How often do you stick hidden lavs to skin vs to clothing? (assuming that the chest isn't hairy)

[berniebeaudry]

Piggy backing on the winter apparel scenario coming up in the colder climates.  Fleece makes a really good sounding wind barrier.  I did a skiing shoot years ago and I put the lav in the neck gators both talent were wearing.  Twenty mile an hour winds and downhill skiing.  What could go wrong?  You have to test to make sure you're not muffling the mic, but if you do it right its pretty transparent.

BB

 

[Valentine]

I would say for narrative I go to skin a lot. They are professionals, they are used to being miked, the mics absolutely must be 100% hidden, and a boom is usually sounding better anyways.

 

For everything else (reality, docs), I almost always go to clothing. It stays on much longer, it's way easier to mount without making it awkward, a slight wrinkle in a shirt isn't a big deal, and there's often no place for a boom anyways. 

 

Winter, the hat (toque) sounds great and I have editors TELL me I must put the mic there. Of course they don't know how dangerous that position is in real life. No matter what you do, there's a chance the wire will come out the side and completely ruin every shot until it's fixed. If a wire pokes out a jacket that's one thing but somewhere on their head? Terrible. And it happens. 

 

I have developed my own technique for scarves and it works wonderfully. You take the mic (I use Cos-11) and weave it through the scarf so it's just under one layer of it. Then you put the pop filter on so it doesn't slide back down. No tape needed, works great. 

[drpro]

I keep a surgical stapler along with the puller in my kit.  It has come in handy over the years.  Not all the talent can handle it, but it does make life easier.

[PMC]

31 minutes ago, drpro said:

I keep a surgical stapler along with the puller in my kit.  It has come in handy over the years.  Not all the talent can handle it, but it does make life easier.

BLAHAHAHAHA. DPs I work with frequently have heard me say in desperation over wardrobe noise, "If this last mounting scheme doesn't fix the rustling I have a staple gun."

[osa]

For me the ursa mini mounts and the ursa stickies have been my go to lately for almost everything and attached to clothing. I think once since march i attached to skin on professional talent. 

[Matt G]

On 10/7/2020 at 2:45 PM, PMC said:

Yes, directly to the skin. This is medical tape for securing an IV to a patient. It works very well. The tape is semi clear with tiny dimples. It is widely use in my region. Don't use the white tape.

Ah, I found the type of tape you're referring to, been using it for the last few days. Loving it! 
 

  

On 10/9/2020 at 1:52 PM, drpro said:

I keep a surgical stapler along with the puller in my kit.  It has come in handy over the years.  Not all the talent can handle it, but it does make life easier.

Not a bad idea...