.

Best

I like this approach... and I think i can visualize what you are doing here, but pics would be awesome if possible.

Also, do the Hush-lavs work with trams?

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Have a look there:

Hush lavs with Trams: mmm, I don't think so. They're stretchy but maybe not to that point. Can't confirm but it looks borderline feasible. Plus the fact you'd probably want to cut a small part in front to free the mic a tad not to alter the sound too much ?

Personnaly, with trams I'd go with a custom thick-thin moleskin approach.

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Hush lavs with Trams: mmm, I don't think so.

The Trams have the pickups on the side, rather than the top, so they won't be suitable for Hush Lav mounts. There are other solutions for Tram-style mics (including the EMW, OST, and others), but not this particular one. I've had good results with Trams and Undercoats. On a tight T-shirt, though, it's a toss-up -- try everything and see what works.

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