Hiding a Lavalier Mic

Today's lapel or "lav" mics are small and unobtrusive, but sometimes, you still need to hide one. There are plenty of shoot situations where hiding the lav is helpful, but where to put it? Fortunately, there are lots of options and, if you'll stick with us for a few minutes, you will know how to use 10 of the most popular locations. You'll need some gaffer's tape, some clear medical tape and maybe a safety pin or two. Get your tools together, and let's go hide a lav mic.

Polo shirts have that distinctive short row of two or three buttons. Where the opening stops is a great place to hide a lav mic. This works especially well on a dark shirt. Start by snaking the mic and cable underneath the shirt to the opening and then, with some gaffer's tape, secure the mic element in the bottom of the seam. You may not have room for the windscreen, but this location is a best-case scenario. The mic is positioned low enough for consistent levels and shouldn't sound muffled. If the shirt is dark, no one will ever see your handiwork.

While we're still thinking about shirts, have you ever considered hiding a lav mic in the talent's collar? Again, darker shirts work best, and this technique works best if you're shooting an interview or something where the talent's back won't show. Run the wire up the back of the shirt and, using gaffer's tape again, secure it at the back, under the collar. Next, run the mic around the side of the collar, placing it just inside the opening. Tape it down and call it good. You can usually hide the windscreen here too, so it will work outdoors in a breeze.

This method has some spy flair. Thick, dark glasses temples are currently in style, both in regular glasses and sunglasses. Why not hide the mic inside the temple? It almost becomes a headset mic this way. This technique works best with a couple of caveats. First, your talent needs hair to hide the cable. Second, if the talent is wearing regular glasses, you may want to shy away from extreme closeups. Regardless, you run the lav cable up over the ear and then tape the mic element inside the temple - make sure it is far enough forward to keep it from rubbing on the face.

Speaking of hair, did you know you can hide a mic in someone's hair? It's a tried and true theater technique and will work in some video situations too. Obviously, this requires some big hair and a very small mic, but this is a very unique way to hide a lav. Basically, you simply thread the mic through the hair, starting at the back and working your way up to the edge of the forehead. You need just enough hairline to hide the mic, but that's about it. Some bobby pins or barrettes will secure the cable and mic element.

All right, I know this one is a little racy, but it works. You should explain this technique and let the talent work it out in the dressing room. In its simplest form, you use clear medical tape to secure the mic in the cleavage, just out of sight. Some additional tape is used to route the cable to the beltpack. This works great on evening gowns and, if you watch closely, you can see this method in use during various awards shows. The alternative is to tape the mic to the bra in the cleavage area and then route the cable accordingly.