Sound Devices captures audio for Nat Geo

In order to record audio for War Elephants, Mr Ruddick joined Dr Joyce Poole, an elephant behavior expert, and her brother Bob Poole, a wildlife cameraman for National Geographic. For the documentary, Mr Poole rebuilt a Land Rover and made an ‘elephant proof roll cage’. When Mr Ruddick arrived on location he found out that he would not be able to ride in the elephant-proof Land Rover. Instead, he would drive a second vehicle that would follow the Land Rover. The sound engineer set up the 552 in the passenger seat with two shark fin antennas attached to the wireless receivers and had transmitters on Dr and Mr Poole and plant mics in the car. The mix was then sent to the camera via a wireless link.

‘The film presented many obstacles for recording great dialogue,’ said Mr Ruddick.  ‘Relying on wireless transmission from the hero car to my vehicle and also sending a stereo mix to the camera, and driving at the same time could get very challenging. When we were filming elephants, we had to position the sound vehicle in just the right place to have good wireless range and be out of the shot, and leaving an escape route for the vehicle just in case we met a rogue elephant who wanted to smash the sound vehicle. I had a lot going on but having the 552 riding shotgun next to me made mixing and recording second nature. The 552 is built like a tank, sounds great and is always reliable in demanding situations, it didn’t miss a take.’

Another challenge Mr Ruddick faced was Mozambique’s extreme temperatures and terrain. ‘This was one of those jobs where sound equipment took a beating. We drove over 1,500km on incredibly bumpy roads, as well as driving down elephant paths so anything that was not well made fell apart. Temperatures were hot and dust was always a problem. The one piece of gear I could always count on was the 552. It never flinched.

‘There are many great features and qualities of the 552, but I really was impressed with just how fantastic it sounds,’ stated Mr Ruddick. ‘Being able to record nice clean ambient sound directly on the 552 was very liberating. Having a perfect back-up recording to synch dialogue when things went wrong changed my whole outlook on direct-to-camera wireless recording. The director on this shoot was adamant that he wanted my best mix recorded to camera. I did what he asked but I was glad I had the back-up recordings when I found out that the wireless link had issues. The National Geographic elephant shoot in Mozambique was a success. The Sound Devices team created an incredible piece of equipment. The 552 is amazing – in the world of documentary sound, it has no equal.’

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