Hmm interesting. At my school, projecting is not something learned, unfortunately. Evey time I set levels for a show I ask "Is that really how loud you're going to be?" haha. I've tried getting them to be louder, but it's a hard thing to do. Also, our theater is pretty large, 950 seats with balconies (not that we expect that many people to come), so I'm worried no
microphone would make it difficult to hear after the first several rows.
Maybe I'm just so used to micing EVERYONE though. We have always mic'd our actors, even for our plays, and I imagine not doing so will cause more harm than good.
As for micing the set, wouldn't that cause an uneven sound? As they approach one
microphone and leave another?
Thanks again for all the input.
Well that is a shame that projecting is not a tool being taught or encouraged in your school... If the director doesn't push for things like this to have them learn to act and project their voice--the students will be far behind a lot of people when they get to college. But I digress....
As I said if you have no choice other then mic folks individually--that is fine...so try a TV technique for mic'ing and it should work out just fine. Since you cannot do the normal hairline or a over/ear setting etc--your next choice is in clothing (
button holes, lapels, collars etc--careful if the costume is changed out a lot or taken off and on), or best is on the body where I noted earlier (on the middle of the upper chest).
To get a rough idea of how to measure this or where to put it--Have the actor
bend their head forward so their chin is touching their chest as far forward as possible--you want the mic about 2-3 inches below where their chin falls. If you do this yourself you will see what I am talking about. The chin typically hits on or just above the peak in the breastplat of your chest and placement then is typically just below the breastbone '
point' that makes up the chest plate under the neck on a human being. That divot
point sticks out and then curves back in right between the pectoral muscules on a person. You place the mic under that in that gap direct center where the pectoral muscles meet. For women that kind of mic placement really works well, and on some better then others (obviously), compared to men when doing this type of mic technique. Because of their bra and
breast line it doesn't rustle or get hit with clothing noise very much as you might think it would....bra's and their natural
breast line will guard the mic well from being interfered with by clothing and yet leave you with very decent audio especially with v-cut neckline costumes. When under a shirt or blouse or dress or apron--you will still get very usable audio but may have to EQ boost a
bit around 2k-4k for clarity.
Typical mics for this style are made by Sanken for example...and have an much longer capsule (
SANKEN MICROPHONE CO .,LTD. | Product [ COS-11D R-*-* ] ) then usual for example...the
Shure SM93 'square' is common for this and
Audio Technica has a similar style for clothing (the 898 model--also elongated capsule)...but you can do it with other mics like B3's and Senn MKEs and so on--you do not need to go buy a special mic for this
IMO.. Of course--you will need to teach the actress where to put it on themselves for the show or get a female assistant they can work with to help them..
Use regular medical tape (the usual transpore is fine) or something like toupee tape or teg or bio--and treat the area like you would a normal ear mic placement to prep & dry the area. You typically tape the cable securely with about 3 pieces of tape to hold, about 1/2 inch below from the capsule, and then run the excess down to the waist band and around, or under the chest/arm and to the pack belt on their back or side taped securely so when they twist or sit--it does not yank the mic or cable. Don't run a diagonal on the body (i.e. shoulder corner to middle of back at waist like a" / "
line..) but run straight lines across and down like -| _ as it lessens the tensions and stretching for movement that could pull it loose as a body twists and you crossed an area that twists.
The capsule should
point up and be off slightly of the chest. Trial and error may be needed depending on
stage action. You can also put a small piece of moleskin on the mic (not on the screen--the part under the screen--on a sanken this is the elongated part) OR just put it on the actors chest if needed--or even a bunion pad--just under where the capsule would be so if the mic gets pressed against the chest it doesn't get sweated out or pressed into the body oils and skin. At least with actresses--you won't have to
hand them a razor and ask them to shave a small area 3" round on their chest for the mic...lol..
Ok--"Mic the set" is just a term to get you to think reverse of what you were thinking for body micing--as a designer you sometimes have to think that way in reverse to find your answer...to perhaps plan for area or overhead mic techniques. Some aspects you can very much get great results from hiding mics in sets and if you adjust your gains structure you do not notice abruptly the change or transition from location to location as harsh. Often this 'mic the set' aspect is done when you are generally area micing..with a set with
PCC's or shotguns or overhead hanging mics, but also note you may have a few areas that gets 'lost' when the action s moves to those areas... This happens often on 2nd floor balconys, far upstage by planter boxes or window/door units, on stairwells or behind flats where dialog occurs...anywhere upstage where the actor is furthest away from the norm
pick up range of the mics you have been using for area
pick up and yet they deliver key lines in odd places where you want to ensure they are heard and picked up. You can tape mics to bannister pipes, inside shower doors/
stalls, inside standing plants or foilage, behind flying set pieces where a sillouette or behind closed door action takes place--if you see what I am referring to here for application. I've used wireless packs and I've used wired mics for this application many many times...works very well and is commonly done by many designers.. Nothing says you cannot do both area and individual mics and mix either... Just another aspect to consider--that is all... Never get stuck into one type of mic or mic solution for everything--you need to be as flexible and as creative sometimes as the show is.
FWIW I hope this info is helpful...
-w
