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[Timothy Phillips]

Hey guys:
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to attach a lavaliere body pack to the top of a persons head.  I'm running a theatrical production and we have some mic elements that are a bit bigger then i wanted but i work with what i have lol.  I'm stringing up the line so that the mic element lands right on the center of the forehead about 1/2" from their hair line so its not to noticeable yet gives good coverage.  I however can't seem to find a good enough way to attach it to their hair or skin to keep it from moving or falling out.  Anyone have any suggestions?

[Keith Shannon]

Timothy Phillips wrote on Wed, 24 March 2010 10:51

Hey guys: I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to attach a lavaliere body pack to the top of a persons head.  I'm running a theatrical production and we have some mic elements that are a bit bigger then i wanted but i work with what i have lol.  I'm stringing up the line so that the mic element lands right on the center of the forehead about 1/2" from their hair line so its not to noticeable yet gives good coverage.  I however can't seem to find a good enough way to attach it to their hair or skin to keep it from moving or falling out.  Anyone have any suggestions?

... Huh?

First, a mic placed in the manner you describe is more likely to pick up what's in front of the performer than the performer themselves. Second, attaching the BODYPACK to someone's HEAD, unless their costume is nothing but a cowboy hat, would probably be the most noticeable arrangement.

What I think you mean is that you want the mic capsule and cable to be hidden in the performer's hair, and run down the back of their neck to a bodypack under their costume in the small of their back. Though creative, depending on your lavaliere capsules, you'll be more likely to pick up sound from in front of the performer. The capsule will be pointed in a direction somewhere between the actor's feet and their eyeline; most likely, it'll be pointed at monitor speakers, the audience, and other generally undesirable feedback sources.

I would stick to the traditional lav placement, personally. Clip the mic about where the breast pocket of an actor's shirt would be. If hiding the mic is desired, it can be placed on the back side of a suit coat, behind ruffles or neckties, or even under the outer layer of clothing without a significant drop in sound quality (you will have to deal with rubbing sounds as the actors' clothing shifts; surrounding the mic in a small pocket of very smooth cloth like satin can help). If you simply must place the microphone on the performer's head, earworn microphones are the way to go, if there's any way you can make your budget stretch far enough for a few to use on your lead performers. There are models that are virtually invisible from more than a few rows back in the house. As long as a mic isn't a distraction, audiences generally forgive being able to see them on performers as a necessity of modern performing arts.

[Rob Ottaviano]

Check out half way down the page:
http://harada-sound.com/sound/handbook/rfmics.html

http://www.brightandloud.com/microphone-placement

Peace

[Jordan Wolf]

Rob Ottaviano wrote on Wed, 24 March 2010 12:22

Check out half way down the page: http://harada-sound.com/sound/handbook/rfmics.html http://www.brightandloud.com/microphone-placement Peace

+1!!!!

Those are precisely the two pages that I recommend to people who ask the same question.

Element placement is one thing; bodypack placement can be quite another.

For element placement, look at those pages and ALSO experiment with it in your downtime (yeah, I know...what downtime?).

For bodypacks I recommend ACE Bandages and "protection".  For more obscure placement, try the small of the back or the inner thigh.  Bra straps work fine, also.  

Also make sure that you allow for movement of the actor when you tape/strain relief the mic cable and/or element.

[Jonathan Schroeder]

Rob Ottaviano wrote on Wed, 24 March 2010 11:22

http://www.brightandloud.com/microphone-placement

The "Halo" rig is what we use for almost all of our productions.  Easy for the students/actors to put on, doesn't damage the element the way I have seen bobby pins or spirit gum, etc do, and provides the most natural sound we have found.  Just remind the actor to shield the mic element if they have to apply hairspray.  They will handle a light misting, but if it gets hit too often, the sound will change, and eventually it will have to be replaced.

The only problem we run into is if the actor needs to wear a hat and take it on and off.  The last show our lead had to wear a wig sometimes, and a hat others, and other times neither, so we ended up with a boom on her, but everyone else wore theirs as a halo.

We are using Shure WL93 Omnis for this.  Directional mics would probably not yield the same results.

Jon

[Mac Kerr]

The links to Kai Harada's page, and Bright and Loud, explain and show the mic mounting pretty well. Generally if you need to keep the pack on top of the head as well, you need a wig. You can work with the wig builder to provide space for the transmitter. This is pretty common for actresses with bare back costumes where the wire would be unsightly. Sometimes the only reason for the wig is to hide the transmitter. Too bad you missed Mary McGregor's excellent presentation on theatrical mic mounting at last year's AES convention in NY.

This is a basic skill that every theatrical soundman should be versed in.

The hat on/off issue is a tough one. It is the primary reason that Andrew Bruce included "aliases" in the Digico D5T software. With headworn mics the change in tonality due to comb filtering is very apparent. While we cannot eliminate the filter, we can use eq to make it a little less offensive.

Mac

[Timothy Phillips]

Sry guys that was completely my fault on wording of my question.  First off the element is going in their hair not the pack itself.  The pack is easy to hide, the problem I'm having is keeping the element placed correctly in their hair for a show.  Currently I'm using bobbypins and barrera and I really don't have a budget for anything else sry lol.  I was more looking for a technique to weave it into their head.  The elements themsleves are not very small so the problem is in hiding them.