Whilst watching some tv programs, news reporters in particular,i 've noticed that quite a few of them wear their wireless lavs upside down.
Why ?
I presume that this isn't by accident.



Paul.

Acutally, it's done on purpose. I believe the theory is that it cuts down on "plosive" sounds (p's,t's) but I'm no sound expert.

I have seen that too. I noticed it on a cooking show, so I thought it might be to get the sound of the food sizzling on in the pan. Since then I have seen it elsewhere, plosives sounds like a good reason.

yes popping p's or when the talent looks down and reads the copy instead off the prompter, some downward air from breathing can sound like a wind gust.

but you need to try it before adopting. TV sound is all compressed and quailty is not a priority, so it can be a little muffled.

Yes, it does help a little with plosives, but the real reason is to get the mic on the lapel that is closest to the guest. That insures that the anchor/reporter is turning their head into the mic instead of away from it. Even though the lavs are omni directional if the head is turned too far away from it the volume will drop off and the guest mic will pick up more of the anchor's voice than his own mic does. This can cause comb filtering effects if you don't balance the mics carefully. If the mic is dead center this isn't as much an issue. Some mic clips can be fussy and there isn't much time to switch the mic to the other side and turn it right side up too. So instead the mic is just put on upside down. Some mics like the DPAs even recommend putting the mic with the capsule pointing down. For most mics you wouldn't notice much difference in sound whether its pointed up or down. For the newscast I mix, we use Sony ECM77s and I've used them both ways.
Bernie