just seeing frank skinner's opinionated... he's wearing a mic on each side of his jacket this is actually something pretty unusual and you don't see it often - what is the reasoning? couldn't they just have stuck it centrally on his shirt? sometimes you'll see a presenter wear a mic with two microphones on a single clip (like on question time), this looks much neater.
lso, and i've noticed this on many programmes, although not entirely consistent why do many presenters wear their mic with the pickup end pointing downwards? it logically makes more sense that it should be pointing upwards towards the presenters mouth, surely?
The direction of the mic makes no difference, as they are omnidirectional they'll pickup sound for all directions perfectly well. The upside down thing is to avoid the popping you can get form T's and P's with the movement of air.
As to double sided, I'm not sure of the setup, it could be because he had guests on each side of him? Often the mic will be on the side of the guest as that's the direction the presenter will most likely be looking/talking and thus gives better pickup.
The direction of the mic makes no difference, as they are omnidirectional they'll pickup sound for all directions perfectly well. The upside down thing is to avoid the popping you can get form T's and P's with the movement of air.
As to double sided, I'm not sure of the setup, it could be because he had guests on each side of him? Often the mic will be on the side of the guest as that's the direction the presenter will most likely be looking/talking and thus gives better pickup.
That's right but back-up mics are set as pairs on the same clip.
It helps keep voice consistant if say he turns from guest to audience as the nearest mic to the guest can get partially covered by a collar or something.
Wouldn't the sound supervisor need to be very careful if there's a mic on each side? I would have thought there may be phase issues if both are open at the same time? I can see the logic as it's usual to put the mic on the side to which the presenter will be facing during an interview but perhaps in this instance with guests on both sides there could be a mic in the middle on a shirt or tie or something? (I didn't see the show in question so no grief please if he wasn't wearing anything suitable!!)
One each side covers you for main and backup (particularly if there are no standbys) AND for situations where the person in question is talking in both directions. You wouldn't have both open at the same time - but would ride which you were using in some situations.
In other countries they are more likely to use head mounted mics (aka 'Madonna miss') in similar situations (general talk shows for instance) - where the mic is much closer to the mouth - but in the UK these are only really used in very noisy situations where having a mic much closer to the sound source reduces background noise.
As others have pointed out, most lapel mics are pretty omnidirectional, but mounting upside down avoids popping from explosive bursts of air hitting the mic directly. It can also reduce the issues of hair hitting the capsule if your presenter has long, straightened hair. (I've seen issues where strands of hair have gone right into the little holes in the mic and scratched the capsule inside - making a very loud noise - when the mic is not mounted upside down)
Wouldn't the sound supervisor need to be very careful if there's a mic on each side? I would have thought there may be phase issues if both are open at the same time? I can see the logic as it's usual to put the mic on the side to which the presenter will be facing during an interview but perhaps in this instance with guests on both sides there could be a mic in the middle on a shirt or tie or something? (I didn't see the show in question so no grief please if he wasn't wearing anything suitable!!)