I'm doing depositions and often the girls come in with really floppy collars. You know the drill. The Lapel mic travels around and flops all over.

So whats that thing called that you wrap around their neck like a necklace? Googled that but no joy.
Sure, I guess I could use a piece of string, but wanted something correct for the application? Is there such an item?

Thanks,
GLB

Electrovoice produced one years ago that used a neck cord, the mic was HUGE compared to the ones around today.
Electro-Voice Model 649B (http://www.coutant.org/649b/index.html)

I have a skin color shoe lace in my kit for this exact problem, just tape the lapel mic onto the shoe lace with a small amunt of skin color sports bandage tape it will work fine. But the talent will need to remove ANY other necklaces etc to stop them banging the mic.

I've also used shoelaces and even the "necklaces" that have ID tags on them which actually work realy well since the "necklace" is a bit wider than a shoelace and has an alligator clip on it which can make mounting the mic pretty easy with a little 2 sided tape or a clip.
Necessity is the mother of invention.

The term lavalier comes to us from the jewelry business. It is a type of pendant suspending from a necklace. "Back in the day' - that's the way folks wore personal microphones. And they WERE pretty big. The term now applies to any kind of small personal mic you clip on or hide on the person.

whats that thing called that you wrap around their neck like a necklace?
That's a lavalier.

Or were you thinking of a noose?

Electrovoice produced one years ago that used a neck cord, the mic was HUGE compared to the ones around today.
Electro-Voice Model 649B (http://www.coutant.org/649b/index.html)

I have a skin color shoe lace in my kit for this exact problem, just tape the lapel mic onto the shoe lace with a small amunt of skin color sports bandage tape it will work fine. But the talent will need to remove ANY other necklaces etc to stop them banging the mic.

This is a Lavalier mic. in the true meaning.

A modern miniature tie mic. is not a lavalier mic., though lots of people (especially in the USA) seem to call them as such.

I better correct and clarify my question. I have a very good lapel mic. I'm not looking to buy another mic. I just wanted something like a necklace to hang it on. I thought there might be a professional looking something instead of a shoestring.
Although that is a good suggestion if you pros are using it.. it may have to be the route...

I was hoping there would be something with the mic holder built into it like the alligator clip that comes with the lapel. and a fast connector on the top.. I know its a very narrow market.

Thanks,
GLB

Just and idea (I haven't tried it yet)... I have cut up polypropylene milk containers into various sizes and shapes to use as backing/stiffening material for various projects. The same could be used as a backing to the clothing fabric using gaffers tape to affix it to the area where the microphone clip would be attached.

I keep small oval shapes of thin, buff-colored cardboard (like the backing of a notepad) in my lav kits for use in backing up thin fabrics. However it only suffices to back up moderately thin fabrics, it won't be enough to support if the blouse is totally formless. And it takes some time to place properly with a very small bit of folded gaffers tape.

I think a neck lanyard may be a better course when setup time is minimal, or the people aren't expecting to be connected with a mic (like female on-camera talent is used to) or you're recording many people in sequence.

With most ID or promo neck lanyards that come with a metal clip, I simply break off the thin metal and use the small fabric loop that remains for whatever I need to connect using my own quiet rings or hair bands.

BTW that EV mic is pretty small compared to the lavalier that was in the storage cabinet when I started at this company... It could have doubled as a medieval weapon to be swung overhead on its cable!

I'm doing depositions and often the girls come in with really floppy collars. You know the drill. The Lapel mic travels around and flops all over.

So whats that thing called that you wrap around their neck like a necklace? Googled that but no joy.
Sure, I guess I could use a piece of string, but wanted something correct for the application? Is there such an item?

Thanks,
GLB

Not what you were looking for but cool nonetheless:

neckmics.com (http://neckmics.com/)

The term lavalier comes to us from the jewelry business. It is a type of pendant suspending from a necklace. "Back in the day' - that's the way folks wore personal microphones. And they WERE pretty big. The term now applies to any kind of small personal mic you clip on or hide on the person.

Oh, oh, oh.... HISTORY. I LOVE HISTORY.

The above is accurate, but to go even further the "lavillier" term comes only second hand from jewelry.

