Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

SOUND DESIGNER/COMPOSER WATSON WU TAKES A RIDE ON THE WILD SIDE TO CAPTURE EXTREME SOUND EFFECTS FOR

26/04/2018

DPA Microphones Keeps its Cool Under Harsh Filming Conditions for a Variety of Projects Including a Recent Mercedes-Benz Canada Commercial and Upcoming Video Game.

When the critically acclaimed action film, Baby Driver hit the big screen, audiences were treated to a buffet of heart pounding, in-your-face motor vehicle sound effects courtesy of Sound Designer/Composer Watson Wu. In order to capture the pristine vehicle sounds, Wu, long regarded as one of the industry leaders in field recording, relied on his trusted equipment from DPA Microphones. Since 2001, Wu has created award-winning audio content for video games, film, TV and ads.

For Baby Driver, Wu used two DPA d:screet 4061 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphones to record the cars' engine compartments and on-board sounds. Watson also used one d:dicate 4017B Shotgun Microphone for the external sounds of the cars.

On Baby Driver, I used the d:screet 4061 to capture full frequency and bold sounds, says Wu. The d:screet 4061 captures a lot of bottom ends, which gives that aggressive sound that I want. They can be extended to hundreds of feet long with the extension MicroDot cables. It is a fantastic microphone.

For the on-board sounds, Watson sat in the front passenger seat next to a professional driver with the microphones routed to his Sound Devices 788T-SSD recorder on his lap. The d:screet 4061's were mounted inside a Rycote Mini Windjammer and with the help of gaffers tape, they were strapped to the firewall allowing for the hood to be closed. Wu recorded up to eight sounds simultaneously, including the vehicle's stereo system, outside next to the exhaust pipes and passenger areas.

The tiny d:screet 4061's gave me a lot of bass response and high frequency that I needed, adds Wu. They kept performing despite the hot Atlanta summer weather and the hot engine compartment. My DPA mics were very consistent with the overall sounds throughout the multiple days of the recording sessions. We literally killed three cars with how hard we ran them but despite the heat and abuse, the DPA's kept working with no problems.

Wu was also thrilled with the sound he was able to capture with a DPA d:dicate 4017B mic. The d:dicate 4017B Shotgun mic is a very versatile microphone that is capable of capturing a wide range of levels, from the quietest whispers to the loudest of sounds while still maintaining a pleasantness to the ear, says Wu. A lot of other manufacturers' microphones have a nasty distortion that make you pull your head back, but the d:dicate 4017B delivers nice, bold and ear-pleasing sounds.

In addition to Baby Driver, Wu recently used his DPA mics on a commercial for Mercedes-Benz Canada titled, Hearing is Believing. The commercial, released in movie theaters and mixed in 9.1 Dolby Atmos, provided a 4D experience with sound being in the foreground. I was hired to put mics inside and outside of a very high-end Mercedes-Benz AMG E63S, adds Wu. At over 600 horsepower, we recorded the car doing doughnuts, drifting, gripping and figure 8's. We used the d:screet 4061 in the engine, d:screet 4062 Miniature Omnidirectional Microphone by the wheels to capture skidding and burnouts, and the d:dicate 4017B to capture pass by sounds. The DPA mics really shined for the aggressive sound they wanted the audience to experience.

Wu is also currently working on a video game using DPA's new d:screet CORE 4061 Lavalier Microphone to capture on-board engine sounds. I used the d:screet CORE 4061 and the d:dicate e 4017B to capture tire sounds, says Wu. I rented an electric car and we mounted the mics outside. We drove over gravel, a bridge, grass and wet pavement. In the video game, you are hearing the sounds of the surface that you are driving over along with the engine and the exhaust. The DPA mics worked incredibly well. The d:dicate 4017B is such a light mic, it allowed me to suction cup and mount it onto the car. You can't do that with other mics. It's light enough and captures very focused and sweet sounds.

In addition to the unrivaled sound provided by DPA mics, Wu is also very happy with the customer service he receives. According to Wu, I love the support system from DPA. I know that the company will respond to whatever question or issue I have in a fast and professional manner. I can send the mics off to Colorado for a simple modification and receive them back very quickly. Being a mic junkie, I am always curious about what mics can do and for over a decade I have been very impressed with DPA. I'm a very rare, extreme effects guy. I need DPA for every vehicle-recording job I do. DPA mics are consistent in sound. I can even extend my DPA mics for very long lengths, as was the case with recording an 18-wheel semi for a video game and know that I am going to get the best recordings possible. Since I was a kid, I have loved sound. Sound is music to my ears and I get so excited when I use my DPA microphones.

