Microphones Position for the head of mic

[Chrispy]

I'm currently a student in a high school and we doing the play Les Miserables, its a big show for us.

anyway we are using wireless mics. the heads we are using are these: http://www.shure.com/idc/groups/public/documents/webcontent/prod_img_mx183_l.jpg

So I was wondering where the best place to position these mics were.

For those of you who know the play(or shall I say opera? haha) know that there are a few fights that go on.

Thanks in advance!

 

[chausman]

If you were to use the clips, I usually put them on a shirt collar. If you want to tape them to the actors cheek, usually above the jawbone, in front of the actors/actresses ear. With that mic, that had a cord coming off to the side, I would rather clip them on a shirt.

 

[Stookeybrd]

http://www.shure.com/idc/groups/public/documents/webcontent/prod_img_mx183_l.jpg[/url]

Phew, those things are huge right? My first thought is to tape them to the cheek bones below the actors' temple. Even better would be if you could get ear rigs to better anchor them to the actor and take weight off the tape, which will easily peel off if I think these capsules are as big as they seem.

 

[dannymusic]

I saw les mis on PBS last weekend. They used mic stands all across the front in one of the big touring productions. Interesting...
The players walked up to do their scenes.

Cheekbone location still the best sound vs. invisibility.

 

[Chrispy]

yea the heads are incredibly large.

what we have done for our recent productions were basically put the head on the person's forhead and use elastic bands to keep it in place. to be honest i think its a bad idea which is why im looking for something better. hair is a problem. and if that elastic fails the wire could go flying.

 

[chausman]

Would it be possible to rent or borrow some smaller mic heads? Then work on buying your own? That might be easier and more reliable. Unless you don't have money. Then it doesn't help at all.

 

[Chrispy]

yes I am actually in the process of buying .2 inch heads i believe.

I will probably be attaching it to the cheek...what exactly should i use to attach it there? Like a specific tape or glue?

 

[damjamkato]

yes I am actually in the process of buying .2 inch heads i believe.

I will probably be attaching it to the cheek...what exactly should i use to attach it there? Like a specific tape or glue?

Check out this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/sound-music-intercom/23408-wireless-mic-tape.html

 

[chausman]

Medical tape. NOT GLUE. That will be a pain and if you don't get it right, could damage your new mics!

 

[chadillac802]

I just recently did a production of "A Chorus Line" and we had many lapel mics of that size. We used "The Ear Rig" used on this website:

Microphone Placement Techniques for Theatre - Bright and Loud

We couldn't find hellerman sleeves, so we used 1/2" shrink tubing (careful with the heat) using markers to color the ear rig to skin and hair color and had good success. The tape we used to hold them in place was 3M clear medical tape, which holds up well to sweat.

I still prefer to work with e6i style boom mics but, had great success with this method as well.

 

[waynehoskins]

yes I am actually in the process of buying .2 inch heads i believe.

That's still pretty big as body mic capsules go. What mics are you getting?

 

[rwhealey]

Remember the inverse square law (sound gets half as loud when you double the distance) applies even with tiny distances you're working with on the actor's head, so the closer you get the mic to the sound source (i.e, actors mouth), the easier of a time you'll have preventing feedback!

Also, the collar/tie position isn't ideal because you lose a lot of high frequencies due to the directivity of speech (basically, the mouth isn't pointed at the mic) and have to use pretty drastic EQ to make speech sound natural, lowering your gain before feedback (how loud you can get before it feeds back).

That's why I prefer a headset mic like the Countryman E6 - it get's the mic right out in front of the mouth, you can get plenty of gain, and it sounds pretty natural without EQ.

 

[dannymusic]

the 3M product is TEGADERM... it really works. Cast hates it cuz it works well (ouch)

Cheek is a good place. Actually cuts back on proximity distortion and you can make up for it with the pack/preamp.

 

[jonliles]

I saw les mis on PBS last weekend. They used mic stands all across the front in one of the big touring productions. Interesting...
The players walked up to do their scenes.

Cheekbone location still the best sound vs. invisibility.

Ah, yes! The concert version for the 25 year anniversary celebration of Les Mis. My teenager was enthralled with Nick Jonas as Marius.

I have the 10 yr Anniversary concert on DVD after wearing out the VHS. Great to pop in and do housework by.