lavalier microphone to a female officiant

[Dror Levi]

I have a weeding next week that the ceremony will take place at the beach.
The problem is that the officiant is a female and I am not sure how to clip the microphone to her with the Zoom H1.
Any suggestions?

[Don Bloom]

I've mic'd a lot of females in my career and for the most part it's no different than micing a male EXCEPT I let THEM pull the mic up thru their blouse if thats where it's going. then I put the wireless body pak on their waistband of either the slacks or skirt they're wearing. If they have a officiants robe it easy some wear a jacket which also makes it easier. So it really just depends on what they're wearing.

[Brian Drysdale]

Any sound guys I've worked with get the female do any detailed work, dropping leads down their front etc.

[Travis Cossel]

My advice would be to let her clip the mic, stow the cable and attach the recorder ... with your direction. My other advice would be to not touch her in any way without her direct consent.

[Warren Kawamoto]

A lot of female officiants wear dresses that don't have pockets or waistbands. If she has longish hair, clip the recorder to the dress at the back of her neck, then run the wire to the front. You can hide the recorder under her hair. If she doesn't have long hair, you're screwed....lol

[Chris Harding]

Hi Don

Darn!!! there goes the little bit of fun that I used to have at weddings with female celebrants (that's what they are called here BTW) I actually did a Realty shoot with an agent yesterday and she had a dress on (no I didn't run the cable myself!!) There was seriously just nowhere to clip the transmitter...as long as the person doesn't mind, use their bra strap...it's secure and keeps the tramsmitter out of the way... That's the way Jerry Springer mics the young ladies on his show.

Chris

[Don Bloom]

Yep done that also. Or clipped to the back neckline of the dress and even had the transmitter (body pak) clipped to waistband of panties. Absolutley no where else to put it. I've not used a thigh holster but I know a lot of folks do and they swear by them. Whatever it takes!

O|O
\--/

[Philip Howells]

The other solution is to let your female second camera op do it. It avoids offending the ladies and pleases the men.

[Chris Harding]

Hey Philip

Of course that depends on whether you DO in fact have a female second shooter like you do!!

Funny, this morning I did a promo shoot for an Oven Cleaning company and the "housewife" in the movie (she was the one beside herself cos her oven was unusable) had to have a lav fitted....yep, she was in a dress too but luckily it had a little belt so the transmitter clipped (hung???) at the back. All worked OK and no-one was offended...I do usually ask if they would like to clip the lav on but this lady just said "Go ahead" .... Obviously in those cases you must be careful where your hands go...I would suspect that most talent would understand that you have to attach a mic and you are a professional and will do the job respectfully. Most of our celebrants have their own PA and mic but for the ones I have had to clip a mic and pack onto I have never had an issue... I think just ask "Would you like to clip this microphone right here???" That shows you don't want to touch without permission!!

Chris

[Philip Howells]

Chris, it was, of course, tongue in cheek but you know all my secrets! :)

More seriously, the most frequent concern all celebrants I've met have is whether there'll be any "interference" (I'm sure they use the term generally) between our mics and theirs.

That's why, despite my admiration for the BBC micing of the celebrants at the recent Royal wedding, I tend to mic my groom instead. It has the added advantage that it's closer to the couple who are the more likely of the three to speak quietly and, of course, occasionally we get those priceless remarks between the groom and best man as the bride arrives. Remember in the case of William and Kate we've had to rely on lip-readers to reveal what Harry is alleged to have said to his brother.

[Chris Harding]

Hey Philip

My only female celebrant who needed a mic had no PA and insisted on standing about 4 metres away from the bride and groom so I suggested a lav and she was happy to oblige luckily!!!

I really hate the celebrants who won't go near the B&G during the ceremony and have a PA system with two little 6" speakers that totally distort. I always hook up the groom and then ask the celebrant to run her system to make sure they don't interact...Our celebrants seem to settle for the MICPRO system which has a built-in player and two wireless channels and they are a long way from my frequencies. The only issue I have had in probably the last 10 years was an Anglican Church who's PA system made a "putta-putta-putta" noise as soon as my transmitter was on. Changing channels also never helped so I reverted to my standby Azden VHF mics which were perfect!!!

I'm doing a wedding on Saturday in Perth's main Cathederal and although the priest's PA is good the 60' high ceilings and almost all glass and marble interior give amazing echo...which my lav still picks up but not too badly. I don't think there is anything one can do about that except mic the priest and they don't like that!!! Catholic ceremonies also have the priest alone at the altar with this echoing audio while the bride and groom sit down....I try and ask them to deliver the homily from the lectern (which has my 2nd radio mic) but most refuse!!

Chris

[Philip Howells]

As you know Chris our clients complete a detailed client questionnaire and if they place a high priority on the homily we always point out - at the risk of swamping them with unnecessary technicalities - that if he is standing away from them or if the echo's very long, that the sound we get of that section will be poorer than the rest.

Then it's up to them. If they elect to retain it and decide afterwards they don't like it then it's a change to their specification and potentially chargeable. In reality we rarely if ever charge for a change like that ie one that clearly enhances our product but it does remind them that they've made some choices which have implications. It also allows us (if they're getting to be a pain in the castors), that we have cautioned them that any change might be charged.

[Paul R Johnson]

Professional sound people can put microphones on people professionally. There's no need for rigid rules, you just apply common sense. If the officiant is female and sensitive with perhaps a clear comfort zone, then you don't intrude - you just explain where something has to go and they will ask for assistance if necessary. Equally, others will simply hold their clothes out, or up and expect you to do it. Proper actors are so used to it, they don't even notice - but the key is making them comfortable. I usually have some small bags with around the waist tapes for when costume makes hiding the pack difficult. Bra straps can be ok when little movement is planned, but the packs do have a tendency to fall off! when arms are raised. Bags are also most useful when faced with sweaty people - some sweat so badly the packs get wet, and salt eats away circuit boards. Also check that your fitting is toilet proof. There is nothing worse than them going to the loo, forgetting they are miked up, drop their underwear and neatly plop the pack into the water! Had it happen many times over the years with ladies. I've helped thread a mic cable up on a nun, and found places to hide packs on people with virtually nothing on - just part of the job.

[Brian Drysdale]

As one recordist I know put it, we're like doctors getting on with the job.

[Chris Davis]

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

As one recordist I know put it, we're like doctors getting on with the job.

Or like TSA agents during an enhanced pat-down.