JboB Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Looking for peace of mind or a justification to lay down the law... This has always been a question in my mind when on set, especially when working with "seasoned" female talent that prefer to mic and de-mic themselves. Is is bad for the lav mic to plug in and pull out of the transmitter when the transmitter is on? The setup would be a lectro smqv with servo only and standard wired lavs (sankens, trams, etc). I know its bad when you are dealing with studio mics/condensers, but curious is the same applies to lavs. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisnewton Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Plugging and unplugging mic won't cause any harm electrically to mic or transmitter. Abuse of cable and connector however may be an issue. Make sure production will cover repair or replacement costs for damage caused by talent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 This has always been a question in my mind when on set, especially when working with "seasoned" female talent that prefer to mic and de-mic themselves. I personally think it's a bad practice, only because there's too many ways they can hurt the wire, the mike, or the connector. Give them the RM Remote iPhone app and tell them to use that. Or better yet, ask you. (Nicely.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Unplugging is totally harmless to the transmitter or mic other than the physical strain on cables as Marc mentioned. As far as studio mic damage, I doubt it hurt the studio mics themselves other than the cooling and heating of the tube filaments (!). The real danger was blowing out loudspeakers in the control room and/or scaring the Hell out of the sound mixers or magnetizing the analog tape heads from the impulse overload. On set, the worst consequences would be nailing someone's eardrums while they are wearing headphones. I wonder if some talent feels a six inch air gap is the best guarantee that no one is listening in? Best, Larry F Lectro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JboB Posted May 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Good to know, I has assumed this but never knew for sure. I agree Marc, that its not good practice, I had two lavs damaged when I loaned them to a friend...luckily production eventually paid for them. Its just with some talent, they can get offended when you ask production who relays the message, to let the sound mixer de-mic them... The iphone app has been something Ive considered, which I had it the other day, honestly forgot about it. Anyone have an opinion on the App compared to the actual remote? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 The RM is solid but very expensive. Also the RM is fast, small and robust. It can be justified when spread over multiple units. The RM2 is lower cost but with a reduced instruction set. For instance, it doesn't do frequency changes. The smartphone apps work, are very low cost and easy to update as we add more features to the SM dweedle tone library. You can buy an iPhone and app for less than the RM and have a few months of service paid for to boot. It's hard to opt for the RM. Best, Larry F Lectro [snip]The iphone app has been something Ive considered, which I had it the other day, honestly forgot about it. Anyone have an opinion on the App compared to the actual remote? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadoStefanov Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 I just ordered a RM. it is well worth the money. One big problem with using a cell phone is the constant need to change the volume. To be honest after using the cellphone to unsleep a smqv I forgot to turn the volume down a couple of times.. embarrassing... Larry just needs to put a recorder in the Smqv and it will be the perfect wireless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JboB Posted May 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 I just ordered a RM. it is well worth the money. One big problem with using a cell phone is the constant need to change the volume. To be honest after using the cellphone to unsleep a smqv I forgot to turn the volume down a couple of times.. embarrassing... Larry just needs to put a recorder in the Smqv and it will be the perfect wireless. SD card in the smqv, brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Of course you could always start out with the phone app and see how useful it is (or not) and then decide whether to hammer the piggy bank (or not). Larry F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 I try, in a friendly way, to get talent to let me unwire them; but their point of view, often, is that since it is on their body they get to deal with it. Guys are often somewhat hostile about someone messing with them, and decide they are in a big hurry to get out of there. The best you can do then is check your mics and make sure they didn't damage them. I've had talent not only drop their TX on the floor on set (in which case there will probably be witnesses and everyone will know that there might be damage) or drop them into toilets or sinks in private, in which case there is often some evidence (water) of the abuse. If you are unfortunate enough to be dealing with talent who is bent destroying equipment because they are unhappy, then the best you can do is stay out of the way and try to keep track of what happened. (And enlist witnesses...) phil p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirror Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 I like getting a new mic every month from production. That way they never have a chance to get that "dull" sound that was discussed in another thread. Just make sure you give the older mics to the offender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 I try, in a friendly way, to get talent to let me unwire them; but their point of view, often, is that since it is on their body they get to deal with it. I think there's been something in the water in LA lately. The last few shoots I've done, I have a friendly chat with the actor as we're wiring them up in the morning, and they still wind up ripping the thing off their costume at the end of the day and dumping it with a PA. No damage yet, except to my ego and temper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 SD card in the smqv, brilliant! It's much better to see the SMQV to accept AES signals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadoStefanov Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 D4... Sent from my HD7 T9292 using Board Express Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 D4... Sent from my HD7 T9292 using Board Express Sorry. I'm talking about for "small" size like a SMV or SMQV. D4 is an expensive toy and not comfortable for bag use. (!) I like to see the SMQV or SMV with 3 Levels. Mic, Line, AES. And of course not only transmitter. But Transciever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadoStefanov Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 The have line level already. Sent from my HD7 T9292 using Board Express Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadoStefanov Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 The only thing I am missing is recording. It would help in a lot of situations. Sent from my HD7 T9292 using Board Express Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 The only thing I am missing is recording. It would help in a lot of situations. Sent from my HD7 T9292 using Board Express I agree. But I want Lectrosonics re-design the IFB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadoStefanov Posted May 28, 2012 Report Share Posted May 28, 2012 Yea. Cheaper version of SRa reciever working in 400 diversity mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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