Firstly, huge congratulations on winning April’s MyBBI Giveaway Competition. For anyone not already familiar with your work, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you started in the world of sound?
Thank you so much, I’m thrilled to have been chosen as the April MyBBI Giveaway winner!
My name is Johnnatan Arce, and I’m a sound designer, field mixer and audio engineer based in Costa Rica. My journey into sound started somewhat unexpectedly. I grew up in a very cinematographically environment, and it sparked my curiosity early on. I began by overwriting my dad’s magnetic tapes to record sounds that I liked, that's when I developed my love for field recording.
That experience captivated me. I loved the technical and creative ways to capture audio. From there, I went on to study Cinema at Universidad Veritas in Costa Rica, where I quickly discovered that sound design and field recording were a perfect blend of storytelling and technical craft. I liked composing with textures, layers, and atmosphere. Over the years, I’ve worked on a range of projects for local and international productions. I’m continually inspired by the creative, collaborative nature of the sound community, mentors, and colleagues that are always generous with knowledge and passionate about the work we do.
My name is Johnnatan Arce, and I’m a sound designer, field mixer and audio engineer based in Costa Rica. My journey into sound started somewhat unexpectedly. I grew up in a very cinematographically environment, and it sparked my curiosity early on. I began by overwriting my dad’s magnetic tapes to record sounds that I liked, that's when I developed my love for field recording.
That experience captivated me. I loved the technical and creative ways to capture audio. From there, I went on to study Cinema at Universidad Veritas in Costa Rica, where I quickly discovered that sound design and field recording were a perfect blend of storytelling and technical craft. I liked composing with textures, layers, and atmosphere. Over the years, I’ve worked on a range of projects for local and international productions. I’m continually inspired by the creative, collaborative nature of the sound community, mentors, and colleagues that are always generous with knowledge and passionate about the work we do.
You work as a sound mixer, boom operator, and sound designer/editor. How do these roles differ for you in terms of your approach to them and is there one you enjoy the most?
When you work in sound you have to be open minded, especially as these roles are very different from each other.
As a sound mixer, I approach it in a technical way where I am managing microphones, monitoring signals, actively listening to dialog or background noises, capturing ambiences and wild tracks to help provide a solid base for post-production.
As a boom operator, it’s a more physical role that requires a lot of stamina, following the action, ensuring that the mic stays out of frame, and memorising the actors blocking. It also requires a lot of communication with the sound mixers to work as a team.
And last but not least, as a sound designer, I approach this in a creative way. For me, it’s about creating atmospheres that support the visual narrative; it’s about designing sounds that aren’t from this world (weapons, spaceships, languages). But it also requires a technical side: clean dialogue, noise reduction, applying effects, placing sounds in the room, and so much more.
I enjoy field recording the most as I like to explore and listen to new places, manage microphone, mic up actors or objects, capture wild tracks and communicate with others. I also enjoy doing a lot of the field mixing where I have to check the levels and do frequency scans, as for me this is the most challenging. You’ll never know exactly what’s going to happen and you have to be prepared for everything.
You've done some work on live sound for interviews. What does your typical setup look like? How do you make sure you're capturing clean, natural dialogue in sometimes unpredictable locations?
My typical set up is very basic, because most of the time it’s a 2/3 person shoot. I have an Orca-OR 28 sound bag, that has a Sound Devices Mix Pre 6, 4 channel recorder in it with 2 Sony URX-P41D dual receivers, 3 UTX-B40 transmitters, with the ECM-V1BMP lav mics, and a Deity SPD1 power distribution.
Capturing clean sound is where Bubblebee Industries comes in. I always use these accessories to capture clean audio; The Spacer Bubble, The Lav Concealers, The Invisible Lav Covers Fur-Outdoor, and The Invisible Lav Tape which are tools that can't be missed in my setup. They are amazing. The Concealer minimises the clothing noise by creating a space between the capsule and the layer above it, plus you can stitch it into a costume or a T-Shirt. The tape is strong, reliable and it doesn’t create any type of allergies or rashes. The Fur Covers for outdoor filming are amazing as they stop the wind noise and are so easy to apply to clothes or to the skin.
As part of winning our monthly giveaway you chose to use your voucher on The Windbubble PROs and The Spacer Bubble, fantastic choices!
What was it that made you add these to your basket? How have you found them so far, and do you have any upcoming shoots where you think they'll be particularly useful?
What was it that made you add these to your basket? How have you found them so far, and do you have any upcoming shoots where you think they'll be particularly useful?
I like to record ambiences. For this I use a small setup with two mono Sony ECM-V1 lavs linked into the Sony UWPD recorder system to create a stereo pair. I then needed to look for windshields for this type of mic. After talking with colleagues, they let me borrow their Windbubble Pros and they worked fantastically, so it became my go-to option. As for the The Spacer Bubble, I was looking for wind protection that was light but robust, because I don’t really like using the conventional Zeppelin windshield due to its weight, and so far, The Spacer Bubble has been working great.
