11 Mics: use of clip mic for seated interview

This is often the preferred mic for single person operation, simply due to its size and weight. In an exceptionally noisy environment, it may be the only way to achieve intelligible results, by positioning the mic relatively close to the interviewee's mouth. However, there are several other factors to consider which may influence your choice.

Although their size and weight make them relatively easy to conceal, you'll frequently find that (a) clothing fabrics and fashions may not allow you to do so; and (b) people lacking in television experience may not appreciate the necessity of re-arranging their clothing to accommodate being ‘wired for sound’.

Fabrics and fashions

Many synthetic fabrics (especially Nylon) can produce an electrostatic charge, causing clicks and splats to be heard, especially if the fabric comes into contact with the capsule (e.g. should you attempt to conceal the mic underneath clothing). Shiny material can often be slippery as well, and cause the mic clip to slip or skew during the course of an interview. This may cause some variation in the sound, but in all probability the shifting mic will prove more of a visual distraction.

Clothing styles (apart from the fabric problem) can cause headaches with positioning the capsule. A T-shirt for example, forces you to place the capsule too close to the subject's mouth by clipping it on the neckline, unless you can use a pin/clip to position it further down the material. But doing so often pulls at the material, making it an ugly distraction.

Similarly, sweaters/jumpers, etc. may tempt you to place the mic in the optimum position, but not everyone likes you making holes in their (expensive designer-label) clothes using the pin! Various methods have been used to alleviate this problem, including taping the mic on the inside of the material (beware rustling!). Should you consult other recordists, you'll find that each and every one has his/her favourite design/make of clip mic (and accessories) that they use when the need for concealment arises. But even armed with every attachment under the sun in your kit bag, you often have to use all your expertise (and charm) to successfully employ a personal mic in these circumstances (see Making the interviewee comfortable, below).

Lapels are an ideal place to clip the mic (Figure 11.1) (ties as well, depending on the tie material, for those who wear them), and occasionally you'll hear it referred to as a lapel- or tie-mic. Since most of today's clip mics are black, dark clothing is a boon in helping to make them relatively unobtrusive. Nevertheless, you'll still have to put some thought into effectively concealing the cable, so that it won't appear in shot (e.g. poking out from behind the lapel) when the interviewee moves around whilst answering.

Also, if you do clip it to a lapel, beware the interviewee's natural movement, producing off-mic sound. Since the mic is so close to the sound source (the mouth) it's sensitive to an alteration in the distance from the source (see Section 2, Sound measurement; Inverse Square Law), the most obvious change being when they turn their head. In a 1+1 (one plus one), with the interviewee looking to one side of frame, clip the mic on the side they're facing, although be alert for the possibility that they may start looking around whilst speaking.

Figure 11.1 Black clip mic on lapel of dark jacket

If they do move their head and cause the level to vary, you must be ready, and preferably anticipate their movement, so that you can ride the gain in order to compensate. The closer the mic to the subject's mouth (especially in the case of it being clipped to the neck of their T-shirt) the more likely you are to have to constantly adjust the gain for subject movement.

Making the interviewee comfortable

Your first concern, having made the decision to use a clip mic, should be the care you take for the personal comfort of the interviewee. If they are unhappy wearing it, their reaction will show, and adversely affect the quality of the interview.

Experienced interviewees

Experienced interviewees will understand the constraints of the medium, and will almost certainly be wearing suitable clothes. They won't object to undressing in order to hide cables underneath shirts/blouses, or pin, clip or tape the mic capsule under sweaters/T-shirts and the like, or run cables down the leg of trousers/jeans, etc. Television professionals often have clothes altered to accommodate clip mics and cables, and may well have their own pouch to hold a radio mic transmitter.

They may well suggest how they prefer the mic placed, and if the result sounds satisfactory to you, it's an ideal solution. The well-prepared recordist will have many items in his/her kit bag to help conceal and control the position of both mic and cable (see Last word on cable concealment below). So many factors govern this aspect of using clip mics from clothing to climate and comfort that it's impossible to cover every conceivable combination and permutation you're likely to encounter. However, in order to provide some guidance, you'll find a list of the most useful items in Section 36, Equipment.

The thoughtful recordist will also have carried the mic and cable in his/her inside pocket if the weather is cold, so that the capsule and barrel connector are not cold to the touch!

Inexperienced interviewees

Inexperienced interviewees often need to be put at ease, which should be the director's/interviewer's principal task prior to recording. But the recordist must be sensitive to the atmosphere and/or rapport established with the interviewee, and must be able to act with tact and discretion.

For instance, you cannot expect people to remain motionless during an interview, and items of jewellery (necklaces, chains, pendants, etc,) can easily knock against the capsule, causing unwanted noise. But all too often, the interviewee has worn these very items to look their best, so you must be careful how you frame a request to remove them for the duration of the interview.

Probably the worst case scenario is being faced with a nervous contributor, especially of the opposite sex, and proceeding with the expectation that he/she will allow you to wrestle with their clothing and conceal a mic and cable (and transmitter, if radio mic) and then calmly proceed with a coherent interview. It is almost certainly asking the impossible, so on every job you should be prepared to rethink your approach at short notice and always have a ‘Plan B’ at the back of your mind.

Last word on clip mics

When they are used, it has too often become the norm to see them in shot. I personally dislike seeing mics in shot, as to me it is visually stating that this is a television interview. It not only destroys the illusion of intimacy the viewer may have achieved during a programme, but also ignores the ideal of invisible technique which we strive to achieve within our craft. If you can, take the time to at least make them unobtrusive; better still, conceal them if at all possible.

Last word on cable concealment

Everybody carries gaffer tape in their kit: it's the first line of ‘fix-it’ for every conceivable problem. However, do be careful if you use it to fasten/secure cables (from clip mics or earpieces) to clothing. The adhesive on gaffer tape suffers from a tendency to produce a sticky goo if it becomes wet or damp. This is exceptionally difficult to remove from any item/s with which it comes into contact, and if you think that there's any possibility that your contributor might perspire in the ‘heat of the moment’, for goodness’ sake, don't use gaffer!

The most useful ‘second line of defence’ in the war on errant cables is the use of safety pins. But as I've already mentioned, do be careful that you don't make too big or noticeable a hole in valuable garments, and be doubly careful that the cable doesn't pull at the pin/s when the subject moves. Should this happen, you're in danger of it causing too severe a strain on the material, followed by an embarrasing rip or tear (not to mention tears and tantrums). I know, I know, gaffer-taped cable simply pulls away from the material, you can't win ’em all!

Last word!

So, as you see, even in what appears to be a straightforward scenario of one person sitting and talking, there are a great many factors to be taken into consideration regarding the mic and its placement. And there's one vital element I've glossed over, the time factor. Too often this overrides all other considerations, and means having to work fast using the minimum of kit.

Mic placement for other subjects is considered in Sections 17, Single person operation: mic placement overview and static operation; 18, Single person operation: specific location scenarios; and 28, Sound recordist operation: multiple contributors.