Sonic Stories: Rescopic Sound

Today we sit down with one of our field recordist and sound designers, Rescopic Sound, to ask them all about their favourite pieces of gear and interesting things they've captured from being out in the field. 

What recorder do you currently use most often for field recording, and what makes it a good fit for the way you work?

My first choice for field recording is almost always the Sony PCM-D100. I love it for its practicality, sound quality and build quality. The built-in microphones sound great, and the preamps are clean enough that I can trust it for a wide range of recordings without needing to carry a larger setup. It also feels incredibly well built, which is important when you're taking a recorder out into the field and don't want to worry about every little knock or bump.

I almost always have it with me in a small bag along with my Focal Listen Pro headphones, a Rycote Sony PCM-D100 Audio Kit, a compact Manfrotto tripod and a Bubblebee Industries wind cover. It's a simple and relatively lightweight setup, but it gives me everything I need to quickly record whenever I come across an interesting sound.

Are there any microphones in your kit that you originally bought for one purpose but now use for completely different types of recordings?

The LOM MikroUsi microphones are probably the best example. I originally bought them mainly for recording outdoor soundscapes, but I eventually found that they work extremely well for Foley when used in a proper recording booth. Their fast transient response is particularly useful for capturing the fine details of Foley performances, and their frequency response extends well into the ultrasonic range, above 30 kHz. It’s a great example of a microphone that I originally bought for one purpose but ended up using for something completely different.

How do you decide whether a sound should be captured up close or given more space and natural perspective?

It really depends on the sound itself and, most importantly, on how I or the end user are likely to use it in a project. If I’m recording a sound that needs to be very detailed, isolated and easy to manipulate, I’ll generally get in closer and try to minimise the influence of the surrounding environment. On the other hand, if the space is an important part of what makes the sound interesting, I’ll give it more distance and let the natural perspective and acoustics become part of the recording.

I always try to think beyond the recording itself and consider how useful and flexible the sound will be once it ends up in a project.

What’s one recording session where the environment ended up becoming just as important as the main sound you were trying to capture?

One recording that immediately comes to mind is a session I did high up in the mountains of Hydra, a Greek island where vehicles are not allowed and donkeys are still commonly used for transportation. I had found an incredible location with virtually no human activity and was quite far from any inhabited areas.

I was there primarily to record the morning calls of roosters, but the environment quickly became just as important as the birds themselves. Rather than trying to isolate the calls, I wanted to capture the natural reflections as they travelled across the mountains and bounced off the surrounding rocks and the area around a nearby animal shelter. I also kept the subtle rustling of the leaves, which added another layer to the atmosphere.

What made the recording even more useful was the time of year. It wasn’t summer, so there were no cicadas in the background. That meant the recording didn’t have such a strong “summer” sonic signature, giving it much more flexibility for use in different projects.

How do you approach recording repetitive sounds while still making sure each take has enough variation to be useful?

When recording repetitive sounds such as impacts or object destruction, I try not to rely only on changing the force of each take. Even small changes in the position of the object can make a noticeable difference, so I’ll often move the object slightly between takes. If that isn’t practical, I’ll vary the position and direction of my hands or whatever I’m using to perform the impact.

I also like to introduce different props and materials whenever possible. Adding a piece of fabric, another layer of wood or metal, or even changing the surface by adding some water can completely alter the character of an impact. These small variations give me a much wider range of sounds from what might otherwise be a very repetitive recording session, and ultimately make the library much more useful for sound designers.

What’s one type of sound you think every field recordist should spend time learning how to capture properly?

I would definitely say explosions. There are so many variables involved in recording them properly that getting a great result can be incredibly satisfying.

Where do I even start? There’s the equipment itself, often requiring several different microphones and microphone types, and then deciding where to place each one and at what distance. You also have to consider the environment you’re recording in, its physical limitations, and the natural characteristics of the terrain and surrounding area. Sometimes you may even want to position your microphones specifically to capture and emphasise how the sound interacts with the landscape.

And then there’s the post production. How you manage all the recordings you’ve captured, how you edit and process them, and how you bring everything together into a finished sound.

There’s so much to explore and learn when it comes to recording explosions, and it’s definitely something I’d love to dive into properly at some point.