Wonderful interview about the Abbey Road Microphone Collection (UK)
Concealed / Lavalier Microphones
Microphones took a long time to be miniaturised. Sony’s first small cavalier microphone was the ECM-50 in 1969.
Before radio microphones, film and TV producers used wired microphones hidden on their performers, with wires (often) trailing out of a trouser leg or other out-of-shot costume.
Radio Microphones (under construction)
The use of radio microphones is now widespread across the theatre, film & event industries.
Their wide use is more recent than you may realise, however.
Use on Films:
Peter Handford, the sound recordist on Murder on the Orient Express (1974), shot at Elstree Studios, ‘pioneered the use of concealed radio microphones for feature film production’ (hidden in the furniture in the train carriages).
However, a concealed radio microphone was first used on My Fair Lady (1964) for Rex Harrison’s sung sequences, which was built-into his tie. The choreography and blocking of the scene made a wired lavalier microphone or boom microphone impossible, and the actor insisted that he would not mime to playback, as his performance was slightly different every time. The sound engineer on the project was George Groves who spoke about his work on the film
Groves said that Rex Harrison specifically asked for a radio microphone after seeing Sophia Loren giving a tour of Rome using a wireless microphone (1964 – see clip below)
Use in Theatre:
Became widespread in the 1980s due to the new technologically-advanced musicals where sound reinforcement was needed to beat the volume of the electronic instruments and rock instruments in the band.
This blog article has some great date references:
- First use of a body-worn radio microphone on Broadway was Anna Maria Alberghetti in ‘Carnival’ in 1961.
- The musical ‘The Grass Harp’ in 1970 was the last Broadway musical to use no body-worn radio microphones.
- Radio Mics were used on ‘Hello Dolly’ in 1971 with Ethel Merman.
- 1981: Dreamgirls (Broadway): 5 wireless mics swapped between cast members.
- 1982: Cats (Broadway): First Broadway production in which every cast member had an individual radio mic.
Use in Live Music Performance:
EDC (based in the UK) had a range of hand-held radio microphones available in 1979.
LSI: Digital Wireless Microphones (February 2017)
[External Website]
From Lighting & Sound International
More information coming soon
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