Hiding microphones is a two part problem:

Hiding a microphone is not enough: you have to hide the microphone and cable plus you have to hide the pack as well. Depending on the circumstances this can be pretty easy or can be quite the problem.

Then getting everything hidden isn’t enough. It also has to sound good and also not be buried in any noisy clothing. Getting a good sounding microphone placement is something that comes fairly easily with time, it’s often a daunting challenge for someone new to the task. In fact, it may take someone several months to be able to hide a microphone on an person and have it sound good most of the time, much less all of the time.

Hiding the pack

First is hiding the pack. To properly hide the pack you have to know where the camera is going to be pointing. If you’re not going to see below someone’s waist on camera or behind them all sorts of opportunities open up. You can put it in their pocket on their belt or just about anywhere on the lower half of their body. Things become a lot more difficult when an actor is going to be covered in wide and tight shots and they’re wearing challenging wardrobes. Take for instance a man wearing tight jeans or shorts. Or a woman wearing a mini skirt for a nightclub scene.

For the more difficult situations you’ll need a specially made velcro pouch that can be affixed to the actors body. There are some that clip to a bra. Others that wrap around an ankle or a thigh.

Hiding the mic

The most difficult part of hiding a mic isn’t hiding the mic itself but hiding it a way that sounds good and isn’t effected by noise made by the actors clothing. For example, hiding a lav mic in a shirt made from polyester or silk may get great dialog only to be spoiled by scratching sounds every time the actor moves. Where do you put the mic then? This is when you have to get creative. What else are they wearing? A jacket? The jacket is pretty close to the shirt so that may sound badly as well. Can you get wardrobe to treat the shirt? Maybe the actor is wearing a hat or eyeglasses.

Posted on: June 23, 2026, by : Jimmy Gilmore