You show up to your video gig, and create an amazing interview setup. But when your interviewee walks in the door, he’s wearing an extra-low, ultra-white V-neck shirt that would make Jude Law blush. Where are you going to put that damned lav mic?
We’ve covered nearly every trick in the book for hiding lavs, but here’s a new tutorial that shares a secret ingredient you might've never heard about: toupee tape.
As Sidney Diongzon explains, toupee tape is the softest and least irritating tape you can get to stick to human skin. Check out his video:
Here are a few takeaways from Sidney, plus a few tips about stuff he doesn’t mention.
Visible lav mics funk up suspension of disbelief
“It’s like seeing a fly on your TV when you’re watching a movie,” says Sidney. Word. We agree with you one-hundred-percent.
Obviously, there’s a time and place for everything, even having a big fat wind screen clipped to someone’s shirt. But if you want the audience to be immersed in the story with as few distractions as possible, go the extra mile and hide the mic! If you need more than this toupee tape tutorial, check out our other coverage on placing a lav mic.
What to do if toupee tape sticks to the shirt
Sidney does mention that the tape is pretty sticky, and can sometimes stick to your shirt. Ideally, the mic sticks to it, but not your shirt so it neither causes weird rubbing or attracts attention to where a mic has been stuck under your shirt. Make the mic invisible is the whole point, after all! The trick, in that case, is merely to rub the shirt against the tape a few times until the sticking stops.
Toupee tape is also called “men’s grooming tape”
And it’s spelled with two e’s! That was news to me, and you’ll need to know that when ordering online. Maybe some of you cosplay junkies already knew that.
What about the ladies?
Sidney is a dude and has no problem putting his tape mid-chest down his shirt. But please, don’t ask a lady to stick toupee tape between her boobs, you perverts! We recommend this tape perhaps stuck near the collar bone instead.
If you need a refresher on lav mics, check out of our other posts with all the essential tips on everything else you need to know.
Got any experience with toupee tape yourself? If you have tips or tricks, let us know.
Source: Sidney Diongzon
