Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

DPA MICROPHONES CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS WITH 14th ANNUAL CHRISTMAS AT DEPAUL SPECTACULAR

24/12/2020

Array of Microphones Deliver Total Transparency and Unrivaled Natural Sound for Virtual Performances Featuring School's Students, Faculty, Staff and Alumni.

DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in the United States, recently presented its 14th annual Christmas at DePaul holiday celebration as a virtual event. Long before the semester began, the school's administration knew it would need to make some big changes if the Christmas show was to safely go on during these unprecedented times. With some ingenuity and an assist from DPA Microphones, the school found a way to host the event virtually.

Leading into the school year, DePaul University's Director of Operations & Events, Melissa Grady, knew it was going to be hard to gauge what would be possible in a COVID world. We had to make the call very early that we were not going to have an in-person event this year, she says. The show's artistic director, Tony Peluso, and production manager, Jamie Davis, both alumni of DePaul, worked closely with the university to create a plan that would allow us to pre-record our show. While the show looks different than it has in the past, we were still able to use the exceptional talents of our students, faculty, staff and alumni while following COVID protocols to make Christmas at DePaul a reality this year. Dan Steinman, one of the professors in the University Sound Recording Technology Department, was instrumental in making the show a success.

To record and present this year's show, Steinman knew he was going to have to rely on different equipment and setups than previous years. Since the performers were recorded in their own separate dorm rooms, I needed microphones that didn't add any coloration and delivered an exceptionally natural sound, he says. As a professional audio engineer, I am very familiar with DPA's products and have used some of their 4011 mics for live and recorded applications in the past. I knew the DPA mics would be an excellent solution for this unique situation, and we deployed them for all of the strings, flute, and percussion instruments.

For the production, Steinman employed one DPA 4006 Omnidirectional Microphone on each double bass and the tympani; one 4011 Cardioid Microphone on each cello and the flute, as well as two on the harp; a 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid Microphone on the acoustic guitar; 4060 Miniature Omnidirectional Microphones on two violins and one viola; and two of the 4015 Wide Cardioid Microphones for percussion.

The DPA mics worked just as expected, adds Steinman. I selected the 4060s for the violins to minimize the accumulation of room tone when the string instruments are layered in multiple passes. I wanted the miniature mics to serve as a contact mic to ensure that the room didn't get in the way. I chose the 4006 for bass and tympani to achieve a more consistent sound, as well as for the double bass to reduce the potential for tone variation. No matter how often you tell students how to aim their instrument at a microphone, they re going to move. Also, the development of the

sound from the tympani and the double bass is a difficult thing to capture. The tympani with that 4006 sounds like you are in the room next to musician, I could not be happier with the way that recording turned out.

Part of the difficulty of recording the musicians stemmed from the need to utilize a vacant dormitory, where each musician had their own personal recording space and equipment setup. The dorm being a large concrete building and not exactly built to be a studio at least gave us one advantage in that every room sounded the same, explains Steinman. We had three days of recording instrumentals in the dorms, followed by about eight days of filming with the singers who sang to the pre-recorded music. For the instrumental recordings we used click-tracks along with the live audio mix, which everyone heard through their headphones, in addition to the live conductor providing cues for the musicians via a virtual platform.

Steinman was in one room and the conductor, Jeff Schweitzer, and arranger, Tom Matta, were each in their own rooms. We utilized audio talkbacks to ensure smooth communication between takes, adds Steinman. Aside from each musician having their own unique headphone mix, there was also a sound mix fed to the on-site production manager, Jamie Davis, and the director, Tony Peluso, who was based in Orlando via a high-quality audio stream.

In addition to the 15-scene Christmas at DePaul concert itself, the recorded production also includes filmed opening and closing remarks from the University's President and his wife, using 4060 miniature mics as lavaliers. A narration of the Christmas story by two of the University's theater students, which is weaved throughout the production, was captured by DePaul alum, Joe Hampton, using the 4060s and a DPA 4017 Shotgun Microphone with a wireless pack, to ensure social distancing. The 4060 and 4017 are very natural sounding in terms of voice capture, concludes Steinman.
LINK: https://www.dpamicrophones.com/news/dpa-microphones-celebrates-the-hol...
See more stories from dpa

Most recent headlines

26/11/2025

OpenDrives Bridges the Gap Between IT and Creatives with...

OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...

26/11/2025

Disguise to Showcase Future of Event Visuals at LDI 2025

Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...

26/11/2025

HighField AI Expands Global Channel Partner Network to Ac...

HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...

26/11/2025

Mono Streaming selects PlayBox Neo to manage English Prem...

As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...

26/11/2025

Bell Centre arena in Montreal elevates fan experience wit...

Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...

26/11/2025

Vizrt launches AI-powered advances for speed and accuracy...

Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...

26/11/2025

ITN Launches Low-Latency IP Control Room Powered by Teche...

ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...

26/11/2025

Ikegami Maintains Initiative in Broadcast Systems Develop...

Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...

26/11/2025

Fubo, NBCUniversal Trade Barbs in Carriage Dispute

Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....

26/11/2025

Global Sports Rights Spending to Top $78 Billion in 2030

LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...

26/11/2025

Vubiquity Earns AWS Media & Entertainment Competency Status

LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...

26/11/2025

Comcast Pays $1.5 Million to Settle FCC Data Breach Probe

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...

26/11/2025

Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List

Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...

25/11/2025

Tracy Bonareri Onchoke: Winner, Young Journalist Award 2025

Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, an investigative journalist from Kenya is the winner of the Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist Award 2025. The 26-year-old-sele...

25/11/2025

SVG All-Stars: Blayke Scheer, Senior Director, Creative Content, YES Network

SVG All-Stars: Blayke Scheer, Senior Director, Creative Content, YES NetworkThe Indiana alum has turned storytelling into an artform for more than two decadesBy...

25/11/2025

Op-Ed: With FCC's C-Band Auction on the Horizon, Broadcasters Need Proven, Cost-Effective Alternatives

Op-Ed: With FCC's C-Band Auction on the Horizon, Broadcasters Need Proven, C...

25/11/2025

Analysis: Is Baller League Really the Future of Sport?

Analysis: Is Baller League really the future of sport? By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:10 Print This Story With KSI on...

25/11/2025

Platinum Whitepaper: The Growth of Broadcast in the World of Major Large Scale Events with SOS Global

Platinum Whitepaper: The Growth of Broadcast in the World of Major Large Scale E...

25/11/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: SVG Women's Sports Workshop

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: SVG Women's Sports WorkshopBy Samantha Gabay Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:27 am Print This Story | Subscribe Story Highlig...

25/11/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CacheFly's Matt Levine on the Evolving Role of the CDN and Prioritizing Throughput

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CacheFly's Matt Levine on the Evolving Role of th...

25/11/2025

Peacock's EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast Levels Up on Thanksgiving With SkyCam as the Primary Angle and More Madden Elements

Peacock's EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast Levels Up on Thanksgiving With SkyCam as...

25/11/2025

Sauna Is an Intimate Exploration of Queer Love and Identity

Mathias Broe attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Sauna at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Fes...

25/11/2025

5 Reasons to Try Spotify Premium This Holiday Season

The best playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks bring a little extra magic to your daily routine. With new features and offerings, Spotify Premium delivers even mo...

25/11/2025

New Study Reveals Australians Love Discovering New Music

Comprehensive new research confirms what we already knew: Australian music fans love the quality, quantity, and access they have to new and local music on strea...

25/11/2025

Why Use a SIM Card With The SNYPER-5G

Applicable Products Objectives The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SN...

25/11/2025

Lionsgate and Nielsen expand partnership to deliver first-ever combined FAST channel and digital network measurement

Nielsen will now measure both Lionsgate's FAST channel MovieSphere and Movie...

25/11/2025

AP Switches to DaVinci Resolve Studio for Global News Production

FREMONT, Calif. Blackmagic Design said the Associated Press has completed the transition of its global video-editing platform to DaVinci Resolve Studio....

25/11/2025

Berklees Inaugural Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole Scholarship Awarded to Paris Pineyro

Berklees Inaugural Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole Scholarship Awarded to Paris P...

25/11/2025

Traditional TV Players Gained Viewers in October: Nielsen Gauge

NEW YORK NFL and college football coverage, the MLB postseason and the new fall broadcast-TV season contributed to major gains for traditional media companies a...

25/11/2025

Tower Products CEO Jim Veltrie to Retire Dec. 30

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. Tower Products, a manufacturer and distributor of pro video and audio equipment here, said President and CEO Jim Veltrie will retire from the c...

