PET PEEVE: Seeing the mic is acceptable for Youtube videos and journalism, but I don’t like seeing the lav – or even worse: the entire brick of a wireless mic – in documentary and narrative films. Seeing the mic takes me out of the story and reminds me there’s someone there recording.
But I’ll admit that hiding mic lavs comes with many problems. Rustling clothes, lavs that fall off when you least expect it, and another connection that adds another point of potential failure to the complex world of video production.
Thankfully, there are a handful of tools I’ve come to rely on over the years, and one I use and highly recommend is Bubblebee Lav Concealers – I have them for every lav mic I own. They add protection to your lav mic, decrease noise from transferring to the mic capsule, and add a bunch of attachment choices. You can quickly stick your lav to skin or clothes, clip, pin or sew them on. I’ve grown so accustomed to the ease and flexibility Bubblebee Lav Concealers afford that I haven’t ever used my Rode Lav II’s that came in my Rode Wireless Pro kit because I didn’t have a good way of concealing them. I’m glad to report Bubblebee has finally released a Lav Concealer custom fit for the Rode Lav II, so it’s time to open them up and add them to the arsenal!
Before we dive into the Bubblebee Mic Hiding Kit for the Rode Lav II, here are three tips for better lav concealment for everyone – regardless of brand or type
3 TIPS FOR BETTER LAV CONCEALMENT FOR EVERYONE
Everyone can use these three tips to discretely and securely hide your lav and get great documentary audio
- Use Fur – always! Fur isn’t just for outdoor use. I’ve found that plosives and clothing noise can creep in at the most unexpected time, so I always use a fur over my lav mics when possible. This helps in three ways: it decreases noise from rubbing clothes, decreases the chance of plosives from your talent speaking, and helps with wind noise too. Bubblebee furs have been the best I’ve used, and can be reused many times over (unless sweaty – then definitely don’t reuse!)
- Strain relief the lav mic with a loop and tape to prevent tugging off the lav and to reduce cable noise. I’ve used moleskin in the past, but I prefer KT Tape when hidden – it’s thinner and stretches with the skin better – and Bubbleblee Invisible Skin Tape when exposed (clear, matte finish can be covered with makeup).
- Use Alcohol wipes: One of my favourite spots to lav mic talent is near the sternum. But if your talent has sprayed perfume or cologne in that area, lav adhesives won’t want to stick (I found this out the hard way when a lav mic consistently fell off my talent even with the stickiest of tape). The solution? Politely ask your talent to discretely use an alcohol wipe to clean the area before attaching the lav. TIP: After wiping the area with alcohol, ensure the skin is dry before attaching the lav tape.
- BONUS tip: Monitor your audio – ALWAYS. If your job is to record audio with video, you owe it to your client (and yourself!) to monitor your audio at all times. I’ve had lavs fall off mid-shoot and even had a lav gone bad where its cable became an antenna for static while recording! None of this was visible to my eye, and if I hadn’t been monitoring the audio, I wouldn’t have known there was an issue.
Tip for Rode Lav II Owners:
Be mindful of the locking collar, as it’s not designed to be fool proof. The locking collar, which can be optionally removed, can seem locked when in reality the jack has not been inserted all the way, causing no or poor audio connection. The poor design also means you can accidently leave the locking collar on your transmitter, so make sure you test your lav II mic before starting to record or you might be in for an unpleasant surprise.
Why I love the Bubblebee Lav Concealer Kit
- Easy, fast and reliable way to protect and attach your Rode Lav II to talent. I leave my Rode Lav II cradled in the safety of my Bubblebee Lav Concealer and can quickly apply Lav Concealer Tape in seconds.
- Flexible methods of attaching: Use the included clip, sew or pin at any of the corner holes (pro tip: keeps it in place on bras), or use Lav Concealer Tape to stick directly onto skin or clothing.
- The Lav II Kit includes the Bubblebee Mic Accessories case. Previous to using this case, I had all my lav mic accessories in various ziplock bags. I’ve had clients mistake my ziplock bags for trash! An added bonus: when miking talent, the accessory pouch makes me more efficient and looks more professional too
- Comes in black or white: perfect for weddings and hiding in light or dark clothes.
Wrapping Up
These are just some of the techniques and tools that have helped me get consistently great-sounding dialogue from my lav mics. But I’m always listening (pun intended) for new and innovative ways, so let me know if you have any questions or what’s worked for you.
