Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504940
PRE-PRODUCTION The pre-production started at the very beginning of 2021. Our main concern was the radio mics, as we knew they would be a crucial part of the production sound, especially in the trench scenes. Dealing with radio mics in WWI movies is often very challenging for at least two reasons: 1) The costumes are usually very thick and have multiple layers, and 2) Soldiers have all kinds of straps, canteens, or gas masks where your lav mics should be. So, Lukas and I met with costume designer Lisy Christl and her team several times during pre-production to figure that out. We were able to find some good spots for the transmitters (Lectrosonics SMDWB), as well as the lav mics (DPA 4061/6061) without actually cutting into the costumes or sewing them in, so that was great. Then we moved onto the helmets. I knew right away we would need to put the radio mics in the helmets for several reasons. When shooting in the trenches, you can't always use the radio mics in the costumes, especially when the actors are laying on the ground, crawling, or even aiming with a rifle. Also, with the radio mic in the helmet, actors can move freely and turn their heads around without actually affecting the quality of the sound. And last but not least, there were some scenes where we had actors whispering and screaming in the same take, so having two different radio mics (with different sensitivity levels) was a necessity. We decided to put the radio mics in the helmets whenever we could. We also made little pouches that matched the color of the inside of the helmet to make it invisible in case the helmet fell off during the combat. All the lav mics were placed right on the edge and covered with mud, but this was a little tricky as you were working within a one-inch radius to make it sound right. If the lav mic was too far, you couldn't use it (as it would sound like talking in a bucket) and if it was too close, the camera would see it. However, Lukas did a really great job so we could use it all the time. In fact, we liked it so much we decided to put the radio mic into Katczinsky's fabric hat even for the scenes outside the trenches. In one of our last visits to the wardrobe, we noticed that all the actors and extras would be wearing During tests in the trenches Sound utility Lukas Kuchar testing signals in the trenches