25/11/2025

Sinclair Makes Unsolicited Bid to Buy Scripps at $7 a Share

Following last week's disclosure that it had acquired a 8.2% stake in E.W. Scripps, Sinclair has filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission pr...

25/11/2025

VEON's QazCode and MeetKai Sign Agreement to Power National LLM Training and Local-Language Agentic Services Across VEON Markets

25 Nov 2025 VEON's QazCode and MeetKai Sign Agreement to Power National LLM...

25/11/2025

UKTV acquires three shows from Paramount Global Content Distribution for U, U&W and U&alibi

UKTV has acquired a high-profile slate of US dramas from Paramount Global Conten...

25/11/2025

Will Sharpe, Paul Bettany and Gabrielle Creevy star in a spectacular five-part event series Amadeus: Full Trailer Released

A symphony of genius, rivalry and vengeance, boldly reimagined from Peter Shaffe...

25/11/2025

Bradford Young named 2025 FilmLight Colour Awards Jury President'

Article courtesy of Cinematography World Read the article FilmLight has finalised the prestigious 2025 FilmLight Colour Awards jury and welcomed award-winning...

25/11/2025

Correccin de color en Chespirito: Sin Querer Queriendo

Article courtesy of Prensario Read the article La serie fue dirigida por Juli n de Tavira, Rodrigo Santos, y David Leche Ruiz, con direcci n de fotograf a a...

25/11/2025

Nosferatu,' Sinners,' The Studio' and Severance' Colourists Nominated for FilmLight Colour Awards

Article courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter Read the article The awards, celebr...

25/11/2025

Harbor rolls out Nara globally

Article courtesy of Televisual Read the article Already live in Los Angeles and rolling out in New York and London, Nara gives producers, colourists, conform ...

25/11/2025

ARTONE FILM integrates Baselight M

Article courtesy of Digital Media World Read the article ARTONE post-house in Tokyo is the first facility in Japan to integrate Baselight M, choosing its prec...

25/11/2025

Inside the Secret World of Hollywood's Master Colourists

Article courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter Read the article Once hidden in post-production suites, the artists who make movies and TV shows look the way they ...

25/11/2025

FilmLight Colour Awards The Winners

Article courtesy of Deadline Read the article The Brutalist' & Bad Bunny's Nuevayol' Music Video Among 2025 FilmLight Colour Award Winners - Cam...

25/11/2025

FLUX.2 Image Generation Models Now Released, Optimized for NVIDIA RTX GPUs

Black Forest Labs - the frontier AI research lab developing visual generative AI models - today released the FLUX.2 family of state-of-the-art image generation ...

24/11/2025

HBO's The Shuffle' Reveals Longtime Connection of Sports and Entertainment

HBO's The Shuffle' Reveals Longtime Connection of Sports and Entertainm...

24/11/2025

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Hiroshi Kiriyama, Sony Broadcast (and Industry) Technology Icon

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Hiroshi Kiriyama, Sony Broadcast (and Ind...

24/11/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: FIFA, NBC Olympics, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Netflix, NFL, NBA, MLB, USTA Power Dec. 16 Conversations

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: FIFA, NBC Olympics, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Netflix, NF...

24/11/2025

Case Study: YES Network Streamlines Broadcast Operations with Beam Dynamics

Case Study: YES Network Streamlines Broadcast Operations with Beam DynamicsBy SVG Staff Monday, November 24, 2025 - 11:18 am Print This Story | Subscribe ...

24/11/2025

Platinum White Paper: More of Everything: How Broadcasters are Changing Their Approach to Meet Rises in Consumer Demand with Calrec

Platinum White Paper: More of Everything: How Broadcasters are Changing Their Ap...

24/11/2025

Versant Media USA Sports President Matt Hong on How Versant Has Best of Both Worlds: a Start-Up Mentality and $7 Billion Revenues

Versant Media USA Sports President Matt Hong on How Versant Has Best of Both Wor...

24/11/2025

SVG Sit-Down: NABA Director-General Rebecca Hanson on How FCC's C-Band Auction Will Impact Broadcasters

SVG Sit-Down: NABA Director-General Rebecca Hanson on How FCC's C-Band Aucti...