So far, I’ve found them very useful. I used The Windbubble Pros for a shoot in an amusement park with roller coasters. We had to mic the actors with one lav each, and in addition, we rigged some other lavs with The Windbubble Pros onto the roller coaster wagon as a plan B, in case the other lavs failed. In post, we discovered that the mics rigged to the cart actually captured the screams and the dialogue better than the Lavs the actors were wearing.
The Spacer Bubble has been my go-to since I got it. It’s lightweight and does a great job at stopping wind noise, and with the fur it’s unstoppable. I used it recently for a shoot on the beach where there was a lot of wind. I was a bit sceptical at first, but when I listened back, I had no words for how amazing it worked. I loved it. I have it in red so it’s more visible in case it enters the frame, and it looks amazing. It’s definitely a product I recommend.
Can you tell us about a particularly challenging production that you've worked on and how you overcame the challenge?
Absolutely, the roller coaster gig, for which I purchased The Windbubble PROs, was incredibly challenging, as I was tasked with capturing live audio during the actual ride in motion at an amusement park, reaching speeds of around 80 km/h (49.7 mph) while twisting and turning throughout the track.
The Challenges
Recording audio in such an extreme environment brought several obstacles:
- High-velocity wind noise & mechanical rumble - The speed for the train generated gale-force winds and intense rattling. The g-forces were so strong they even displaced gear and in one case, the battery inside a recorder was knocked loose mid-ride.
- Unpredictable performance conditions – There was no chance for retakes. Each ride was different, and we had to align timing with marketing requirements and the coaster’s schedule.
- Physical constraints - Securing mics and recorders into a cramped roller-coaster cabin was no easy task. We had to deal with vibrations while keeping gear operational under extreme motion.
The Solutions
- Multiple, secured recorder units - I used more gear than necessary, taping them down firmly and locking batteries and cables to prevent disruptions.
- Heavy-duty wind protection and shock isolation – Both the boom and lav mics were housed in robust blimps with thick windscreens like The Spacer Bubble and The Windbubble Pros. Gaffer tape and shock mounts were used to keep everything in place.
- Thorough pre-scouting and test rides - We rode the roller coaster in advance to identify quieter segments and to find microphone positions that balanced voice clarity with ride ambience.
- Onboard communication and signal monitoring - Headsets linked to base camp allowed me to adjust levels in real time to boost dialogue during quiet moments and reducing overload during loops or high wind zones. A backup recorder captured ambient layers separately.
The results
- Authentic, adrenaline-fuelled dialogue recorded at thrill-ride speed.
- Rich mechanical ambience preserved with layered voice over with real coaster energy.
- Zero retakes needed; production was finished in one capture session.
In the high-stake environments of an amusement park shoot, I physically and technically over prepare by packing enough gear to guard against any failure. I pack extra field recorders, batteries, windscreens, shock mounts, cables, even redundancy recorders. It’s also important to secure everything tightly in robust bags or carts to withstand vibration and rough movement. I plan for the worst and mic for the best. Putting each microphone in heavy-duty wind protection such as The Spacer Bubble and The Windbubble Pros is a must, and it’s important to create multiple recording paths so no single point of failure can compromise the capture.
I trust my ears, then back it up with scout runs to help me identify optimal mic placements and audio blind spots in the ride’s dynamic acoustics. This allows me to anticipate and mitigate issues before rolling tape. And above all, I stay agile, dynamically adjusting levels during live sessions and communicating in real time with ride-control, boom ops, and my mixer assistant to adapt to sudden wind gusts, crowd noise, or ride motion, to ensure a clean, usable track from a chaotic recording environment.
Is there a particular project or moment in your career that you're especially proud of or loved working on?
In 2024, I had the incredible privilege of serving as the sound engineer for the Castello Errante International Cinema Residency, held at Castello Orsini in Montenero Sabino a beautifully restored medieval village in Italy. This intensive, two-phase residency featured immersive workshops and the production of a short film, created by a diverse team from Italy, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, and beyond.
As the dedicated sound engineer, I was responsible for capturing clean, dynamic location audio in a 12th-century castle, setting balancing dialogue, ambient textures, and environmental effects, all under the pressure of a tight shooting schedule and unpredictable acoustics. Being selected for the sound department among international candidates was already a major honour.
This experience wasn’t just a career highlight, it reaffirmed my passion for location sound engineering, international collaboration, and creative problem-solving in extraordinary environments. It’s a project I’ll always look back on with pride.
What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone just starting out in the sound industry?
In sound‑field mixing, my mantra is “never stop trying, never stop creating” which isn’t just inspirational it’s the foundation of our craft.
You begin by physically and technically over preparing: packing every piece of gear, securing recorders, cables, and batteries. You plan for the worst but mic for the best, using heavy-duty wind protection, shock mounts, and multiple recording paths because “every mix is a new adventure, and within each challenge lies the opportunity for creativity”.
You trust your ears, then back it up with scouting runs to equip you with insights about acoustics and trouble spots so you can optimise placement before rolling tape.
And finally, you stay agile, adjusting levels in real time, collaborating closely with crew, and responding instantly to wind gusts, crowd noise, or equipment quirks. As Leo Fender famously said, “Never stop experimenting. You never know what you might discover” and that endless curiosity and resilience define every great sound‑field mixer’s journey.
