To hide a lav mic under a shirt: tape the capsule to the skin in the center of the chest, facing up toward the mouth, with a small loop of cable underneath it for strain relief. Then keep the fabric off it. That last part is the entire job.
A lavalier microphone, a lav, is the small clip-on mic you see on everyone on television. It goes under clothing rather than on top for one plain reason: the frame looks better without hardware on somebody's chest. Outside the shirt is easier to make sound good. Inside it's what the picture wants.
I've done location sound full time since 2008, and wiring people up comes with almost every interview day. Corporate, commercial, documentary sit-downs: somebody has to get miked before anything gets recorded. When the wardrobe cooperates it's quick. When it doesn't, it isn't, and that lands on your schedule. And none of it starts with tape. It starts with asking.
What a lav is, and why it hides under the clothes
Start with the parts.
- Lavalier (lav): a tiny omnidirectional microphone, smaller than a shirt button, made to be worn on the body. Mine are Sanken COS-11s.
- Omnidirectional: it picks up evenly from every direction, so it doesn't need aiming at the mouth. It does need to be close to the mouth and away from anything that moves.
- Transmitter: the wireless bodypack the mic plugs into, riding in a back pocket, on a waistband, or taped at the small of the back. Mine are Sound Devices A20s.
- The mount: the tape, clip or pouch holding the capsule in place. Nobody talks about the mount. The mount decides everything.
Placement is the sternum, about a hand's width below the chin, on the center line. Higher is brighter and closer. Lower is duller and picks up chest rumble. Off to one side and the level swings every time the talent turns away.
Ask first, then say what you're about to do
Before any of the technical part, there's a step that isn't technical at all. I'm about to reach near a stranger's collar and stick something to their chest. So I ask, and I say out loud what's about to happen before it happens: where the mic goes, that it's medical tape, that the cable runs down inside the shirt to a small pack on the waistband. It takes one sentence.
Then I hand over the choice. Plenty of people would rather run the cable up under their own shirt and press the capsule on themselves, and that's completely fine. I give them the mic, tell them exactly where it needs to land, and step off while they do it. If someone would rather not have tape on skin, we find another way to mount it.With a minor, an adult responsible for them is present for it. Nobody gets wired by surprise, and nobody has to agree to being touched in order to be on camera.
This isn't just manners, though it's that too. Somebody who felt respected while they got miked is looser once you roll, and looser people give you better interviews. It costs you nothing and the room notices.
The mount is the whole job, not the mic
Mount an expensive capsule badly and nobody can use the track. Mount a modest lav well and it airs. The mic model is the least interesting decision here. The mounts that come up:
- Sticky triangle: the workhorse. A folded triangle of medical tape with the capsule inside the fold, taped flat to the skin so the mic head touches tape and nothing else.
- Vampire clip: two small pins that bite the back of the fabric from the inside, so the mic hangs behind the shirt with no tape on skin. It's the usual answer for anyone who'd rather not be taped. Tram clips are the durable ones, and I designed and sell a 3D-printed adapter, from $13, that pairs a Sanken COS-11 with Tram clips and most other Tram accessories.
- Under a placket or tie: the doubled fabric down a button-shirt front is stiffer and flaps less. Behind a tie is the quietest real estate on a suit.
- Pouch and strap mounts: small fabric holders that ride on a bra band, a waistband or the inside of a lapel. That's where you end up when there's nothing you can tape to.
Whatever the mount, the cable gets a loop under the capsule and a piece of tape lower down the ribs. The loop absorbs movement. Without it, every time the talent leans forward the cable drags the mic head sideways and you hear the tug.
Why it rustles, and why a collar mic dies on the first nod
Rustle isn't a defect in the microphone. Rustle is something touching the microphone that shouldn't be. The usual suspects:
- Fabric on the capsule: stiff synthetic material sliding across the mic head. Cotton whispers. Taffeta, nylon and crisp new dress shirts scrape.
- Cable tug: the cable is under tension somewhere, so ordinary movement drags the capsule against skin or cloth.
- Static: synthetic layers rubbing each other, giving crackles that sound like a bad connection and get blamed on the wireless.
- The chin: what kills collar mics. A collar-mounted mic sits in the most mobile part of the garment, under a chin that closes over it every time the talent nods or looks down at notes. Level drops, tone goes boxy, and it happens on the exact beats where they're agreeing with you.