Photo Credits: AJ Curle & Seth Johnson
LINK: https://www.dpamicrophones.com/news/sound-designer-composer-watson-wu-...
See more stories from dpa

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

16/04/2026

NAB 2026: Appear Announces X5 General Availability, XM Management Tool, and SIx300 Module

Appear ASA (OSE: APR) will announce three additions to its X Platform at NAB Sho...

16/04/2026

CentralCast Deploys Harmonic XOS Media Processor for Public Broadcasting

Harmonic has announced that CentralCast, a centralized master control facility for U.S. public media, has deployed Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor t...

16/04/2026

NAB 2026: Encompass Digital Media Integrates Interra Systems BATON into Cloud-Based Altitude Flow Platform

Interra Systems has announced that Encompass Digital Media has integrated its BA...

16/04/2026

NAB 2026: Grass Valley to Showcase Expanded Media Infrastructure Capabilities

Grass Valley will demonstrate its Media Infrastructure capabilities at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C2408, Central Hall), bringing routing, signal processing, and orche...

16/04/2026

Verizon Readies Robust Network Infrastructure Plans for FIFA World Cup 2026

As preparations ramp up for the FIFA World Cup 2026, Verizon has outlined a sweeping connectivity and infrastructure initiative that will underpin broadcast ope...

16/04/2026

Advanced Image Robotics Joins 2026 MLS Innovation Lab

Advanced Image Robotics (AIR) has announced its selection for the 2026 MLS Innovation Lab. AIR will work with MLS clubs, players, and executives on automated vi...

16/04/2026

NAB 2026: JWX Acquires True Anthem, Adding AI-Powered Social Publishing to Publisher Platform

JWX has announced the acquisition of True Anthem, an AI-powered social publishin...

16/04/2026

Jomboy Media and Fubo Launch 24/7 Creator-Led Channel

Jomboy Media and FuboTV Inc. have launched the Jomboy Media Channel, a 24/7 channel available to FuboTV base plan subscribers. The channel, timed to the start o...

16/04/2026

NAB 2026: Wave Central and EVS Announce SMPTE ST 2110 Interoperability Validation

Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company (Booth C2820), and EVS Broadcast Equipmen...

16/04/2026

Tata Communications and Formula 1 Release Race Before the Race, First Film in New Content Series

Tata Communications and Formula 1 have released Race Before the Race, the firs...

16/04/2026

NAB 2026: DPA Microphones N-Series Firmware Update Adds Duplex Gap and Guard Band Access for North American Users

DPA Microphones has released a firmware update for its N-Series Digital Wireless...

16/04/2026

NAB 2026: See Sony's Live Stage Presentations at NAB Show 2026

Sony's Live Stage at NAB Show 2026 is the place to hear directly from the content creators, end users, and technology experts who are pushing boundaries in ...

16/04/2026

Perfect Game and Youth Prospects Announce Broadcast Rights and Content Partnership

Perfect Game and Youth Prospects have announced a partnership covering broadcast...

16/04/2026

National Collegiate Rugby Partners with All Womens Sports Network for 2026 National 7s Championships

National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) has announced a media rights partnership with Al...

16/04/2026

NAB 2026: Audio-Technica Introduces BP350ST-UB and BP350ST-UL Mid-Side Stereo Broadcast Microphones

Audio-Technica has announced two new mid-side (MS) stereo broadcast microphones:...

16/04/2026

NAB 2026: PSSI Global Services Acquires Beagle Networks

PSSI Global Services has announced the acquisition of Beagle Networks, a provider of IT infrastructure and onsite technical support for media and enterprise cus...

16/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Releases Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3

Blackmagic Design has released Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3, a free update available now from the Apple App Store. The update will be demonstrated at NAB Show ...

16/04/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: 4Wall Entertainment's Dave Caulwell on Scaling Live Event Production for Sports

As live sports production continues to expand across linear, digital, and in-ven...

16/04/2026

ESPN Enters First HDR Postseason With REMCO Support in New Bristol-Based Control Rooms

Part of an infrastructure upgrade, the recently constructed spaces accommodate n...

