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Who has experience miking runners?


mulluysavage

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bringing up this thread.

Miked 2 female runners (actresses) and all I´ve got was a lot of bouncing sounds. First the lav were attached to the sports bra just between the breast. Next thing we tried were the lavs on the very top line of the bra. Basically no possibility to rub anywhere but still unsable. Did some wildtracks afterwards to hopefully prevent ADR.

Any ideas on how to avoid that bouncing sound?

This is something I've always struggled with on performers in general not just pro runners - the clothing bounce noise when jogging or running even small distances nixes the dialogue. Doesn't matter if the lav is bodyworn or on the clothing itself - WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP.

It's no surprise that on the Eddie Izzard marathon documentary they used very exposed visible lavs and had a peddle car tracking him with a boom on a stand on it for casual runners who joined him.

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I use these flip belts when I'm running -

 

http://www.amazon.com/Level-Terrain-FBV-FlipBelt-Violet/dp/B00JF9EEXQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429808647&sr=8-1&keywords=flipbelt

 

it basically takes my phone and keys and glues them in place to my waist.  I imagine it would work great for a transmitter as well. 

 

good tip! a good bookmark for future reference

 

-Ken

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I use these flip belts when I'm running -

 

http://www.amazon.com/Level-Terrain-FBV-FlipBelt-Violet/dp/B00JF9EEXQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429808647&sr=8-1&keywords=flipbelt

 

it basically takes my phone and keys and glues them in place to my waist.  I imagine it would work great for a transmitter as well. 

 

Those belts are pretty interesting. Thanks rcoronado.

 

For me when mic'ing female runners (something I've only done a couple of times), I had best success with:

 

Exposed running top/bra designed for lots of support.

So there's not another layer of fabric bouncing around. There are plenty of running tops/bras designed to be worn without a shirt on top. The women I worked with had such tops, luckily for me. Here's one place with a good selection (my wife shops here). Note their Comfort <--> Support ratings/tradeoffs:

http://www.titlenine.com/category/sports-bras-and-undies/shop-all-best-sports-bras.do

 

Serious athletes

Used to wearing tight/constricting clothing that minimizes bounce (less comfortable when standing around; more comfortable deep into a run).

The women I worked with weren't C cups, I think, so that may have helped.

Have efficient smooth running style, so way less impact/bounce per step than casual joggers or nonrunners; they use their strides to go forward, not up and down.

Used to having crap taped to their skin.

 

Lav hidden in running top, TX attached to back of top.

One time, Countryman EMWs on a viper/vampire clip attached to top between the breasts. Another time B6 lavs taped to top just to right of center. Wrapped SMQV TX in kinesiology/sports tape that "complemented" running top. Antenna sideways. Tape wasn't a perfect match, but it worked. Kept the TX kinda hidden (at least, less distracting) and kept it stationary.

Here's a brand of tape I use on my aging body (recommended by a physical-therapist friend). Many colors and patterns:

http://shop.rocktape.com/standard-rocktape/

 

But these were a tv mag segment and a doc. And even then, there was more movement noise that I wanted...at least it was motivated. If I was working on a fiction narrative, I'd perhaps have a chat with wardrobe, look into performance-oriented running tops/bras, maybe check out a Q5X, Lectro SSM, or other small transmitter, boom, talk to the soundies on Silver Linings Playbook (and ask where they got that magically silent garbage bag), and accept that you're recording guide for ADR.

 

 

 

OK, I'm not much help. But there you go.

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11026251_10152605263687890_8194763603587

This setup worked very well for me miking runners. Zaxcom transmitters set to record.

Vampire clip with Sanken COS11 and the metal windscreen, with a rycote overcover over top. This setup will handle a ton of wind.

The thump thump thump comes a lot from the cable tugging on the element. I used a moleskin sandwich (moleskin with topstick, then the wire, then moleskin on top), though you could easily tape a TRAM wire holder vampire clip and get the same effect. The moleskin sandwich does two things. It keeps the vampire fangs from coming out, and it keeps the cable tug from getting to the mic element, or really anything that hits the cable (chest, etc.). You could also sew in the topstick to the clothing (if possible) to keep it from sweating out.

When I say this worked well -- it worked REALLY well. I was super impressed with the end result. You could hear thudding of feet on the ground, but the actual noise caused from the mic moving around was very very minimal. This wind treatment works in very high wind, and will sound good with a tee shirt over top. Anything heavier than that and it will sound buried. One cast member had on two tee shirts. It sounded not as good as possible, but not beyond fixing in post with a shelf EQ.

