Micing actors with masks
- Thread starterDoubleXX
- Start date
Pre record them, individually if need be, to a click track then lip-sync during performances.
Tooodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
What Rigger?
I'm so fly....I Neverland.
Hey @DoubleXX! Problematic how? Like are the masks pulling the headsets off of people? Are you sweating them out? Or (and I'm guessing here), do they sound like microphones stuck under masks?
If the masks are dislodging the mic: 3M Transpore tape is hard to beat.
If people are sweating them out, a 1/4" wide piece of moleskin wrapped near the ear and near the element will act as an absorbent for sweat.
If they sound muffled/muddy/boxy, because of being under a mask, consider a singer's mask. My kids choirs have gone to these and they don't sound half bad. They do not lay against the face as much as a normal surgical type to let you get some sound out. Each kid only gets 2, but they only use them for performances so it's not like you're handing out a $20 mask every couple of days to the cast. Beyond that, there might be folks here who can help you EQ some of the poor sound quality away.
Singer Mask
Let us know!
I haven't noticed much mask turbulence outside, but the 3 ply accordion fold masks can do a "bellows" thing and you can hear that sometimes. You're absolutely right that each type (and batch) of masks sounds different.
The mask straps make for mic cable tie-off locations and I've found I can get the mic element closer to the mouth (outside the mask) because there's less direct air hitting it. This helps *a little* with the loss of HF. EQ-wise, with the masks and cast-applied mic placement of my last experience... a +5dB bump, Q of 1.6, center 3k2Hz was the starting point for each actor. I tried under the mask and it was more work to get a useful signal. Tried with one singer and experienced sweat-out like issues after the first 30 minutes and went back to outside the mask. My experience should not be considered definitive, but illustrative. More than ever we have to use our ears and get directorial sign-off on placements we couldn't use before. Who cares about seeing the mic when the mask is... that big.
I semi-retired before COVID hit, but I did a lot of musicals with masked characters. Try forehead; tape a B3 or similar on the skin just below the hairline. The frontal sinuses are a nice resonator and that's often a decent sound anyhow. The only difficulty with "angler fish" mics (as one of my pre-teen casts called them) is in duets; you have to be nimble at the board to duck the other singer's mic.
EmilBarnabas
Member
Where are you putting the mic? inside the mask or outside?
What kind of mic ae you using? tiny lapel mic or over-the-ear-boom mic.
For theatre, I use the tiny omni mic taped to forehead as nomuse suggested, or taped to cheek in front of the ear. Have to watch out for interferance with mask either way, especially when putting on or taking off mask.
I liek outside mask and EQ to get better sound.
What kind of mic ae you using? tiny lapel mic or over-the-ear-boom mic.
For theatre, I use the tiny omni mic taped to forehead as nomuse suggested, or taped to cheek in front of the ear. Have to watch out for interferance with mask either way, especially when putting on or taking off mask.
I liek outside mask and EQ to get better sound.
