Formula Student Documentary

This was my first time working on a documentary as sound recordist and designer. I learnt how to operate with timecode and learnt to consider my impact on how comfortable a contributor is feeling.

I found working with the boom; while providing a richer, “in-the-space” feeling, distracted the contributors and tended to make them nervous. As part of my development on this set, I learnt that the top microphones on the cameras, while not providing the clearest dialogue recordings, still caught a good atmospheric audio. Using lavalier microphones, I could record a nice atmosphere without distracting the contributors.

Using lavs meant actuality shoots became easier to handle and I could focus on mixing the audio. This was key in situations where they tested the car, where I had to pay close attention to ensuring the recordings weren't distorted.

This project exposed me to working with minimal crew and the benefits of being open to helping. Due to this, I was able to sit in on story/picture edit sessions and film some of the actuality!