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I struggled recently with micing a jogger for a commercial. I wired her strictly for her footfalls and breathing, but of course, the agency people suggested that she deliver her lines (supposed to be voiceover only) while running. Thankfully the DOP (and owner of the prod co) spoke up, as him and I had already discussed the limitations of getting that. I tried a few setups without getting anything that really made me happy.

I ended up booming her (CS3e) from underneath as I rode along in the camera cart. Sounded great.

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11026251_10152605263687890_8194763603587

This setup worked very well for me miking runners. Zaxcom transmitters set to record.

Vampire clip with Sanken COS11 and the metal windscreen, with a rycote overcover over top. This setup will handle a ton of wind.

The thump thump thump comes a lot from the cable tugging on the element. I used a moleskin sandwich (moleskin with topstick, then the wire, then moleskin on top), though you could easily tape a TRAM wire holder vampire clip and get the same effect. The moleskin sandwich does two things. It keeps the vampire fangs from coming out, and it keeps the cable tug from getting to the mic element, or really anything that hits the cable (chest, etc.). You could also sew in the topstick to the clothing (if possible) to keep it from sweating out.

When I say this worked well -- it worked REALLY well. I was super impressed with the end result. You could hear thudding of feet on the ground, but the actual noise caused from the mic moving around was very very minimal. This wind treatment works in very high wind, and will sound good with a tee shirt over top. Anything heavier than that and it will sound buried. One cast member had on two tee shirts. It sounded not as good as possible, but not beyond fixing in post with a shelf EQ.

That's impressive. Have you got any other photos of the rig? It's a bit unclear to me in that one.

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Those belts are pretty interesting. Thanks rcoronado.

 

For me when mic'ing female runners (something I've only done a couple of times), I had best success with:

 

Exposed running top/bra designed for lots of support.

So there's not another layer of fabric bouncing around. There are plenty of running tops/bras designed to be worn without a shirt on top. The women I worked with had such tops, luckily for me. Here's one place with a good selection (my wife shops here). Note their Comfort <--> Support ratings/tradeoffs:

http://www.titlenine.com/category/sports-bras-and-undies/shop-all-best-sports-bras.do

 

Serious athletes

Used to wearing tight/constricting clothing that minimizes bounce (less comfortable when standing around; more comfortable deep into a run).

The women I worked with weren't C cups, I think, so that may have helped.

Have efficient smooth running style, so way less impact/bounce per step than casual joggers or nonrunners; they use their strides to go forward, not up and down.

Used to having crap taped to their skin.

 

Lav hidden in running top, TX attached to back of top.

One time, Countryman EMWs on a viper/vampire clip attached to top between the breasts. Another time B6 lavs taped to top just to right of center. Wrapped SMQV TX in kinesiology/sports tape that "complemented" running top. Antenna sideways. Tape wasn't a perfect match, but it worked. Kept the TX kinda hidden (at least, less distracting) and kept it stationary.

Here's a brand of tape I use on my aging body (recommended by a physical-therapist friend). Many colors and patterns:

http://shop.rocktape.com/standard-rocktape/

 

But these were a tv mag segment and a doc. And even then, there was more movement noise that I wanted...at least it was motivated. If I was working on a fiction narrative, I'd perhaps have a chat with wardrobe, look into performance-oriented running tops/bras, maybe check out a Q5X, Lectro SSM, or other small transmitter, boom, talk to the soundies on Silver Linings Playbook (and ask where they got that magically silent garbage bag), and accept that you're recording guide for ADR.

 

 

 

OK, I'm not much help. But there you go.

HOW THE CRAP DID THEY DO THAT?

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When I was working with Bradley Cooper I asked him about the garbage bag --- he said they did a whole lot of testing, had several varieties of bags built from a whole host of different materials, did extensive sound tests and filmed (visual) tests once they arrived at a "fake" bag that would work.

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When I was working with Bradley Cooper I asked him about the garbage bag --- he said they did a whole lot of testing, had several varieties of bags built from a whole host of different materials, did extensive sound tests and filmed (visual) tests once they arrived at a "fake" bag that would work.

It would be impressive even without the bag. How the wireless were so clean when running full pelt is beyond me (and many others to judge from this thread).

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That's impressive. Have you got any other photos of the rig? It's a bit unclear to me in that one.

I don't have any other pics, what you're looking at is the mic on the left of the wire, the support tape on the right top. Mic is COS11 in a vampire clip, with the metal windscreen and a fuzzy overcover pulled over the top like a hat. Around the overcover I use a thin strip of moleskin to wrap around it and hold it in place.

An inch down the wire I have two strips of moleskin stuck together, sandwiching the wire. This second support part stickies to their shirt down from where the vampire teeth dig in at.

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