Sound Devices and DPA on location for The Hangover Part II
Published: ASIA
THAILAND: Sound designer and supervisor Cameron Frankley and sound mixer John Fasal used a combination of Sound Devices 788T multi-track digital audio recorders and DPA 5100 mobile surround microphones to capture the ambient audio on location shoots in Bangkok for The Hangover Part II.
Mr Frankley and Mr Fasal relied on the equipment to record everything from the bustle of marketplaces to the sounds of cigarette boats and tuk-tuks for the comedy sequel’s audio.
The team constructed two sound rigs to cover different areas and aspects of the city simultaneously. These rigs included a 788T recorder, which used six channels for the handheld 5100 mic, with channels seven and eight reserved for MS shotgun mics – effectively recording eight channels at all times. The pair visited every location featured in the film, and had access to rooftops, basements, marketplaces and intersections. The rig allowed the team to walk into any environment with the DPA 5.1 mic on a boom pole, which they could either position low down into a street or raise it approximately 5m above a crowd if required.
‘As far as the run-and-gun technique or being out in an environment where you are acclimating to different events that are happening and you are adjusting your setup, this rig was by far the best set I have ever recorded with,’ said a clearly impressed Mr Frankley. ‘It allowed us to walk into really tight spaces and get in between things. At the end of the day, it worked out really well in post, as we had lots of useful material.’
‘When you are out in the field, you listen to your surroundings as if you are a microphone,’ explained Mr Fasal. ‘When using a surround mic, you have to situate yourself so you are getting useful material in as many places as possible. When you play back the tracks, you are basically back on location, in the moment.’
‘When you come back from recording in the field, you have a palette of all of these colours, and you are able to mix and match them and manipulate them to fit the picture and what the camera is doing,’ added Mr Frankley. ‘You get these different channels and pieces and then you can accentuate them to maximise the cinematic idea.’
Mr Frankley and Mr Fasal have previously used the combination of Sound Devices and DPA for the fourth film in the Terminator series; Terminator Salvation, and for the Warner Bros film Gangster Squad.