mic tape

mriordan

Member
Hello I am looking for some quality mic tape to help hold the mics on the actors faces. we have been using CVS clear medical tape but it falls off when the actors sweat. is their any suggestions for a better solution. We also use head mics but my director and I would like to know what would be the best tape to use. Thank you.
 
Yep, clean the skin and then use Tegaderm if Transpore isn't sticking, makeup on top. And make sure you're incorporating a strain relief loop at the neck. Are you wig clipping into hair and taping to forehead, or going from neck over ear to cheek? In my experience Transpore works for 8 or 9 out of 10 people, so if it doesn't then reevaluate how you're rigging them. I think through the hair makes strain relief easier and less visible.
 
This document from 3M has some great advice on how to make Transpore tape work best: https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/82088O/common-questions-transpore-surgical-tapes.pdf (starting on page 2).

Highlights include: skin should be clean and dry at time of application, and the adhesive is pressure sensitive--so make sure you're rubbing it on with a decent (not painful) amount of pressure. It also helps to build in a little time between when the tape is applied and when the person will be sweating. The bond between the tape and skin actually increases over time.
 
I use the basic clear medical tape from Walgreens or Wal-Mart. But definitely before make up, and on a dry surface. Also, I place tape on the cheek bone so that I can really squeeze the performers head. You can provide a good deal of pressure without hurting them. I then do a piece high and behind the ear where I can push into their skull, and then the wire goes to their neck where I can put a third piece on their spine. Some actors (Especially the sweaty ones) specifically come to me instead of my crew because they know it won't come loose during the show.

The key is to not be gentle, but not be a jerk about it. Above all, talk to the actors so they know what you are doing to them. In many ways, they are people too.

I work at the high school / middle school level, so I don't mess around with hair mics unless the actor is wearing a wig and even then, only if they project enough to get picked up. I find that the wire will come loose from the pins and be super obvious by show's end. I'd rather just tape the mic to their face and be done with it. 16 visible, but functioning microphones are far less distracting than one wire sticking up off the back of an actor's head.

I had a director/ actor once confront me to say that she had never been told to get her mic Before make up and that we shouldn't require that for her cast. Conversation went something like this.

Me: As a performer, do you ever have a problem with your microphone coming loose during a performance?
Her: Yeah, occasionally.
Me: Well..... I don't.

End conversation, call times adjusted accordingly.
 
Another for the 3M Tegaderm here. Buy the sheets and cut it into the strips/sizes as needed. Put it on clean and pre-makeup and it’s amazingly reliable.

Been using it for upwards of 20 years.
 
We started using boom mics to avoid this which sound great but the students are rough on them. We when back to the standard issue Shure mic elements but I absolutely despise tape on the face of an actor. We went to ear clips and used a Hellerman Tool to get them rigged up. Now we just add a little slack so the actors can turn their heads and and the wire at the base of their neck to act as a strain relief. Has been working great for several years now and not going back anytime soon!
 

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+1 Transpore, And alcohol prep pads.

I find most of the times that the tape comes off it's because proper slack has not be incorporated along the side of the neck and back of the neck.

The other problem i see with novice "tapers" is not firmly pressing the tape around the 3 sides of the mic wire, then pressing to skin. Instead creating a 'tent' effect where on the top most parto of the wire is contacting the tape, allowing the mic element wire to slide more easily in in all 4 directions.

Also taping mics almost always requires a third party affixing the tape and element to the actor, and not the actor themselves.
 
For that tape position at the back of the neck: take a short piece of tape and roll it sticky side out over the mic cable. A little loose so it will slide. Then position it and tape over it in the usual position. Holds cable in place and allows movement.
 
I carry Transpore and Durapore. Both by 3m Durapore takes makeup and hides well. Buy a case at a time from amazon and save some $
 

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