Secret Life of The Rainforest made by Electric Sky for Sky 3D presented many issues due to the humidity and the heat. One of the decisions he had to make was what kit would be appropriate and Stuart of course chose a ST450 Soundfield mic with a Sound Devices recorder.

Borra Colorado Island at the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research was where the production was based but this didn’t protect them from jungle life as Stuart found himself mixing from a hammock beneath his mosquito net!

The humidity getting into the mics was also a big issue combined with sweat from the scientists who were involved in the project so mic positioning and constant kit maintenance was key to success.

Asked about the results Stuart commented:

“I’d wake up and get marched into the jungle because I wanted to get some stunning surround tracks of the spider monkeys waking up. So I’m sitting in the pitch black on my own and I put the mic up where they’d said ‘the monkeys are above your head, they’ll wake up any time now.’ And I’m thinking, what noise am I expecting here? You’ve got no idea where to set your levels apart from ‘best guess’. It’s going to be noisy. How noisy? Alright, lock it, set your limiters at that just to contain it. I could hear the Howler monkeys in the distance coming round in two different troupes quite distant and then you start to hear the Spider monkeys above your head. It’s just one wake-up call. It’s a prehistoric sound and you see the limiters kicking in and you ride it as best you can. It was contained, it’s fine but it’s the first time I’ve recorded a Spider monkey waking up and I’m terrified. It was the most impressive sound I’ve ever recorded in my life.”

The article is definitely worth reading and goes into much detail about Stuart’s thoughts on which mics are best and his musings on how they could be improved.

So there you have it, we now know how to record quality sound in the jungle as well as up a mountain or at the north pole. I’ll keep my eye out for more profiles of professional sound recordists in unusual locations.
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According to commentator, Martin Brundle:

“Formula 1 in Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound is seriously impressive, it’s so much closer to the real experience from inside the cockpit or being at the side of the racetrack. It even picks up atmosphere from the crowd and I’m confident the viewer will notice a much greater intensity and spectacle.”

Sky’s Executive Producer for F1, Martin Turner, agrees:

“For the first time viewers can hear the drama of F1 as well as see it. The stunning HD pictures will now be matched by stunning Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio that will help take our viewers trackside. This is another example of us giving F1 the Sky Sports treatment and I know those that hear the coverage will be amazed by it.”

Martin Brundle’s co-commentator is David Croft, while expert analysis is provided by former World Champion Damon Hill, Anthony Davidson, Ted Kravitz and Natalie Pinkham. As well as the main coverage, via the Red Button, fans can access pictures from on-board cameras, go behind the scenes with the teams in the pits, and follow race data.

Tickets are only £12.50. A bargain, and a great way to spend a lunchtime.

It’s part of the ‘Live From The Criterion’ series of plays and we’ll try to keep you updated on future performances.

‘Artists Descending a Staircase’ is a murder mystery involving a trio of artists, one of whom dies from falling down a staircase. and is described as “a tale of recrimination, memory and love”.

Today’s cast:

Martello: Tim McInnerny
Beauchamp: Oliver Cotton
Donner: James Fleet
Young Martello: Ed Bennett
Young Beauchamp: Henry Lloyd-Hughes
Young Donner: James Northcote
Sophie: Katherine Parkinson

Director: Sam Hodges
Spot Stage Manager: Alison Mckenzie
Stage Manager: Damien Bouvier

If you’re able to attend – and I may try and get there myself – let us know if it achieves the desired effect … and how well the live Foley works, in particular!

“The radio loudness war in Norway is over! I’m happy to inform you that the DAB and DAB+ platforms in Norway as of today are loudness normalized! In a meeting at Lillehammer yesterday all Norwegian DAB/DAB+ content providers agreed to call off the loudness war and back down to a common target level.

“We are not at -23 LUFS yet, instead we chose -15 LUFS as a preliminary target level. The main reason for this choice is to match the levels between DAB/FM/WiFi in multiplatform receivers. The plan is to shut down FM in Norway in 2017. Then we can lower the target level to -23 LUFS, if not before.”

We’d like to congratulate Bjørn and NRK on their achievements.