16/04/2026

NBC Sports Tips Off First NBA Playoffs Campaign in 23 Years With Six-Truck Fleet, Interchangeable Production Model

NBC has added NEP's Supershooter 11, which only just came online in time for...

16/04/2026

Introducing a Smarter, Smoother Experience for Tablets

At Spotify, we want your experience to feel intuitive and personal across every moment of the day. Whether you're streaming your favorite playlist while you...

16/04/2026

Telsie T - SonicWorlds extended classic German Equaliser

Vintage broadcast experts release second plug-in Telsie T is the second plug-in to be released by SonicWorld, a German audio company who specialise in servi...

16/04/2026

Softube unveil Flow Studio

Compact unit offers hands-on plug-in control Softube have just announced the launch of their latest hardware unit, the Flow Studio. Housed in a compact desk...

16/04/2026

Fiedler Audio release Armada

Use any VST3 plug-in on immersive audio Fiedler Audio have just released a powerful new plug-in wrapper that brings full VST3 processing to Dolby Atmos and ...

16/04/2026

Nugen Audio update Halo Vision

Analysis plug-in gains enhanced frequency readouts Nugen Audio's real-time analysis plug-in has just received a significant update that introduces some ...

16/04/2026

GearExpo UK Announced

Recording & Music Technology Show Sound On Sound are pleased to announce a new recording and music technology exhibition taking place in London on Saturday ...

16/04/2026

SBS reveals all-star alumni team to celebrate 70 years of the Eurovision Song Contest

SBS reveals all-star alumni team to celebrate 70 years of the Eurovision Song Co...

16/04/2026

Reimagining Earth Measurement for the AI Era: L3Harris and Xoople Develop a New Spaceborne Capability

For decades, understanding the physical world from space has required a trade-of...

16/04/2026

Locality and Nielsen Announce Landmark Integration of Media Data Engine, Transforming Local TV Measurement

The integration accelerates demographic audience delivery across local markets a...

16/04/2026

Quickplay Deploys Gray Medias New Streaming Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/04/2026

Spectrum TV App Launches On Google TV and Other Android TV Devices

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/04/2026

Telestream Enables Multi-Cloud Media Workflows with Oracl...

Telestream Cloud Services, including Vantage Cloud, UP, and SENTRY monitoring tools, are now optimized for OCI, powering flexible multi-cloud media orchestratio...

16/04/2026

Fox Corporation Names Amazon Web Services its Preferred A...

Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX; FOX or the Company ) today announced a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), naming AWS as its preferre...

16/04/2026

Triveni Digital Introduces New StreamScope Analyzer to Br...

Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting, and quality assurance solutions, today announced an ISDB-Tb capabilit...

16/04/2026

Synamedia and SoFast team up to accelerate FAST and OTT

Synamedia and SoFast announce strategic go-to-market partnership to accelerate FAST, pay-TV, and VOD At the NAB Show 2026, Synamedia and SoFast are announcing ...

16/04/2026

Imagine Builds on a Decade of ST 2110 Leadership at 2026...

Showcases New, Open-Standard IP Solutions Across Its Portfolio, From Production to Playout Imagine Communications is marking a decade of leadership in ST 2110 ...

16/04/2026

Roku Marks 100M Milestone

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/04/2026

Sportway and Broadcast Solutions acquire Studio Automated...

Sportway Media Group, a world leading AI-automated sports production company and Broadcast Solutions, a leading system integrator and provider of innovative sol...

16/04/2026

AJA to Acquire Video Encoding Software Company Comprimato

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/04/2026

NAB Show 2026: Sony Announces New Cameras, Virtual Production Tools

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/04/2026

Synamedia launches GO Shorts

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/04/2026

Clear-Com Introduces Arcadia and Eclipse HX Updates

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/04/2026

AJA Enters into Agreement to Acquire Video Encoding Software Company Comprimato

AJA Enters into Agreement to Acquire Video Encoding Software Company Comprimato Brie Clayton April 15, 2026 0 Comments Deal will expand AJA's video ...

16/04/2026

Deity Announces PR-4 Compact Field Recorder with Pre-Orders Launching April 14

Deity Announces PR-4 Compact Field Recorder with Pre-Orders Launching April 14 Brie Clayton April 15, 2026 0 Comments Deity Microphones today announce...