MOBILE MICROPHONES

During your tour as a television broadcaster, you will use the following four basic types of mobile microphones: . Boom l Hand l Lavaliere l Wireless

Boom

The most flexible mobile microphone is one that is attached to a microphone boom. A boom, in its simplest form, is a hand-held pole to which a unidirectional microphone is attached. It permits quick and smooth movement of the microphone from spot to spot anywhere on the set. Most booms have a telescoping feature that allows the operator to extend or retract the microphone. Some booms have controls at the end so the operator can rotate the microphone for directional sound pickup.

Another advantage of the boom is its mobility on the set. The boom operator can move the entire boom assembly from location to location and follow sound sources without an interruption to sound pickup. The giraffe boom (fig. 14-20) is suited perfectly for this task.

Figure 14-21. - Hand microphone.

As a television boom operator, your primary responsibility is to keep the microphone as close to the sound source as possible without getting the microphone or its shadow in the picture. This requires coordination and anticipation. You must keep the microphone in front of the sound source, listen to the director's signals, watch camera movements, be aware of what lenses are in use, avoid undesirable boom shadows and anticipate the talent's movement - all at the same time.

Hand

The hand microphone (fig. 14-21) is used for many television productions, especially ENG shoots. A hand microphone is seen on camera, and therefore, it can be held very close to the sound source. It is especially useful amidst noisy surroundings, such as the flight line or the machine shop aboard ship. In such cases, good audio pickup is still achieved by holding a unidirectional microphone very close to whomever is speaking. A hand microphone is valuable in audience participation programs, such as Navy Relief and Combined Federal Campaign telethons.

Figure 14-22. - Lavaliere microphone.

Lavaliere

During reporter standups, newscasts, interviews and similar production applications, the lavaliere microphone (fig. 14-22) is more appropriate than the use of a hand microphone. Lavaliere microphones are small and unobtrusive. They are normally taped or clipped to an article of clothing on the talent's chest and are ideal when microphone concealment, individual mobility or the free use of hands is required.

Although concealment is an attractive option of the lavaliere microphone, you should not place it entirely under clothing. Clothing acts as a falter and any sound that penetrates the "filter" will be muffled when reproduced. Clothing rubbing against the microphone also can create crackling noises.

Some lavaliere microphones are termed dual redundancy, because there are actually two lavalieres hooked to the same clip (fig. 14-23). Only one microphone is live, but the other serves as a backup in case the primary microphone fails. For this reason, you should not connect both microphones to the same audio slider in the audio control room.

Wireless

The wireless microphone, as its name implies, works without cables. It is a standard lavaliere microphone connected to a battery-powered radio transmitter. The talent may clip the transmitter to his belt or conceal it under an article of clothing. A small antenna connected to the transmitter sends the audio signal on an FM frequency to the receiver in the audio control room. The signal is then fed to the audio switcher, who controls the input like any other sound source.

Be careful when you use wireless microphones because they may deliver unwanted audio from radio freqencies (RF) in the area. A wireless microphone receiver and transmitter are shown in figure 14-24.