The actual root of the term is owed to a french king's mistress, Madame LaVallier. Who scored a big honking jewel hanging from a necklace from said King - and that style of bauble took on her name.

Look at the early days clips or stills of the TODAY show with Dave Garoway hosting. You'll see the type of mic that originally adapted the term for a neck worn mic.

Like I said. I LOVE history!

You might consider something like this The Museum of Technology, the Great War and WWII" (http://www.museumoftechnology.org.uk/expand.php?key=666) although you'd probably have trouble interfacing to the carbon transmitter. It is worn around the neck, and it would probably hold that floppy blouse securely in place.

This whole thread rocks, and I'm drawn to comment, because yesterday I had an actress that I had wired up with a lav, did a sound check and everything sounded great. During the first take I heard the sound of her necklace pendant moving on its chain as she acted. Ended up having to put a loop of tape behind the pendant to tape it to her chest so it wouldn't move and kill my sound.

Or even something like this...Gim Crack Microphone Holder, Magic Trick, $16.00, The Magic Warehouse (http://themagicwarehouse.com/TA6290/Gim-Crack-Microphone-Holder.html) then you could use almost any mic for the shoot ;)

Mics & Amp Issues (http://drango.com/tips/page4.html)

I would like to see this used with an RE-20. With this level of technology, it's a miracle that they get any of their magic tricks to work.

I'm doing depositions and often the girls come in with really floppy collars. You know the drill. The Lapel mic travels around and flops all over.

So whats that thing called that you wrap around their neck like a necklace? Googled that but no joy.
Sure, I guess I could use a piece of string, but wanted something correct for the application? Is there such an item?

Thanks,
GLB

Don't clip the mic to the collar, clip it on the button line over the sternum in the centre of the chest. Between rthe second and third button down, starting with the collar button, is usually just about right.

I better correct and clarify my question. I have a very good lapel mic. I'm not looking to buy another mic. I just wanted something like a necklace to hang it on. I thought there might be a professional looking something instead of a shoestring.
Although that is a good suggestion if you pros are using it.. it may have to be the route...

I was hoping there would be something with the mic holder built into it like the alligator clip that comes with the lapel. and a fast connector on the top.. I know its a very narrow market.

Thanks,
GLB

You want the Sennheiser MZM 2 + MZM 10 (http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/home_en.nsf/root/professional_accessories-wireless-microphones_microphones) - article number 001866.

This is a magnetic mount that hangs round the neck on a cord with a clip that holds the microphone - it sticks to the backplate by magnetic force through clothes.

.

Good info and discussion guys. Looks like the nametag/necklace combined with the milk carton square idea has the best promise for my application. I should be able to rig something up with that concept.

I had 3 different people in a row on Monday. All with different types collars. The girl had a pullover flimsy thing with a floppy neck line. That was the biggest challenge. I abandoned the lapel mic channel with her due to the flopping around of the mic, which after her flippin around of her hair was pointed straight down at the end, and used my NTG2 (which I use for a backup) that was pointed right at her.

With my own necklace rig, I could have much more control over the mic no matter what clothing they wear. Quick connect as they take breaks sometimes. That's what I'm after. Controlling my own destiny.

Thanks, good discussion
GLB

I still don't know why your fastening the mic to the collar in the first place. That's just not the optimum position ... mechanical stability aside, it's going to be too high in the throat. Make a fist and place it on the sternum with your thumb touching the base of your throat under the Adam's Apple. Your pinky finger will fall at the level where the lav should be positioned, clipped either to the button placket, to a necktie, or to the lapel if the talent is wearing a suit jacket. In other words, where a vertical line drawn down the centre of the chest crosses the nipple line

You're in a perfect world Steve. The one I inhabit is not perfect. Like when the girl comes in with the type of blouse that I have been describing. There's no buttons and no collar. It just flops all over the place. Theres this part that "looked" like a collar and thats where I clipped it.
I wasn't about to pinch a bunch of her blouse up and clip it it the "perfect" location. I am just looking for someplace that wont fall off,,,, at that point. Which really led me up to this post for help.
I'd like to NOT depend on anything but MY equipment for the correct placement.

