Nir Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Hello friends, Next month I begin a short film, which based on puppet show with three puppeteers. The entire set will take a place in a studio and the puppeteers will move in ״burrows" - therefore, I would use lavalieres. At the beginning, I thought to mic the puppeteers as usual - at the chest. But, probably they will look up for the puppets (as you can see at the reference that I attached) and it will affect the sound. so, now I'm thinking to mic them at the forehead, with a forehead sweat band - so no matter to where they will look, the mic always will "follow" them. I would like to hear your advice, from your experience. p.s - I used in the past headset, but I didn't really liked it. Thank you very much, Nir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Sjostrom Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Forehead is a great idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Norflus Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 I've done this several times - the best option is put the mic on a headband. You get no rubbing and you are never off axis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 I used a headband with a small pocket sewn onto it, center forehead. The pocket was big enough to hold a COS-11 in an RM-11 Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 We've used ball caps with a mic attached to the underside of the bill. Some puppeteers who have to work via PA systems often have rigged up their own headbands with flexible booms to tape a mic onto. Ask your folks if they have anything like this, or what mic placements they've used that they liked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrd456 Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Yes,the best thing to use is a baseball cap.It gives you a little distance from the forehead and gives you a clear and present sound while still being "safe". J.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriskellett Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 I have also used headbands with good success on puppeteers, I did a season for a kids show on Sprout and it was the method that they preferred the most. Often they would be under tables or laying on the floor trying to see a monitor so a hat wouldn't work for them. I have also worked a bunch with The Muppets and they also use this style of mounting although they tend to have two people work a single puppet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nir Posted February 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 Thank you very much for the answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Trew Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 I usually just mic the puppet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanpeds Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 You could also explore the use of a headset mic, DPA has quite a few options as well as so many others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundpod Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 I remember seeing some behind the scenes of 'The Muppets' and they were wearing headbands. I can't quite remember, but they may have had a small flexible boom attached. I just found this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nir Posted February 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Great reference, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claus Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 I've been using dpa4066 with good success. If it's a "puppet-only" show they are my goto mics. I found it difficult in a "mixed" show (human & puppets) to match boom/lavs of "real" actors with the closeup headset sound of the puppeteers. but post can put them in the same room again. The puppeteers often have to hide in small, boxy sounding places, but with headsets you can get the best possible, dry sound. again post should be able to fix this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roubi Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 I used both headset and lavalier on the forehead. The lavalier works better as it just doesn't move whereas the actors might hit several times the headset because of their arms up in the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayhartigan Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Whenever I've done work with professional puppeteers (David, Cookie Monster and Kevin, Elmo) they have always come with their own headbands. It's the way they do it all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Wilkinson Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Stick with the headband, I've had great success with this method. Baseball hats and headset mics can both obstruct the puppeteer and create rustle/handling noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nir Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Hi everyone, I would like to thank you for the help and tips that you suggested. just finished the series and after several tests I found that the headband was the best solution for this project. Here are some pictures: You can see the headband with the pocket that I sewed in order to prevent some wind sound. Inside it I stick dpa lav with a concealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axel Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 thanks for sharing! this was a cool thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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