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Christian had what I felt was such an outstanding idea, that I spilled my green tea rushing to type one of a million questions that I have in this category.

I hope others do also, and that this is an area that the experts here are willing to either share their personal experiences, or at east their perspective on!

But it only seems fair that Christian goes first?

Best,

Steven

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About this thread:

When watching fiction shows on TV (I rarely go to the movies) I usually can more or less tell how the sound of a certain scene was done, be it boomed, lav'ed or even ADR. But from time to time I watch a scene where I have no idea how they could have gotten the sound they did, so I wonder "how did that sound crew pull it off?" This thread should be a place where we post these scenes we wonder about. A place for speculation, discussion and first or second hand information (which there is a lot of especially given the decades of experience some members here have).

---

Here's my first enquiry:

I've been enjoying a show called Portlandia which is not only a very funny show but also has very well recorded dialogue for TV standards. From the way it sounds I figure they use lavs a lot but the sound is just always so on and clean that it almost seems like it's ADR, which I don't believe it is because the sound is always very adequate.

Kind of hard to describe in detail but every time I watch it the dialogue strikes me as being so clean, whereas on other fiction shows I find it easier to tell how they did it by things like head turns or duller sound on some actors than on others (different clothing/lavs) orsometimes slight clothes rustle, which I never noticed on Portlandia. So, well done! But how?

Edited by Christian Spaeth
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I just watched nearly all the Portlandia episodes this week (thanks Tivo). I noticed a fair amount of clothes rustle. Never really bothered me. Sounds like all lavs to me, and I mean that in a good way. I was kinda assuming that may be their methodology on that show since a lot of it seems to rely on some improv. I would be interested to know how they shoot the show? Multicam, type of cam, etc. May also be difficult to boom for a lot of unscripted, wide/tight, kind of shooting.

Great show, my wife is from Portland so the jokes hit pretty close to home!

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I like the idea of an expert "pro tip" topic. While we're talking about clothes rustle and lavs, how about a few lav securing techniques that eliminate that rustle? Lots of top stick? It all depends on the situation but any favorites/old faithfuls?

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DISCLAIMER: I do not work on Portlandia, but I do know the mixer who does, Glenn McCallef, and got to observe a little bit on some BTS I did for the show. AFAIK, they lav everyone all the time due to the fact that they generally shoot with multiple 5Ds (wides and singles) and the amount of improv on the show. He and boom op Brian Mazzola try to boom when they can, but usually the multiple cameras brush them back.

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I apologize in advanced if I derail this thread at all. With all due respect to the Senator and Greg, even if some technical details have been reiterated, I'm always excited when this group encourages a specifically passionate discussion of our craft, and a thread regarding our appreciation of someone's work is always encouraging, educational and uplifting to me.

Perhaps it would be worthwhile for someone to drop an email to the mixer in question and invite him to detail his experiences mixing Portlandia, as he certainly has a few fans here. As much as this board is a conversational spot, its a learning resource for all of us and a rare immersive territory for a very lonely department. Personally, I encourage using this place as an oppurtunity to celebrate our fellow technicians and their successes, and as a chance to learn from those we respect.

Tl;Dr. Shut up you guys

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Harris,

I think the Senator was referring specifically to hiding lavs, not the overall request to learn more about the pros who did Portlandia. There are several threads specifically about hiding lavs WITH PIX even...they're sweet.

Christian syncsound, how about extending an invite to your buddies Glenn and Brian?

Best,

Steven

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" I'm always excited when this group encourages a specifically passionate discussion of our craft, and a thread regarding our appreciation of someone's work is always encouraging, educational and uplifting to me. "

Me, too... complete agreement, which I previously expressed...

and I think my post about discussing hiding lav's speaks clearly for itself.

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So I searched for "securing lavs", "quiet lavs", "noisey lavs" all to no avail. Finally i looked up hiding lavs which wasnt even what I asked about and what comes up? A thread with people saying the topic has already been discussed! Jesus, if you feel the need to tell people its been discussed just link to the thread it was discussed in or dont't post at all!

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I'm presently working on a compilation of useful information on rigging lav mikes that might be used in the (slowly developing) resource page of this site. It's still a work in progress but I do have a list of the threads that deal with attaching mikes, hiding mikes and the accessories and devices used for that purpose. It's a lengthy list (this is a common topic of interest) but you'll find useful material in each of these discussions:

Lav on Baseball Cap

LAV’ing a Holy Father

Radiomics on Pregnant Ladies

"Dark Art" (Hiding lavaliers) etiquette question

Lav mic placement advice

"actual combat" audio

Noisy Shirt !

Hiding mics in Tuxedos

Not happy with the micbra that I got from the ramps party.

Lav in flight suit

MIC LAV BRA

Avoiding the lavalier of getting wet

Lav-Bullet MM400 Adapter

New toys from K-Tek

Rode Vampire clip

page__p__83194__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1&do=embed#entry83194' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>

Back to School with Rich Topham Jr.

Laving down tight pants

Introducing the Lav-Rod

hairy chests and when lavaliers are required

Medical Shows: the Deadly Stethoscope

Hiding in plain sight...

A little silk tie help, please.

Introducing the Lav-Bullet

Lav It Up! Effectively Mic Up Your Talent by Bryant Falk

Bra Microphone Etiquette

Clothing noise a real issue when concealing mics

Rode Vampire clip

Would you please stay on!!!

Hiding lav Mics during a actual surgery

Miking talent on a motorcycle

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Thank you sjohns37 for providing useful assistance. Senator... well, you know, knock it off. One suggestion, Senator, would be to think twice about posting some short fairly useless comment or reply. I know you don't want to do someone else's homework but I would suggest that it is totally unnecessary to remind everyone of your unwillingness to do a little homework of your own and help someone out.

