Cutting the visuals to its soundtrack made Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver a must-see for both movie and audio fans. But alongside the eclectic choice of music, were motor vehicle sound effects that were essential to the driving sequences – the work of sound designer/composer Watson Wu.
Regularly creating award-winning audio content for video games, film, TV and ads, Wu chose two DPA d:screet 4061 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphones to record the cars’ engine compartments and onboard sounds for Baby Driver, along with a d:dicate 4017B Shotgun Microphone for the external sounds of the cars.
‘I used the d:screet 4061 to capture full frequency and bold sounds,’ he elaborates. ‘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 onboard sounds, Wu sat in the front passenger seat next to a professional driver with the microphones routed to a Sound Devices 788T-SSD recorder on his lap. The d:screet 4061s were mounted inside a Rycote Mini Windjammer and – with the help of gaffer tape – they were strapped to the firewall allowing for the bonnet to be closed. Wu recorded up to eight sounds simultaneously, including the vehicle’s stereo system, outside next to the exhaust and passenger areas.
‘The tiny d:screet 4061s gave me a lot of bass response and high frequency that I needed,’ Wu says. ‘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 DPA’s kept working with no problems.’
Wu was also thrilled with the sound he was able to capture with a DPA d:dicate 4017B mic: ‘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 says. ‘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.’
In addition to Baby Driver, Wu recently used his DPA mics on a commercial for Mercedes-Benz Canada titled, Hearing is Believing. The commercial, released in movie theatres and mixed in 9.1 Dolby Atmos, provided a 4D experience with sound being in the foreground. ‘I was hired to put mics inside and outside of a very high-end Mercedes-Benz AMG E63S,’ he says. ‘At over 600 horsepower, we recorded the car doing doughnuts, drifting, gripping and fig-8s. We used the d:screet 4061 in the engine, d:screet 4062 Miniature Omnidirectional Microphone by the wheels to capture skidding and burnouts, and the d:dicate 4017B to capture pass by sounds. The DPA mics really shined for the aggressive sound they wanted the audience to experience.’
Wu is also currently working on a video game using DPA’s new d:screet Core 4061 Lavalier Microphone to capture on-board engine so unds. ‘I used the Core 4061 and d:dicate 4017B to capture tire sounds,’ he confirms. ‘I rented an electric car and we mounted the mics outside. We drove over gravel, a bridge, grass and wet pavement. In the video game, you are hearing the sounds of the surface that you are driving over along with the engine and the exhaust. The DPA mics worked incredibly well. The d:dicate 4017B is such a light mic, it allowed me to suction cup and mount it onto the car. You can’t do that with other mics. It’s light enough and captures very focused and sweet sounds.
‘Since I was a kid, I have loved sound,’ he adds. ‘Sound is music to my ears, and I get so excited when I use my DPA microphones.’
More: www.dpamicrophones.com
