Definition June 2023 - web

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE. BUBBLEBEE

BUBBLEBEE: THE MIC ACCESSORY COMPANY THAT’S BLOWING UP Solo filmmakers are turning to Bubblebee Industries’ versatile range of sound recording tools to help them capture awesome audio

with miniature DPA lavalier microphones to help capture interview footage. “When I’m shooting video, my motivating principle is to be as immersive and authentic as possible. I also want to do justice to my subject matter. The dignity of the person I am interviewing is really important to me and I want them to sound as rich and clear as possible.” Price uses Nikon Z 6 and Z 7II cameras in conjunction with a recorder. He also has a small Rode shotgun mic for his camera, as well as DPA 4060 lavalier microphones. “The Bubblebee concealers for my lav mics are absolutely magic and I haven’t found a quicker or more straightforward way of mic-ing someone,” he explains. “They are so simple and straightforward to use and the best thing I’ve found for reducing clothing rustle and vibrations. They are also a very robust way of fixing a mic to someone without it being visible.” In some areas of the world, using a lav mic can be difficult because it involves touching the subject and putting your hands inside their clothing. “Most men are OK about it, but I always get another woman to mic up my female interviewees,” Price says. “Mic-ing up a sweaty person or someone wearing a stiff,

FOR AWARD-WINNING photographer and filmmaker Tom Price, Bubblebee Industries’ accessories have proved to be a game changer, especially when working outside on location, contending with external factors such as wind noise, clothing rustle and unwanted ambient sounds. Price works for numerous NGOs and charities around the world covering social and environmental causes. He recently returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he was using Bubblebee concealers

waxy fabric can be difficult. People accept a degree of intrusion but sometimes it’s hard to get through layers of clothing and longer robes. Luckily Bubblebee has plenty of accessories to solve these problems, including, if all else fails, really strong tape. “No kidding, I once had to use this tape on someone because his chest was covered in thick, tightly curled chest hairs. Taking it off was awful. He was very macho about it, but the guy was nearly in tears!” Another Bubblebee product Price uses is the Windbubble, which fits over his lavalier mics and cuts out any wind noise. “I was recently filming in London,” he says. “The wind was howling, and the interviewee wanted to have it blowing at her, so her hair wasn’t in her face. I used a lav with Windbubble and the result was fantastic, despite the wind blowing directly onto it. You couldn’t hear it at all. It was a relief to have equipment I could trust.”

ON THE SCENE The Big Windbubble has made a real difference to sound recorded by Thomas Michelsen

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