Bra Microphone Etiquette

[joecrabb]

One other thing I do that tends to get me in good stead with actresses. After I ask her to feed the connector end down her blouse and before I place the capsule, I make a big show of warming up the transmitter by rubbing it vigorously. Any actress who has had a cold transmitter pushed into her lower back immediately recognizes what I'm doing and to a one they all appreciate it. This simple act seems to make them confident that I know what I'm doing and they usually just let me do what I have to do.

Joe

[Chris Howland CAS]

It's good to have a joke or a quick anecdote handy in order to break the ice. I had to put a lav on Janice Dickinson a few months back which was interesting.

Me: Hey Janice! I'm Chris the Sound Mixer. Is it cool if I put a put a mic on you? (I show her the Lav)

Janice: (Confused look) I'M NOT WEARING A BRA.

Me: Good to know but, I won't let that hamper my efforts!

Janice: I'm just wearing pasties, See?! (Lifts her shirt)

Me: (Trying not to look shocked) Impressive! I think we can find a spot to hide this mic!

Janice: Cool then, Just get in there cowboy!

While I was installing the mic she was on her cell phone telling her Boyfriend "There's a cute guy here with his hands up my shirt!"

Ugh, the things we do for a buck!  )

[James Arnold]

I have a similar tale to others on here:

Working on a long prison documentary here in the the UK, I was filming with the Deputy Governor of the institution who was - unusually - not only female, but young (just turned 30) and rather attractive. Her habit of striding around the wings in sharp suits and killer heels had made her somewhat infamous throughout the place.

However, her most distictive attribute was her considerably large bosom. To be fair - they were huge. Any day filming with her would involve me having to rummage about in her vast cleavage to secure the mic; all of which she put up with very well (except when a rycote sticky applied directly to her skin removed some fake tan leaving a little patch of white!).

One afternoon found us shooting a series of prisoner disciplinaries down in the segregation unit. As befits the situation of prisoners meeting The Govenor in a smallish room, there were quite a few officers present for security.

Unfortunately for me, half-way through proceedings her mic cable broke, necessitating a complete re-mic in situ.

Very aware of the amused and perhaps slightly jealous gazes of the other men present, I awkwardly began threading out the damaged microphone and replacing it. As I completed my task with the final inevitable hands-on dive between her heaving boobage, she looked over the top of my head to her subordinates and loudly announced:

"Yes, James has a very intimate relationship with my tits!"

My face would have burned through plate steel at this point. I never quite lived it down for the rest of the three month shoot - I was always The Guy Who Plays About With The Deps Knockers....

[mikewest]

Jokingly I always say "Trust me I'm a doctor"  !!

Mike

[John Blankenship]

I've used a similar line: "Think of me as a sound doctor."

John B.

[Paul Graff]

I just read through this entertaining and informative thread. It's really a key area and one that will get you rehired (or not.)  I often think the years I worked as a nursing assistant during college (hundreds of bed baths, dressing changes, blood draws, etc.) have served me well as a sound mixer. A LOT of good ideas (and, of course, stories), but for me I think RL's advice was absolutely spot on and covered all the bases. I really like that he stressed not apologizing for having to lav someone. Like others said, I always assume they are modest and then tailor my approach to their comfort level.

I nice idea I learned from Devendra Cleary (now on Glee with Phil Palmer) is having a little basket of gum and mints on the follow cart. Actors might have a kissing scene or something coming up and would dig through the treats while we did or work. As the goal is always to have them brought to the sound cart to be lav'd instead of in their trailer whenever possible, anything that makes this more appealing works in our favor.

Addressing the original question, as others have mentioned sometimes the bra is the perfect place for the lav and sometimes it is not.  When it is, I've often had success poking a hole in a full-size makeup sponge and pushing the mic through so the top of the mic is in the middle(point of triangle is down). The actress then places this so that is wedged between the bridge of her bra and her chest. When it works, it works great. No tape or pins and the mic is well isolated and open sounding. I've even had shows where she would go through multiple wardrobe changes without it ever needing to be touched. Also, pretty idiot-proof for them to place themselves and readjust since no tape is used.

Paul

[Hollandaudio]

What everyone else said is spot on.  Recently did a MOW with several female minors.  The wiring was always private and a parent or female crew person was present.  Since there were several teenagers it took good coordinating with the AD departmet as well

[Paul Graff]

Addressing the original question, as others have mentioned sometimes the bra is the perfect place for the lav and sometimes it is not.  When it is, I've often had success poking a hole in a full-size makeup sponge and pushing the mic through so the top of the mic is in the middle(point of triangle is down). The actress then places this so that is wedged between the bridge of her bra and her chest. When it works, it works great. No tape or pins and the mic is well isolated and open sounding. I've even had shows where she would go through multiple wardrobe changes without it ever needing to be touched. Also, pretty idiot-proof for them to place themselves and readjust since no tape is used.

Paul

Here's a picture with a DPA 4061 in a makeup sponge as detailed above. Sorry about the poor quality. Camera phone won't focus close up, but you get the idea

[Derek H]

I've only been in this odd business a few short years but working on reality TV shows has provided an incredibly varied experience in a relatively short period of time..