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I'm presently working on a compilation of useful information on rigging lav mikes that might be used in the (slowly developing) resource page of this site. It's still a work in progress but I do have a list of the threads that deal with attaching mikes, hiding mikes and the accessories and devices used for that purpose. It's a lengthy list (this is a common topic of interest) but you'll find useful material in each of these discussions:

Lav on Baseball Cap

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/10070-lav-on-baseball-cap/page__p__97971__hl__hide__fromsearch__1#entry97971

LAV’ing a Holy Father

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/9216-laving-a-holy-father/page__p__86159__hl__hide__fromsearch__1#entry86159

Radiomics on Pregnant Ladies

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/8819-radiomics-on-pregnant-ladies/page__p__80902__hl__hide__fromsearch__1#entry80902

"Dark Art" (Hiding lavaliers) etiquette question

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/8257-dark-art-hiding-lavaliers-etiquette-question/page__p__74584__hl__hide__fromsearch__1#entry74584

Lav mic placement advice

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/8207-lav-mic-placement-advice/page__hl__hide__fromsearch__1

"actual combat" audio

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/8179-actual-combat-audio/page__p__73757__hl__hide__fromsearch__1#entry73757

Noisy Shirt !

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/8161-noisy-shirt/page__p__73645__hl__hide__fromsearch__1#entry73645

Hiding mics in Tuxedos

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/7803-hiding-mics-in-tuxedos/page__p__70285__hl__hide__fromsearch__1#entry70285

Not happy with the micbra that I got from the ramps party.

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/6501-not-happy-with-the-micbra-that-i-got-from-the-ramps-party/page__p__56250__hl__hide__fromsearch__1#entry56250

Lav in flight suit

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/6390-lav-in-flight-suit/page__p__54914__hl__hide__fromsearch__1#entry54914

MIC LAV BRA

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/5614-mic-lav-bra/page__p__50509__hl__hide__fromsearch__1#entry50509

Avoiding the lavalier of getting wet

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/10323-avoiding-the-lavalier-of-getting-wet/page__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1

Lav-Bullet MM400 Adapter

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/9163-lav-bullet-mm400-adapter/page__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1

New toys from K-Tek

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/9133-new-toys-from-k-tek/page__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1

Rode Vampire clip

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/8198-rode-vampire-clip/page__p__83194__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1#entry83194

Back to School with Rich Topham Jr.

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/8388-back-to-school-with-rich-topham-jr/page__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1

Laving down tight pants

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/8264-laving-down-tight-pants/page__p__74670__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1#entry74670

Introducing the Lav-Rod

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/7983-introducing-the-lav-rod/page__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1

hairy chests and when lavaliers are required

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/5752-hairy-chests-and-when-lavaliers-are-required/page__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1

Medical Shows: the Deadly Stethoscope

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/5184-medical-shows-the-deadly-stethoscope/page__p__41921__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1#entry41921

Hiding in plain sight...

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/4949-hiding-in-plain-sight/page__p__39957__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1#entry39957

A little silk tie help, please.

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/4911-a-little-silk-tie-help-please/page__p__39887__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1#entry39887

Introducing the Lav-Bullet

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/4957-introducing-the-lav-bullet/page__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1

Lav It Up! Effectively Mic Up Your Talent by Bryant Falk

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/4637-lav-it-up-effectively-mic-up-your-talent-by-bryant-falk/page__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1

Bra Microphone Etiquette

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/4358-bra-microphone-etiquette/page__p__34002__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1#entry34002

Clothing noise a real issue when concealing mics

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/3713-clothing-noise-a-real-issue-when-concealing-mics/page__hl__lavalier__fromsearch__1

Rode Vampire clip

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/8198-rode-vampire-clip/

Would you please stay on!!!

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/480-would-you-please-stay-on/

Hiding lav Mics during a actual surgery

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/9307-hiding-lav-mics-during-a-actual-surgery/

Miking talent on a motorcycle

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/3144-miking-talent-on-a-motorcycle/

thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou

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Sorry, David, I was typing just as you were doing the incredibly generous and useful compilations/digests that you do so well. Kudos to you and your tireless contributions to this group. When I finally can get the new additional wiki-style software implemented, we will all have a much better resource to wade through and discover the answers we need.

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Thank you sjohns37 for providing useful assistance. Senator... well, you know, knock it off. One suggestion, Senator, would be to think twice about posting some short fairly useless comment or reply. I know you don't want to do someone else's homework but I would suggest that it is totally unnecessary to remind everyone of your unwillingness to do a little homework of your own and help someone out.

Thanks, now I remember why I love this forum :)

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Thanks Jeff for typing it out loud and no thanks to the ones who trash supposedly informative threads with their ego trips and petty quarrels. (Maybe that could be the name for a new section, Jeff? ;-)

Let me encourage you, Sjohns37 and Senator, to delete your respective posts in this thread that have nothing to do with the topic. Please do not reply to what I just wrote either. I will delete this post too as soon as it gets redundant.

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To get back to the topic, my assumption about Portlandia was similar to what Syncsound wrote - mostly lavs - but I'll say it again: Respect, well done, very good mic placement, very good choice of mics - in my opinion the production sound sounds better than some much better known TV fiction series I watch and like, that run on ABC or Showtime (won't say names here...), even tough those do a lot of ADR (which I assume Portlandia doesn't do much?).

When watching I also noticed that during many of the scenes they stay in close ups a lot which would make it easy to boom in closely and get that crisp direct sound - but that's just speculation so maybe we'll hear from the makers eventually?

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