Pro Moviemaker Autumn 2019

GEAR GROUP TEST

SMALLVICTORIES They might be tiny, but picking the right lavalier mic can add quality and versatility to your moviemaking. We tested seven big-name options to see which deserves your cash SIGNAL TO NOISE! WORDS KINGSLEY SINGLETON

L avalier or lav mics (often called clip, collar, lapel or tie mics) are a vital component of your filmmaking set-up, and have uses in almost all forms of production, whether it’s interviews, narration, events, documentary, drama or even music. The advantages that lav mics hold over using a shotgun mic – or, heaven forbid, your camera’s built-in stereo mic – are numerous. Aside from an obvious increase in quality over the latter, the clearest benefit is that a lav mic allows your subject to be recorded hands-free. That is to say, they don’t need to hold anything and can therefore look and move more naturally in shot. They’re also small enough to be inconspicuous, or completely hidden in clothing, and that also means they can be less off-putting for people who’re nervous presenting. Lav mics are normally clipped to clothing near the speaker’s mouth, like the collar, shirt or tie, and from there a cable can be taken directly into the camera or, more usually, into a wireless

transmitter or a small recorder. The cable therefore needs to be long enough to allow some flexibility, but needs to be kept tidy, out of shot and not move around, causing noise on the recording. Mics can also be taped to the subject, so they’re more easily hidden. What we’re testing and why We decided to look at lav mics from several different manufacturers,

testing the mics alone and not including products with transmitters or recorders. Why? Well, given that lav mics are a part of even the most basic filmmaking set-up, and used a lot, they’re both easy to break and easy to upgrade. If you have a recorder or transmitter, is there much to be gained from upgrading to one of these

options? Specifically, will it improve your video-making?

HOWWE DID THE TEST

All the mics were tested in controlled conditions both with and without a windshield to test their sensitivity and pickup range, as well as the quality of audio. The mics were positioned on a test subject on the placket of a shirt at 20cm from the mouth. The same passage was read into them at a consistent volume and distance, and from various angles to mimic the turning of the head during conversation. We also switched between recording with the mics facing up and inverted to test if pickup was impeded, since pointing the mic away from the mouth is a common method of removing noise from the subject’s breath. For the mics that came with a windshield, we mimicked windy conditions by pointing a fan from 1m at the subject as they read, as well as walking with them to test for poor fitting. Finally, we added some background noise to see how well the mics isolated voice and excluded ambience. Each was connected to a small digital recorder (Olympus LS-P4) with levels manually set to medium gain and producing 96kHz/24-bit WAV files. Mics were also assessed on any included accessories and on price.

PRO MOVIEMAKER AUTUMN 2019