Tilt Down Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 I just watched David Letterman's new show on Netflix. There was a scene of him walking with Congressman John Lewis on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL. It's windy, there's an f-ing drone nearby and Letterman has a 10 inch confederate beard, and a pull over tshirt and jacket. I imagine he has a hairy chest to boot. The sidewalk is narrow, and I think boom op prohibitive, so it had to be a hidden wireless mic. It was perfect sound. How the hell did the sound tech pull that off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzel2002 Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Interested in the answer to this too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
13324 Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 A frame from the scene in question: Letterman’s beard doesn’t reach his sternum, which is a good place for a lav. I’d have to guess they used a lav mounted in that area with wind protection fur. I wouldn’t rule out a skilled boom op, perhaps with a CS-3 or 416. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 I did a couple of seasons with a big bearded guy. Behind the beard, 1" below the collar of his t-shirt (hidden by the beard) worked perfectly everytime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilt Down Posted January 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Thanks for the still photo. Behind the beard!!!??? God that seems like Scatch City if they look down like in this photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 In the beard would be cool (to accommodate multiple head positions). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Feeley Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 4 hours ago, daniel said: In the beard would be cool (to accommodate multiple head positions). You mean the "Leland Sklar" gag? :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
13324 Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 7 hours ago, daniel said: In the beard would be cool (to accommodate multiple head positions). Might also cut down on wind noise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilt Down Posted January 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 That sound tech is my hero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 The beard is an awesome place to hide a lav behind! But I imagine I'd prefer a little longer beard than the one he has in that pic?! I did a couple of years ago a web series in Wellington which was a twist on LotR and our "Gandalf" had a fake beard which was even longer than the one I had then myself! The sound positioned behind that was divine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel Posted January 19, 2018 Report Share Posted January 19, 2018 On 16/01/2018 at 5:28 PM, Jim Feeley said: You mean the "Leland Sklar" gag? :-) This had to go on my pintrest page. Although could have done more with the cable :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Green Posted January 22, 2018 Report Share Posted January 22, 2018 Boom it from below the shot is an alt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWBaudio Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 Didn't really sound like booming from below to me when the cars passed. Probably a good boom op with a spotter booming from above, that's how I'd go about it. Letterman was probably a lav using a Rycote overcover. I've had very good results with those in the wind, and maybe something modular like the B6 with a 'very crisp' cap to compensate for the extra muffling? Interested in finding out. Anybody know who the recordist was? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 3 hours ago, JWBaudio said: Didn't really sound like booming from below to me when the cars passed. Probably a good boom op with a spotter booming from above, that's how I'd go about it. ... Given the angle of the hard shadows, booming from above would be problematic with moving subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundpod Posted February 9, 2018 Report Share Posted February 9, 2018 The congressman's tie knot looks like it has a mic in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Spaeth Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 "Guess how it was mic'ed!" That would be a cool TV game show, or internet at least. In the end - surprise! - the real mixer will show up and tell everyone how they actually did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilari Sivil Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 2 hours ago, Christian Spaeth said: "Guess how it was mic'ed!" That would be a cool TV game show, or internet at least. In the end - surprise! - the real mixer will show up and tell everyone how they actually did it. This would probably be a great YouTube-show for us sound geeks, I don't think it would have much mainstream appeal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantin Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 To be honest, I would probably just watch it from when the sound guy show up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Spaeth Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 20 hours ago, Constantin said: To be honest, I would probably just watch it from when the sound guy show up... So then you shouldn't have read this thread until the guy who worked on it says how it was done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantin Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 1 minute ago, Christian Spaeth said: So then you shouldn't have read this thread until the guy who worked on it says how it was done... Well, you got me there... but this isn’t a game show, and tbh this thread isn’t one of the more exciting ones. Was kinda impressed by Letterman‘s beard, though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Blacker Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 Long time listener, first time caller... I reached out to the sound mixer on the interview in question, two-time Emmy nominee (2008 & 2009) Brad Bergbom, and asked how that interview was recorded. He said;"In a nutshell, each person had a Sanken cos 11 lav mic with a Lectrosonics transmitter, recorded to a Sound Devices 633 recorder which I carried behind the camera. The mics had as much wind protection as I could hide. If you listen closely though, you can still hear the drone in some shots. Always a roll of the dice as you know. We got lucky. Congressman Lewis was in the tie knot. Dave was between the buttons. (A kind editor got rid of the noisy stuff)." So...there it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonG Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 I worked on a show with an ensemble cast of bearded gents, and hiding the mics under their shirts beneath the beards never posed a problem for me. However with a drone nearby, I don't know how one could avoid capturing that sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 5 hours ago, Jon Blacker said: Long time listener, first time caller... Ha, thank you for saving me the trouble of posting it :-P been busy lately Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilt Down Posted February 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 Pretty cool group of people, this. Thanks everyone who joined in. We should do this more often Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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