Sound Designer and TPi Award-winning FOH Engineer, Phil Wright recently relied on SFL-supplied DPA Microphones to mic a 48-piece orchestra for Senbla’s stage rendition of Joker Live in Concert. The live performance was one of many productions put on by Senbla for the company’s ongoing “film in concert” series.
Joker Live in Concert is a two-hour long show featuring the orchestra playing alongside the full Joker film. Accompanying the orchestra is a series of sound effects, dialogue and unconventional instruments that cannot be brought on tour to play live and are instead electronically stemmed in.
Like the Joker film, Joker Live in Concert features thematic and audible highs and lows. Delivering audio at very orchestral and cinematic levels, the show reaches its loudest SPL at about 90dB, with the quietest passages going as low as 65 or 70dB. To account for the variety in instruments and decibels, Wright needed microphones that could capture pure, unaltered sound to keep the audio as accurate as possible at all times.
The orchestra plays an integral role in the immersive nature of Joker Live in Concert, performing to original scores composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir. While the orchestra is composed of the expected brass, woodwind and percussion sections, there are also more unconventional Eastern European instruments featured within the show.
To create a truly immersive experience for the audience, Wright, Guðnadóttir and Orchestrator Jeff Atmajian were tasked with crafting the perfect soundscape to match the film. Not only did these compositions need to line up audibly with the film, but they also had to be incorporated in the orchestra, requiring the team to effortlessly combine multiple sound components. Wright also built stems and produced all the midi files, punches and streamers to create a visual guide for Atmajian to keep himself and the orchestra in time with the film.
As a long-time user of DPA Microphones, Wright was familiar with the reliable clarity of the brand’s products. “I’ve always had DPA on strings, but it has been my dream to do a solely DPA show,” said Wright. “When SFL came to me asking what mics I wanted, I immediately suggested a full DPA specification.”
DPA mics were utilised throughout the orchestra, with the 4099 CORE Instrument Microphones being featured on nearly the entire strings section, with exception of the principal solo cello, which has a 4011-ES Compact Cardioid microphone. The woodwind section has a combination of 4011A and 4011E Cardioid Microphones, depending on which instrument they are in front of, while the percussion section is mainly composed of 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid microphones. The two outliers are the timpani, which utilises a pair of 4011 Cardioid microphones, and the orchestral big bass drum, which features a shock-mounted 4011 mic. 4015 Wide Cardioid microphones are also used for all the brass instruments.
“The inception of the CORE by DPA technology for the 4099 series has been amazing. Even when I had the original 4099s [and 4061s] on strings in the past, I always thought they were great. But then I put CORE 4099s on a string section and you’re aware that the distortion is that much lower, and they are sonically much purer. When it comes to mics on strings, DPA is an industry standard, the world over,” he explained.
Initial hesitations and skepticism held by some team members over whether a show solely composed of DPA mics could make a difference were quickly diminished. “Everybody who has heard the show has said that it’s great and there’s a significant uplift. We have always done a great job for the Senbla, but the DPAs have made Joker Live in Concert a next level experience compared to other shows.”
DPA’s 4099 CORE Instrument Microphones have been highly regarded since their release as a top choice for capturing instrument audio. “These renowned mics bring more clarity and detail across the entire dynamic audio range, perfect for the heavy strings section and variable volumes on Joker Live in Concert.” Beyond the 4099s, Wright was also blown away by the power of the 4011. “That mic is really special on a big orchestral bass drum,” he explained. “It smashes you in the chest, not even because it’s really loud, just because all that impulse really hits you, and the difference is so discernible.”
What began as a dream turned into a catalyst, with Wright convincing another production company to spec DPA after hearing the results for his work on Joker Live in Concert. An additional 50 4099 CORE Instrument Microphones were purchased for this job. “DPA really rose to the occasion, and they took care of delivery for a really excellent box of lovely mics. It feels amazing getting enormous cardboard boxes that say ‘DPA’ on them,” he remarked.
Having already toured and completed shows in the UK, Iceland, Dubai and Japan, the Joker, Live in Concert tour has been nothing short of a success. Composer Guðnadóttir’s original score for the Joker film won an Oscar for Best Original Score at the 92nd Annual Academy Awards in 2020, which can be heard during Joker Live in Concert. Senbla plans to continue touring and complete a full run through Europe, COVID-19 restraints allowing. Dates are to be determined, but will likely include shows in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and more.