# how do i hide mics on naked people?



## Harmz (May 5, 2009)

i'm running sound for the full monty, which for those of you who aren't familiar with the production, 6 men strip down to pretty much nothing. i was sitting in my first rehearsal tonight and suddenly it hit me...how am i going to hide mic packs on naked people? i haven't run into this problem yet and was wondering if anyone else knew of possible solutions. one idea that did come to mind is to put a nylon panty hose around the belt pack so it would match the flesh tone of the actors. feedback and comments would be greatly appreciated.


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## gafftaper (May 5, 2009)

Welcome to the Booth Harmz! I moved your question to the sound forum. The new member forum is a place to introduce yourself. Your question will get more attention in the sound forum. 

Again welcome. I'm sure the "noise boys" will love your question.


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## NickJones (May 5, 2009)

Don't they all keep there hat on? I'm just remembering the movie, could you hide the mic in the hat? If you have to use any other way it could spoil the effect.
Nick


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## mbenonis (May 5, 2009)

Right, either hide the mic in a hat, or if they don't wear a hat the whole time you may need to press for the guys to wear a wig. Short of that, there's not really a better place to put it.


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## loki (May 5, 2009)

A friend of mine worked on that show and they all had skin coloured body suits on, That worked for them (with the right lighting)

Just my 2 cents 

Loki


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## Chris15 (May 5, 2009)

mbenonis said:


> Right, either hide the mic in a hat, or if they don't wear a hat the whole time you may need to press for the guys to wear a wig. Short of that, there's not really a better place to put it.



Um Mike, care to enlighten us on how one best hides the pack in a wig? The mic element sure, but I'm lost as to how you'd hold the pack without it pulling the wig off through weight...


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## waynehoskins (May 5, 2009)

Chris15 said:


> I'm lost as to how you'd hold the pack without it pulling the wig off through weight...



It merely requires a rather liberal application of magic or The Force.

If they wear hats, I wonder, could you put the whole stinking thing in the hat -- Mke2, transmitter, and all? Do their hats stay on the whole time?


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## cprted (May 5, 2009)

Never actually done this show, but here are my thoughts. Clip the mic pack in the small of their back to a thin skintone fabric "belt" (for lack of a better term). Makeup artists should be able to make it dissapear fairly well. Place the mic itself above their forhead and then tape and makeup down their backs.

Its certainly doable. Best to sit down with the wardrobe and makeup departments asap.


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## Van (May 5, 2009)

Are they singing ? I thought in that scene they were just dancing, or is this one of those houses where you mic everyone straight play < no pun intended> or not. 

You could put the pack in their butt cheeks then tape the wire and cover it with makeup, But then you'd need really small transmitters, or really big actors, and honestly who'd want to see that ?


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## MircleWorker (May 5, 2009)

get clear mics and packs?


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## adude23 (May 5, 2009)

Just make sure you've miced the stage pretty well and get them to not wear mics for that scene. . . surely they can. . . project?. .. Hang on am i asking for too much there? 
What size venue have you got?
If fairly small, ask yourself if they need micing individually for that scene


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## jessamarie6 (May 5, 2009)

My costume designer continually pushed for the rectal mic pack...but in all seriousness we rigged it so that the packs fit into the hats for that scene (it'd be great if you had doubles so you don't have to rig backstage in 30 seconds between scenes. The way that it is usually choreographed the men keep their hats on until they are pretty much done singing. The only line they sing after that is the final "let it go", Which also occurs with the final reveal and the blinding of the audience with backlight, so no one is likely to notice the difference in sound quality.


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## mbenonis (May 5, 2009)

Chris15 said:


> Um Mike, care to enlighten us on how one best hides the pack in a wig? The mic element sure, but I'm lost as to how you'd hold the pack without it pulling the wig off through weight...



You'd need a small pack - like a SK5212, UR1M, or an SMa to pull it off. But, presumably you'd sew a small pouch into the bottom of the wig, and put the TX in there. Methinks it'd work best on wigs with longer hair in them. I will admit I've never had to do this myself.

Mike


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## jkowtko (May 6, 2009)

I paid the AMTSJ (San Jose) sound crew a visit when they did Full Monty. They used separate mic sets for the caps (captains hats), tucked the Tx into a pocket sewn into the underside of the top of the cap, and sewed a short piece of elastic across the underside of the brim to wrap and hold the mic element. Looked and worked great. Pockets, elastic cord, and basic sewing skills are your friends ...


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## Harmz (May 6, 2009)

thanks guys for all of your help. i talked with the director of the show today and he said that they are throwing their hats during the number so i very well can't have them trowing the mics with the hats. wigs are also not an option unfortunatly. i haden't thought of body suits but i will ask tomorrow about it. that's pretty clever. and i also asked about hiding the pack or the belt in a flesh tone nylon and that got shot down quick too. i'm working with tough people to please. i guess there were a few production meetings that i wasn't told about and they discussed and decided that i would just have to hang mics over the stage and the sound quality would just have to suffer. i really don't want to do that but unless i can convince them otherwise, i think it's pretty much my only option at this point. thanks again for your posts.


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## Harmz (May 6, 2009)

Van said:


> Are they singing ? I thought in that scene they were just dancing, or is this one of those houses where you mic everyone straight play < no pun intended> or not.
> 
> You could put the pack in their butt cheeks then tape the wire and cover it with makeup, But then you'd need really small transmitters, or really big actors, and honestly who'd want to see that ?



it's actually funny that you mention this because the TD and i were joking about it earlier. "the packs already have condoms on them. just lube them up and give 'em a shove!". it would be a simple and i'm sure uncomfortable solution.


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## NickJones (May 6, 2009)

Van said:


> You could put the pack in their butt cheeks then tape the wire and cover it with makeup, But then you'd need really small transmitters, or really big actors, and honestly who'd want to see that ?