Fabric doesn't move uniformly. A shirt is nearly still over the sternum and lively at the collar, shoulders and armholes. That's the real reason the mic lives mid-chest: not that it sounds best there, but that the clothing moves least there.
So I listen while they move, not while they sit still. Head turn, nod, look down at notes. Whatever would ruin the take shows up right away, while it's still cheap to fix.
The wardrobe conversation to have before anybody shows up
Most rustle gets decided hours before I meet the talent, in somebody's closet. If you're going to put one wardrobe note in the call email, put this in it:
- Best: soft cotton. Button-front shirts, t-shirts, knits, anything with give and a front opening.
- Risky: stiff synthetics, taffeta, starched dress shirts, nylon shells, puffers and rain jackets. If it crinkles when you crumple it in your hand, it'll crinkle on a microphone.
- Hard: turtlenecks, high collars, scarves. There's nothing to hide the mic behind and the fabric sits right on the throat.
- Leave off: long necklaces, badge lanyards, pendants, anything hanging over the sternum.
- Bring a backup top: a spare shirt in the car is cheap insurance, and wardrobe is the one problem on this list you can fix by changing clothes.
Two more notes. Lotion and sunscreen keep medical tape from sticking, and in Florida heat and humidity that's a real problem, so ask people to skip the chest. And a dress with no front opening is its own puzzle: the mount ends up on a bra band, a side seam or under a strap. Sort that out before the camera's rolling, not in front of a waiting crew.
What this means for your shoot
Budget the time. Somebody in a cotton button-down is quick. Complicated wardrobe takes longer, and so does anyone who's never been miked, because they get the explanation and the choice first. On a multi-person day that's the difference between starting on schedule and starting late.
When you book, text me the shoot details: how many people are on mic, what they'll be wearing if you know, and whether it's a sit-down or people on the move. That's enough for a same-day quote and enough for me to know what to bring. A corporate interview is usually a button-down, which is the easy case. A commercial shoot is whatever wardrobe picked, which is worth a call ahead.
A hidden lav also isn't the only mic on the shoot. Where the frame allows it, a boom overhead sounds better than anything taped to a chest, and having both beats choosing between them. That's part of what a location sound mixer handles on the day. The rest of the kit is on the gear page, along with the Lav Organizer, the $40 pouch I make that holds up to five lavs safely separated, with two external pockets for tape and a carabiner tab so it can hang off the outside of your bag.
Shooting in Florida and not sure what your talent should wear? Text me at 813-716-8826. It's a short conversation that saves a long one later.
Common questions
Where do you put a lav mic under a shirt?
On the breastbone, centered, roughly a hand below the chin, aimed up. Move it higher and the voice brightens but the chin starts getting in the way. Move it lower and you trade presence for chest rumble. Move it off-center and the level rises and falls as the head turns. The reason that spot wins is not tone, it's that a shirt barely moves there.
Why does my lav mic rustle?
Something is touching it. Almost always it's the garment itself dragging across the mic head, a cable pulling the capsule out of position, static between synthetic layers, or jewelry swinging over the chest. The microphone is rarely the culprit, which is why swapping mics almost never helps. Change the mount or change the shirt.
What should talent wear if they're going to be miked?
Something soft that opens down the front. Plain cotton is the safest thing anybody can put on. Trouble comes from stiff or slippery material, from anything that seals off the chest like a turtleneck or a scarf, and from anything that dangles and taps. Tell people to skip lotion and sunscreen on the chest as well, since tape won't hold on it. A change of clothes in the car covers whatever nobody thought of.
Do you ask before putting a mic on someone?
Always. I explain where the mic goes and what the cable is going to do before I touch anything, and anyone who'd rather place it themselves gets handed the capsule and given some privacy.With a minor, an adult responsible for them is present for it. Being on camera is uncomfortable enough without a stranger reaching under your collar unannounced.
Can you hide a lav mic on a dress with no buttons?
Yes. Without a front opening the mount moves to whatever the garment gives you: the band of a bra, a seam at the side, a shoulder strap, or a clip on fabric near the neckline rather than tape on skin. What changes is the time it takes and how much privacy the person needs, not whether it can be done. Mention the wardrobe when you book and I'll plan for it.
More: a 3D-printed adapter, from $13, that pairs a Sanken COS-11 with Tram clips · what a location sound mixer handles on the day · Florida heat and humidity · A corporate interview
