(Photos by Guy Corbishley except for Studio photo by Daren Bartlett.)
I recorded location sound out in Rio for this feature length documentary then returned to London to do the sound edit and mix from my own Studio. An installation with a 45 minute 5.1 field recording and music installation based around the film has been on tour round the Nike Stadiums in the build up to the World Cup, there have also been a few preview screenings of the feature before it gets wider distribution.
Bantam Films Website (Site for Cadencia Director Daren Bartlett and Producer Abigail Clarke)
Cadencia Installation Article (Newspaper distributed alongside Cadencia Sound/Visual installation that toured Nike Stadiums)
Below I’ve written a little on the location shoot and audio post process & thrown in some stereo versions of the surround ambient recordings I made on location to help bring it to life. Hope it entertains.
Documentary Crew at Rio Carniva Shootl
Here’s the crew, about to start shooting back stage at the Rio carnival for the ‘Cadencia’ feature doc. If you look at the monopod being held by the Director (Daren Bartlet) you can see we were using the latest generation of Canon cameras. They look like a stills camera but shoot in full HD. Guy Corbishley took this photo and all the other stills I have posted in the Cadencia Section. If you like his work you can contact him at <gydec@lineone.net>
The Canon cameras were great as we could get in amongst the crowds and people would act in a far more natural way. The main brief on this part of the shoot was not draw too much attention to yourself and keep moving, Primarily because we wanted to observe people and not simply have people playing to camera, secondly because having such a small camera allowed you to get into angles that would be extremely difficult with an over the shoulder number, and thirdly because while the vast majority of people were there to have a fantastic time- as with any other mass gathering in any country- there would always be the potential for someone turning up to steal what they could and disappear into the crowd. We had a tight schedule and couldn’t afford down time.
Wired for Sound (on right), John Mcmullin -Colourist/Online Editor is onLeft
In the picture above I have tiny microphones hidden in my hat so that I can record general ambiences without drawing too much attention to myself & a gun mic up my sleeve . Also radio mics and a small boom pole stashed away in my bag incase we want to pick out anything in particular or grab a few Vox Pops.
The film wasn’t just about the Carnival- the aim was to look at core elements of Brazillian culture and put them in a wider social and historical context. In the shot above I am recording the Roda de Caxias. I edited the sound on Darens previous feature ‘O Zelador‘ which gives the story of this particular group in far more depth. It felt strange to be amongst people I had only seen and heard in my Studio back in the UK.
Wheras O Zelador had been shot over many years, Cadencia was turned around end to end in a matter of weeks, so in instances like this it was simply a case of getting a briefing on what the director wanted , grabbing a taxi, setting levels on the fly and going for it. For a lot of the shoot I had to react very quickly to get the best recording of whatever I found in front of me. In this instance It was clear that I couldnt put a stand down as it would probably receive a flying kick from one of the capoeristas, also they were performing in a square surrounded by traffic, so I had selected a microphone that would record a 90 degree stereo angle around me, then a shot gun which I could use to pick whoevers turn it was to be the lead singer, record it in Left, Centre, Right and mix down/ master in post production. All things considered I was pretty happy with the results. I’ll need to make a few phone calls to check all is OK with the group but am hoping to make a CD demothat they can sell/distribute at their meetings and maybe post an audio clip on this blog as- silky Capoeira moves aside- they sing and play really well.
To the left is yours truly back in the UK doing the Mix and Sound Design in my studio. On most features I work as part of a larger team, but in this instance the turn around and nature of the shoot meant that I was in the best position to complete on schedule (I had recorded the sound and lots of wild tracks so was on top of where to find rushes.Vincent Watts– my usual partner in crime- had his hands full mixing the 45 minute sound installation using the sound I had recorded.
The microphones you can see in the foreground were set up to do foley- Daren wanted to heighten the drama in the film by contrasting the preparation for events (eg 10 months of costume preparation by Clovis groups- Rios very psychedelic version of clowns) with the vibrant recordings the events themselves; crowds at football matches, fireworks and massive PAs that make your fillings shake. When people gather in Brazil, there’s usually some kind of music playing in the background which made editing things pretty tough in places- in some instances I took sound props home with me (eg kites) and got clean recordings of them fluttering, or devised foley props of my own to stylise or heighten the sound when the film slipped into a dream state.