Bjørn has been kind enough to allow us to post his email – bjorn.aarseth, and encourages you to contact him if you are interested in their developments.
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The session featured BSkyB’s Martin Black, Chris Pike from BBC R&D and Dolby’s Mark Pascoe, and focussed on how 3D audio will eventually be delivered into the home, and into our mobile devices, using binaural headphones.

Steve says “The aim of this research project is to explore the effects of creating a more realistic sound design for an animation using techniques employed in live action production and post production”. Click here to read more about Steve’s motivations and rationale.

To take part, click on this link, then follow the instructions on the page:
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SoundWorks Collection: The Sound of Hugo from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Another Soundworks Collection exclusive; Michael Coleman chats to the Oscar-nominated sound team of ‘Hugo’, including co-supervising sound editor Philip Stockton, co-supervising sound editor Eugene Gearty, and re-recording mixer Tom Fleischman at Technicolor Sound at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.

The novel on which the film is based, ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ by Brian Selznick, is about an orphan boy, Hugo (Asa Butterfield), who lives in a Parisian train station with his drunken uncle after his museum worker father dies in a fire. Hugo is taught how to wind the station clocks. When his uncle disappears, Hugo takes on the job on his own, and hopes he won’t be found out.

As a side project, using parts stolen from a toy shop located on the station, he continues to re-build a mechanical man, a project he began with his father. The toy shop owner Georges (Ben Kingley) catches him stealing and threatens to hand him over to the police (in the shape of Sasha Baron Cohen). His friendship with Georges’ god daughter is his salvation – keeping him out of the orphanage, and bringing him closer to the last part he needs to make the mechanical man work again.
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Looking at the seminar programme at BVE this year, we’re delighted to see there’s a dedicated Audio Room, and here are a few of our highlights from what’s on offer …

• Weds, 15 Feb – 15.00 – friend of the Calrec Community Peter Schillebeeckx of Soundfield presents ‘Stereo to 5.1 Upmixed’
• Thurs 16 Feb, 11.00 – Peter’s back, and this time he’s brought Chris Pike, BBC R & D; John Dollin, BSkyB and Mark Pascoe, Dolby with him for ‘Immersive audio systems explored – Sound for 3D ‘  
• Thurs 16 Feb – 13.00 – ‘Monitor set up for critical listening’ with Dr Nick Zacharov, R & D Director, Genelec

Given the current weather conditions in the UK, and let’s hope it’s not too cold and inhospitable in West London next week, perhaps the most appealing of all the sessions is freelance cameraman/Director Phil Coates’ session ‘Recording Sound In Extreme Locations’ (Weds, 15 Feb, 13.00).
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“responsible for “envisioning” the role of audio in [a] particular product. In the case of Forza Motorsport, it was to produce sounds that were impactful and accurate while providing optimal cues to enhance game play. Greg communicates the “audio vision” to his team and ensures that the audio produced and delivered for the product will meet those three fundamentals.”

Tim Prebble, of Music of Sound blog fame, spotted Greg’s seven field recording tips and asked his readers to offer theirs.

[By the way, I got this via the sound-design-film-music-daily, and it's about time we returned the favour to Lionel Tilmont. He's ALWAYS re-publishing our stuff. Cheers, Lionel!]

But, back to Greg for a moment. On his blog, he writes:

I could probably write an entire book just on recording tips but here’s a few that quickly come to mind. Some might seem simple or obvious but they help a lot

1. When recording in the field I have found that Gaffers tape and zip ties are as important as any microphone you might have. I never leave home without them
2. When in doubt and if you are not channel or track limited just add another mic
3. Always slate every take
4. If you’re scheduled to meet with someone, always get there early. You need setup time, get lost time, and time to review the environment
5. Be aware of your surroundings always. Many times recording can be dangerous
6. If possible mix tight mic’ing with distant mic’ing
7. Always always always listen to what you are recording when you are recording it

So, to follow on from Greg’s tips and to help Tim compile his list, what would you add? If you leave your comments and suggestions here, we’ll pass them on, but do also supply them directly to him if you have the time.
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