LOS ANGELES, AUGUST 12, 2019 – Award-winning and Emmy-nominated (OZARK Season 2), veteran Sound Mixer Felipe “Flip” Borrero, CAS, has experienced many audio challenges in his 40-plus-year career working on countless movies and television shows. But, there’s always a first for everything. The sound mixer was recently tasked with finding the right mic solution for the title character in the blockbuster film, Spider-Man: Homecoming, that would not only provide an ideal audio solution but would also conceal perfectly within the character’s costume and not be obstructed. Flip and his team found what they were looking for with DPA Microphones’ d:screet^™ 4161 Slim and Heavy Duty Omnidirectional Microphones.

“The Spider-Man costume was designed to tightly wrap around [lead actor] Tom Holland’s body and face, which made it very difficult to mic him,” Flip explains. “My sound utility for the project, Tyler Blythe, conducted diligent research and found the DPA d:screet 4161, which we integrated into Holland’s helmet. Strips of mole skin  were  used to tape  the cable of the microphone  down the side of the mask   into  his suit and attached to a tiny Lectrosonics SSM transmitter sitting in the small of his back. The result was fantastic. It is the most natural-sounding mic I’ve ever used and needed very little additional color.”

In addition to the d:screet 4161s used on the film, Flip relied on DPA’s d:sign^â„¢ 4098 Supercardioid Gooseneck Microphone for car mounts, the d:screet^â„¢ 4060 Slim  and the 4061 and 4071 Omnidirectional Miniature Microphones for a variety of audio circumstances.

“The DPA mics responded well in low-volume, whispering dialogue scenes and held their own in loud, screaming scenes, which sometimes coincided,” adds Flip. “In addition, I was pleasantly surprised with the dynamic range of the DPA mics. Based on this range, we knew we could rely on DPA to perform well in high-volume scenes.”

Flip chose DPA because, in today’s working set environment, it is becoming increasingly standard to use multiple cameras. According to Flip, “Today’s movies are shot like TV shows with many angles at the same time — both wide and tight — and no waiting. This forces the sound team to more heavily depend on wireless to get a decent audio track. If the wireless sounds good, then we just have to rely on a good mix. With DPA, the wireless mix is always outstanding — ‘waiting on sound’ is a thing of the past!”