Malthe Bjørn Jensen wants to eat a microphone. One of DPA’s d:screet 4061 Miniature Microphones, to be precise.
‘I’ve always been impressed by the big sound you get from these very small microphones,’ the Danish sound designer and film sound recordist says. ‘Their small size makes them very handy – I often use them on film sets to record sounds in places where a bigger microphone wouldn’t fit.
‘If I’m recording dialogue I work with the costume department to hide them in the actors’ costumes,’ he says. ‘I usually use DPA concealers and a piece of fake fur to eliminate rustle, but sometimes, if the costume is tight, I use Bubblebee Invisible Lavalier Covers because they work very well. It’s also useful that the microphone’s grid provides a boost in the high mid-range, which is ideal when you are positioning the mic in a costume that muffles the sound.’
The sound quality Jensen gets from DPA lavalier microphones is often a useful back-up on a film set, especially when shooting wideangle shots where you don’t want to see a boom: ‘I use a DPA d:dicate 4017B as my shotgun mic because it works really well with the d:screet 4061 Miniature mics,’ he explains. ‘The way the sound balances between the two means that I have less work to do in post. I love the sound of this microphone – and the fact that it is lightweight on the boom is handy if you haven’t been to the gym for a while! It is good for outdoor recording and for indoors where longer shotguns don’t fit under the ceiling or where they pick up too much reflection and do weird phase things. I’ve also used it to record sound effects, usually with it mounted on a stand.’
Currently based in Berlin and Copenhagen, Jensen is mainly involved in film sound – both production and post. He also composes music for advertising and records voice over projects. ‘There is a thriving short film scene in Denmark, with many of these films supported by the Danish Film Institute, Super 16 (a private alternative) and a few other smaller institutions,’ he says. ‘I’ve worked on various projects for the different institutions including Silent Night that was directed by Aske Bang, produced by M&M Productions and nominated for a 2017 Oscar in the Short Film (Live Action) category.’
Jensen recorded location audio, sound effects and Foley for Silent Night before moving on to another short film that was shot on location in the Norwegian mountains over the winter. ‘Because of all the snow and the remote location, I am hoping that it will be a very beautiful sounding and quiet film,’ he says.
With the sound for the Norwegian short film now in the can, Jensen is turning his attention to postproduction. ‘I’ve got few other projects that need editing, so I am quite busy,’ he says. ‘Once that’s done I shall be recording another short film using DPA microphones – and hopefully, after that, I’ll be working on something even bigger.’
Like eating a mic? Well, he is genuinely curious about the sounds he might capture if he swallowed one...
More: www.dpamicrophones.com