For example, my first "big show" was called Southern Belles: Louisville and featured 5 young/attractive leading ladies who I dealt with on a daily basis for 6 weeks.  In some ways it was great experience to be immersed in this situation so early on.. I learned the following in short order:

- Transpore will remove fake tan and sometimes create rashes on sensitive skins..

- Transpore will not stick to those who are lotion-obsessed

- Clevage is often a useful mic mount but if it is too big then the girl will sound like she's under a blanket and inside a beer can if she leans over or compresses the clev around the mic..

- no matter how small the transmitter is or where you put it be aware that it will probably make her look fat.

On the flip side, I recently worked on a reality show where I was working with officers of the Cook County (Chicago) Sheriffs Police.. who are sensitive to being mic'd in an entirely different way!  At first they were all apprehensive; most didn't like the mic and were all too conscious of what they were saying and of having to censor themselves..  Also some of the guys were so masculine/macho that they were kind of uncomfortable with another man putting wires down their shirt/pantleg etc.. This was not helped by the fact that their compatriot officers would tease them during the process..  Asking them to step away from everyone else to be mic'd was even worse in some cases! 

All in all my experience with them was good and they treated us like members of the team in no time..  really amazing considering the job they have to do. 

..often I've found that less is more when rigging mics.  A friend of mine showed me that often a single piece of well placed transpore can be more noise-free than some of the complicated moleskin rigs I was conjuring up.

..Also, working with professional actors can be a real treat especially when they can practically mic themselves.. I worked with Ali Larter (heroes) recently who was amazing.  I had to do an ankle wrap with her for one segment due to wardrobe.. I handed her the COS-11 and my transpore roll and she went in the ladies room for 5 minutes and came out with the mic perfectly taped in place and the connector ready for me to rig the ankle wrap. 

[RPSharman]

- Clevage is often a useful mic mount but if it is too big then the girl will sound like she's under a blanket and inside a beer can if she leans over or compresses the clev around the mic..

This is true.  Recently I had to reevaluate placement due to this "beer can" effect.

[Richard Lightstone, CAS]

This continuing discussion on "Bra Microphone Etiquette" and the "war stories" on the complexity of the problems with cleavage, leads me to recall how inventive and creative we are in the entertainment industry.

Leave it to millionaire and inventor Howard Hughes to enlist his aircraft engineers to design a custom-made bra for the star of the film "The Outlaw", Jane Russell -- thus "lift and separate" was born!

"Hughes had his engineers design a seamless underwire brassiere, a breakthrough in bra science to lift Russell's 38-D breasts, leaving no visible support lines to interrupt the under-blouse contour of her bosom. It was the first practical "lift and separate" push-up bra, but Russell later said she did not wear the uncomfortable contraption during filming. Instead she wore her own bras, adding a layer of tissue paper over the cups to eliminate unsightly support lines. Hughes, despite directing the picture himself, never knew the difference."

I guess that is why the Motion Picture Academy has "Arts and Sciences" in it's name?

RL

[mikewest]

It's a tough subject!!

Yes clean hands, clean nails, fresh chewing gum and discreet cologne is a good start.

Women with large breasts can be a problem as they sit lower.

I like to use a Tram personally.

Women with small breasts a perhaps no bra - I use hypo-allergenic tape placed in between.

I recorded a show with Cybill Shepherd who had her own belts and her assistant did the rigging.

She was great to work with and eventually allowed me to have a peep to check the rig!

What a strange job it is!

Well done all the posters on this critical subject

Cheers

Mike

www.mikewestgatesound.co.nz

[Sam Mallery]

A levitating Flip Wilson... getting teased by the Chicago police department... this thread delivers! Thanks for all of the advice. I think it all comes down to common sense and "being in the moment." Hard rules can't apply to all circumstances. You just have to feel it out (please, no pun intended). I just finished this five day shoot with mostly young actresses being miked up. Some of them were more shy about the process than others, some of them were gung-ho about being professional actors and seemed to like being miked up in front of the whole crew. Case by case it was always a little different.

These stories are great! Keep 'em coming. And Vin, I'd love to hear more stories from The Darjeeling Limited...

[TFSound]

Agree with all points made: it really depends on the situation. Did a movie in Spain where the 3 leads were 8-year-olds. At first we insisted parents/chaperones were always present for wireless fitting, but it wasn't long before they trusted me and didn't bother turning up. That would never happen in the UK - I guess things are more relaxed in Barcelona.

I was an assistant on a BBC TV series in Hong Kong in the '70s. We shot a scene of 2 actors, 1 male, 1 female, walking through a street market. Camera position was looking down from a 3rd floor window of a maternity hospital. After a few takes, the mixer sent me down to re-adjust the female actor's bra-mounted mic. Big hurry of course, so AD shoved us into the deserted lobby of the maternity hospital, actor grabbed bottom of her dress and pulled everything up, I knelt down behind her to adjust the transmitter and of course, in walked a Chinese family with 2 little kids. The actor laughed, the parents covered their kids' eyes and rushed them back out of the building and I, as a shy lad in my 20s, really really wanted the earth to swallow me up.

I guess we all have similar tales to tell...

Clive