More to the point who would be faced with the job of micing them up? (Shudder)

Do they turn around in the performance, if not then just tape the mics to there backs?
Nick


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## CHACHI (May 6, 2009)

if they have shoes on then you can run the wire down the back of there leg to their shoe.. if its long enough. But other than that the hat or a wig would be the best idea. let me know how it works out.


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## Eboy87 (May 6, 2009)

*Disclaimer, I've never seen the show in question and have only skimmed the thread.*

If sound quality is not the priority in this situation, why not just use a combination of PCC160s and shotgun mics for the scene? Use the bodypacks for the rest of the show.


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## rcgtheater (May 6, 2009)

I ran across this question in another board. It was solved by the hat idea. the mic was attached to the brim of the hat, and the pack was put in the actual hat, sewn in, etc. the only time they aren't singing will be when the hats are down covering their 'good parts'


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## Andy_Leviss (May 8, 2009)

Somehow I managed to lose my post before posting it, but for the shorter version:

I was the A2 for the 2003-2004 national tour, and, as noted, the Broadway and touring productions all did indeed have transmitters and elements built into the hats. The element stuck just beyond the brim (to avoid the usual hat brim reflections), and the transmitter went in a pouch sewn into the top of the hat. They sounded great, even when the guys took the hats off to hold in their hands. (These had DPA elements on them, which are incredibly sensitive, FWIW.)

For "The Goods", we just used their regular elements, firmly taped up the guys' backs, since they didn't really turn around as much in that scene, and there wasn't really anywhere to better hide them there. It matters much more in the finale, since they're dancing much more exposed.


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## kiwitechgirl (May 9, 2009)

A local company did the show a couple of years back and the guys just went unmiced for the final scene - they had people singing backstage to cover it. It did mean a fairly quick de-micing, but they were wearing the mics on earhangers so it wasn't too tricky.


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## NickJones (May 9, 2009)

kiwitechgirl said:


> A local company did the show a couple of years back and the guys just went unmiced for the final scene - they had people singing backstage to cover it. It did mean a fairly quick de-micing, but they were wearing the mics on earhangers so it wasn't too tricky.



That's a really good idea, in the movie, they simply sing to a tape. So they can sing along, but it can be obvious that they aren't singing, unless its a musical. 
Nick


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## jkowtko (May 9, 2009)

Back to Jeremy's mention that the director wanted the caps thrown in the scene so the option of hiding mics in the caps was out --

It seems that in professional theater accomodations are made for sound. In the productions I've seen most of the actors have enough hair or wigs for you to safely hide mic cords. Rarely do you have a bald guy requiring over-the-ear mounts. And I don't ever remember seeing a guy with a buzz cut -- they seem to have a minimum hair length, or a wig. And special arrangements are made in props to hide mics. It seems like they "get" that fact that the available sound technology still requires some accomodation to produce the best audience experience, and there is more than enough flexibility to produce a show with an abundance of visual stimulation (costumes, wigs, props, set) as well as proper sound. 

In community theater I don't think they all quite "get it". Maybe it's because they're not charging an arm and a leg for an audience ticket so they don't care if the audience misses some of the dialogue. Or that we don't have sound unions in community theater to lay down the rules and ensure that the artistic crew clearly understands the issues involved and accomodations that are required. Or that because sound is probably the least tangible of the technical areas of the production, primarily because you can't see it, the directors don't think about it.

I have had to deal with tight costumes, short haircut, hats covering the hairline, and even set pieces built in front of the FOH speakers. Sometimes I would fight the issue and try to get things changed, but unfortunately it has been an uphill battle for me, so much of the time I just let it be and watch the production suffer. I think, as in any job where you don't control the situation, the least you should do is raise the issue, but sometimes that's the most you can do ... 

As for technology, the Sennheiser 5212 and Shure equivalent are getting smaller, but I certainly hope the mfgs keep reducing transmitter size. There's no reason why they should not be able to make Tx the size of a PCMCIA card or smaller, with flat Lithium batteries inside, and at a reasonable cost so everyone can afford them. Once we get there. mic mounting will be an order of magnitude easier ....


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## micros (May 9, 2009)

I suggest it might be worth considering dispensing with the radio mics for those scenes altogether, and mic the stage instead.


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## NickJones (May 10, 2009)

In the movie they dance to a tape, so speak to the director about ditching the micing idea, maybe have some singers onstage like in a workers club, I'm not sure how much it differs from the movie but I epect it is fairly simmilar.
Nick


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## Harmz (May 11, 2009)

i won the battle with the director and he changed his mind about the hats. i get to use them for the last scene. hooray! thank you all again for your posts and advice.


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## rdagit (May 15, 2009)

Wow, I'm enertianed by the answers....

As to answer your wig question, which I don't think is addressed... If you have small enough transmitters, the new shure's or the old senhizers come to mind, they are small enough that one can put under a sizeable wig, think donald trump's hair... then have the wardrobe crew pin that sucker down a bit and your golden, It does work, just not allow for good looking hair for guys....

With the hat, I think that if this is the case it'd be your easiest possiablility, but your going to probably have to deal with phasing issues by putting it there, not to mention that what happends when one of the actor's puts the hat on "backwards"... Though in your space, it may be enough to get by...

I would try to enforce the nude suit idea... or talk to the director and order skin color matching microphone wast holders and the same with the cable, and use a lot of tape/ get some tagaderm... it'll be needed... I think the suspension of disbelief would be enough in this case to get by for the audience to realize what's going on... People can handle the headset-like microphones without any problem...

If it comes down to it, and your in a good space, a set of shotguns will save ya... I might look into seeing if you can do a live-mix with shots to re-inforce instead of ampifly...


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