Baylon Fonseca relies on Lectrosonics for award winning film sound
Published: ASIA
INDIA: Production mixer and sound designer Baylon Fonseca continues to utilise his inventory of Lectrosonics wireless equipment for his work in the Indian film production industry. Mr Fonseca recently won the National Award for ‘best production mix’ for his work on the film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and ‘best sound design’ and ‘best sound mixing’ for his work on the Hindi thriller Game, and states that this success would not have been possible without the use of his Lectrosonics equipment.
Presently, Mr Fonseca’s Lectrosonics inventory comprises SMQV, UM450, and UH400a transmitters, a Sixpack multi-channel wireless receiver system with two UDMS 230 UHF RF distributor units, and UCR411a receivers. He also uses T4 transmitters and R1a receivers for IFB purposes, augmented with SNA 600 dipole antennas and an RM remote for use with his SMQV transmitter.
‘The sound quality of this equipment is fantastic,’ declared Mr Fonseca. ‘I find that many actors love the SMQV for its compact, low, profile design that can be easily hidden in wardrobe. With the RM remote, I can adjust the SMQV’s audio input gain, operating frequency, lock and unlock the front panel controls, and control sleep mode on and off. This is tremendously helpful, and I am equally impressed with the range I get in difficult shooting situations.’
Mr Fonseca described how his Lectrosonics arsenal enabled him to get the best results on recent film projects: ‘Both Game and especially Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara have multiple scenes shot with actors in moving cars. With my Lectrosonics equipment, I never had to worry out about dropouts in the signal,’ he explained. ‘The fidelity of the dialogue captured by my set-up was awesome, and we used only actor mics in all these scenes. Also, when we shot the scenes at the San Fermin bull run for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, this was extremely difficult because of the nature of the scene and the vast crowds required for the shoot. However, with my Lectrosonics set-up, I was able to sneak out of sight and still capture all the dialogue and crowd sounds that you hear in the film.
‘Thanks to my Lectrosonics equipment, both Game and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara turned out fantastic,’ he asserts. ‘The films sound really good and I achieved everything we had set out to do. Numerous people have told me that Indian film sound has finally come of age and that it was every bit on par with elsewhere in the world. In my book, Lectrosonics is a winner!’ he enthused.