I can clue you in on this about depositions. They people that hire me don't care about the perfect placement nor the perfect sound. (my conversations with the court reporters tell me they often don't even look at the videos when done. Its litigation and they settle)
They ALSO have the benefit of the typed transcript to follow along.
I'm no lawyer but my guess is that they may be looking for how the person reacts to certain types of questions from a visual sense and use video to make them nervous.. Again, I really don't know. I just do this for a hobby and happen to get paid.


ANYHOW !!!! I get your point. I'm all about getting the best sound.!!!! That's why I lurk on this forum... Been reading it for years... I hardly ask a question because you guys usually have it covered almost each time I read here. LOL

Thanks again,
GLB

Gary,
I'm just asking this because I don't know since I've done a grand total of 1 depo in my life and that had to be about 15 years ago but would it be possible to use a boom mic say a hypercaroid over the subject rather than a lav?
Just curious.

That's the way I like to go for sit down interviews. Hypercardioid on a boom pole, mounted to a c-stand, and positioned properly above the speaker. No worries with that setup.

This is only me talking. I have a total of maybe 15 depos under my belt so I'm not an expert, just accomplished. And from what the court reporters tell me, the most professional in my area. Although I don't know how.

It could be because I try to make as little an impact on the whole deal as I can. That means no tape changes and no battery changes. I tell the lawyer they can go until they want to stop. Of course my cards last about 3 hours on my HMC40 and they will always break before that.

IMO, a boom pole sitting there is an impact, especially for the deposed. I had one with me the other day and considered using it but I found a desk perfectly at the right level. I just don't want to intimidate the person answering the questions any more than the camera already is.
The deposed will usually forget about the lapel mic until they get up. HA. I use a AT831b lapel mic on the deposed. It sounds so good on the headphones when I;m sitting there.
I use a NTG2 (that mic is the bomb as you all well know) on a desk usually for the guy asking the questions. They tend to move around so much, back and forth, shuffling papers and when they take breaks, its easy to only manage the deposed on a lapel.
Then I use 2 other omni mics for the room. The other lawyers rarely say anything so I keep them turned down until they ask something, which is rare.

But I think the necklace DIY gizmo is going to be the ticket. I can get the 831b in the right location (like Steve says) EVERY time and with a quick snap, I can remove it.

I have another depo at the end of the month and I'll post a picture of the gizmo (not on the subject, of course) and let you guys know how it worked for me..

GLB

You're in a perfect world Steve. The one I inhabit is not perfect. Like when the girl comes in with the type of blouse that I have been describing. There's no buttons and no collar. It just flops all over the place.


The "perfect place" is tucked between the breasts inside the bra.

Any professional is well used to sound people delving in there - just be polite and let her do it herself if necessary, with your guidance.

The "perfect place" is tucked between the breasts inside the bra.

You mean like this? http://www.wallpapers4desktop.net/_ph/20/1/777342873.jpg

You mean like this? http://www.wallpapers4desktop.net/_ph/20/1/777342873.jpg Most effective job of hiding a mic I've ever seen! No matter how hard I look I can't see it. Where's IS that mic in the shot?

Now we know why it's called an "SM"58.

I thought that was a DD58...

Everybody talking about using a boom, "professionals" being used to mics placed under their clothing, and the like, need to read carefully that he is talking about legal depositions here, not sit-down interviews. All those points are valid for an interview, not so much for a depo. Having done hundreds, I can tell you no one will be happy if you try to boom anything. And most deponents and their attorneys would not be happy if you are putting your hands down their bra. Clipping it to the best spot available and using a bit of milk carton as someone suggested, or an old credit card (or one of the "fake" credit cards that some companies send you in their attempt to get you to apply for one), is about the best you can do.

Have fun!

Rob

I don't do deposition work personally, but if I did, I'd go out and buy an Anchor Audio Delegate 100 or even the cheaper version from someone else (I've seen similar units on the web for under $30!) and just stick it on the table in front of the deputee.

Problem totally solved. No complex rigging, everyone knows there's a mic there. The vocal quality would be clear as a bell and it can be instantly muted if any of the attorneys so require.

Sometimes I think people really over-solve simple stuff.

My 2 cents anyway.