Sound Designer Uses DPA Microphones For 'Baby Driver' Shoot

Sound Designer/Composer Watson Wu has used DPA Microphones' equipment to provide a selection of sound effects for the critically acclaimed action film 'Baby Driver'.

Mr Wu used two DPA d:screet™ 4061 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphones to record the cars' engine compartments and on-board sounds. Watson also used one d:dictate™ 4017B Shotgun Microphone for the external sounds of the cars.

"On Baby Driver, I used the d:screet™ 4061 to capture full frequency and bold sounds," he said. "The d:screet™ 4061 captures a lot of bottom ends, which gives that aggressive sound that I want. They can be extended to hundreds of feet long with the extension MicroDot cables. It is a fantastic microphone."

For the on-board sounds, Mr Wu sat in the front passenger seat next to a professional driver with the microphones routed to his Sound Devices 788T-SSD recorder on his lap. The d:screet™ 4061s were mounted inside a Rycote® Mini Windjammer and with the help of gaffers tape, they were strapped to the firewall allowing for the hood to be closed. He recorded up to eight sounds simultaneously, including the vehicle's stereo system, outside next to the exhaust pipes and passenger areas. 

"The tiny d:screet™ 4061s gave me a lot of bass response and high frequency that I needed," added Mr Watson. "They kept performing despite the hot Atlanta summer weather and the hot engine compartment. My DPA mics were very consistent with the overall sounds throughout the multiple days of the recording sessions. We literally killed three cars with how hard we ran them but despite the heat and abuse, the DPAs kept working with no problems."

"The d:dicate™ 4017B Shotgun mic is a very versatile microphone that is capable of capturing a wide range of levels, from the quietest whispers to the loudest of sounds while still maintaining a pleasantness to the ear," he said. "A lot of other manufacturers' microphones have a nasty distortion that make you pull your head back, but the d:dicate 4017B delivers nice, bold and ear-pleasing sounds." 

He also recently used his DPA mics on a commercial for Mercedes-Benz® Canada titled, 'Hearing is Believing', and is currently working on a video game using DPA's new d:screet™ CORE 4061 Lavalier Microphone to capture on-board engine sounds.

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