Nevada Film Office: A lavalier mic, also known as a lav or lapel mic, is a small microphone that is good for capturing dialogue. Their size and flexibility allows them to be easily concealed in clothing or hairlines. They are often used in documentaries for interviews as well as in other cases where boom mics are not an option.
5 comments:
The article itself is not really comprehensive or detalied, but it does explain what a Lavalier Mic is and what it can be used for. The video in the article is REALLY good at describing how to put the mic on an actor's clothes and different alternatives to challenging clothing, like dresses. I am working on a documentary and we decided not to use Lavalier mics specifically because the set up would take a long time with the subjects and we were working on a time crunch. Also, I could easily get a boom pole into the shots and get the interviewees voices at the same time. But, it is really nice to know how to use a Lavalier and where to attach it to an article of clothing on an actor. I think the hardest part about using Lavalier mics is that it is attached to the actor, so the person in charge of audio for the shoot has to be really mindful in keeping track of where the actors go between shots and what happens to the mics. It's kind of like using wireless mics in theater, most actors forget they have them on and walk away with them. It is really stressful and I think that's why I will always prefer a boom any time I'm shooting.
This article is interesting; It simply explains what this specific type of microphone is. It does not explain how it has been used in any particular production or anything of the sort. It is a good article if you are in need of finding a microphone for a particular function. I really like how this article features a video that goes super in depth about all the things and topics that the actual article does not mention. I really like how the video is very informative and utilizes comedy to get the points across to the viewer. I also really like how not only the video explains how to use the mic, but it has clearly also been recorded through the mic that the narrator is wearing. I am a very visual learner, so having the visual aid of the video helps with the comprehension of the topics they are talking about, especially with the potential placements and possible noises that can come from a poorly placed mic. It is nearly impossible to capture every sound that a microphone can make in writing, thus the inclusion of, and heavy reliance on, the video was a good choice.
This is a very concise article on what a lavalier microphone is. This article honestly reminds me of Production Audio that I took last spring semester here at Carnegie Mellon. I would definitely keep this bookmarked or saved somewhere so I can reference it when needed. I would love to see more articles like this about the other different types of microphones. It would help those of us who do not have a strong audio background gain a better understanding of the different types of equipment used by our audio technicians and engineers.
I think my favorite thing about the video was a small part about putting the microphone on someone else. I think that the video expressing to check in with the actor you are putting the mic on was very important. It is not often that I hear or see that as part of a presentation of using a lavalier microphone. It also gave options of making them a bit more comfortable!
When I first started the video, I thought it wasn't going to be nearly as helpful as it turned out to be. While many of the points made here aren't necessarily helpful in a theatrical setting since we tend to use the countryman style ear-set or wig-set lavs, a lot of other good points are made here. I've often found that people fall into a comfort zone when it comes to lav placement, but there are many alternatives that can be used if there are issues. The video points out how you can use your surroundings such as a plant to disguise a transmitter or setting a lav outside the shot like you would with a boom mic, and while we may not have that level of flexibility on the stage, we can still learn from this. I remember shadowing the A1 for the broadway production of "Violet" a while back, and she noted that they had a lot of problems with some of the headgear some performers were wearing reflecting the sound. Their solution was embedding a separate lav into the hats and helmets, and they would switch to their ear-set piece if they took their hat off. I used this technique in a production of "Beauty and the Beast" with both the beast and for chip. I used a lave that was embedded into the prosthetic mask the performer wore so it stuck through the beast's beard to get the best sound. For chip, we realized he couldn't wear it on his face since the teacup costume piece was basically an echo chamber. Since we were using the method of a table on wheels with a hole cutout for his head to fit through, I just taped the lave down about 6" from where his head would be directly on the tabletop with the transmitter mounted on the inside of the unit. All in all, I ended up enjoying this brief overview of lav mics, but would recommend Shure's "Audio Systems Guide for Theatrical Performance" for those who want to learn more.
This article and video about lavalier microphones is very useful for people to understand how they work and what their use case is. Watching the video is extremely informative for understanding how these lavs can be positioned on an actor for the specific use case. I found it very interesting the variety of ways that they were able to position the mic on an actor and thought it was very thoughtful that they addressed the different positions that the receiver could fit and how to minimize the cable strain. These mics sound like they are very versatile and it is helpful to know about them, even though the context of this article and video are within a film setting. Lav mics are used for theatre as well, mostly musical theatre, so understanding a little about how they work, even in a different context, is useful knowledge to be aware of.
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