The Colours of Great Sound Winners
During March 2020 we ran a competition in conjunction with DPA Microphones - The Colours of Great Sound - where we invited you to enter for a chance to win one of four DPA/BBI lavalier microphone kits, each worth over $1000.00. It was a colour-themed giveaway, with each box conforming to one of DPA's four colours available for their awesome 6060 Subminiature lav mic.
The competition has drawn to a close and we have, via a fairly careful process, split the entries into the four weeks of the competition and used a randomly selected number to draw each week's lucky winner. We have since been in contact with each winner and we're very happy to announce them as follows:
Week 1: Sarah Vanheukelom
Sarah hails from Antwerp, Belgium, and has been working in location sound there for the past 12 years ("paid") on jobs involving mostly tv-shows, documentaries, pod-casts and voice-over work. On the Belgium production sound scene, she says, "It’s a small world, but we produce very nice work that doesn’t go unnoticed. Would love to do more abroad though."
On winning this prize: "This is a very nice surprise during this hard time due to the Corona virus. I never win anything, hopefully I can use this prize quickly on a job."
Any advice? "Never give up, always be yourself and dream big. With hard work dreams do come true."
Week 2: Evan Spitzer
Evan is a documentary filmmaker, location sound mixer and post production editor from Portland, OR in the United States. He's experienced in documentaries, commercial shoots, and works on "a couple of podcasts" too. He also records as many soundscapes as he can during his free time.
He says: "This is a really amazing thing to find in my inbox, really so stoked to be able to upgrade my kit like this! I just started grabbing up Bubblebee products (and really love the results!) during the end of last year and have been figuring out just when to upgrade some DPA’s to my kit for a while now! So grateful for this!"
Any career tips to get going in sound? "Capturing sound for picture is not a jump to take lightly, there is a great investment you have to make and a real learning curve when dealing with clients and on-set life; but if you get that kick out of capturing the human voice and all the intricacies of the unique individual's personality that you are „throwing a lav on“ it can be extremely rewarding. I would recommend reading and listening to other mixers, there’s some great texts and podcasts out there. But the best advice is to roll the dice and email mixers in your area to grab coffee and chat. That is the best way to find out what the industry is like and make some new friends. And make many recordings, learn by living!"
Week 3: Pedro Moreira
Pedro hails from Vale de Cambra, Portugal. He works mostly in broadcast production, so Live TV; Broadcast documentaries; ENG news; corporate video and corporate events.
On his win, he says: "We started working with DPA microphones five years ago, and nowadays they our production standard equipment. Bubblebee is new for us, but it came from a brand (DPA) that we love, that is more than just a brand, it is a trusted partner in all of our productions. So a recommendation from a partner is the same as from a friend: you listen and you try it! And, probably, we have found a new partnership in Bubblebee Industries."
And his advice to people starting in a sound career: "NEVER, but never give up. If you want this life and career you must want to be the best and learn something new everyday."
Week 4: Sam Walker
Sam lives in Devon in the UK. He's been working in location sound for 3 years now, with a previous 7 in the broader sound engineering and musical branches. On what some of his main projects are, he comments, "Documentaries - I try to find work that is environmentally positive and aim to work on projects that will better the world in some way!"
On what it's like in his part of the world: "It’s a lovely part of the country down here - open fields, forests, rivers, and the sea are all within 5 minutes drive from my front door. It’s great for recording atmospheres!"
On winning the Colours of Great Sound: "It honestly means a great deal. I’m still a fledgling in the industry, and am constantly balancing between re-investing in myself as a business and keeping aside enough money to pay the bills.
Now having access to a microphone that I’ve been looking to upgrade mine to in the future means that I’m a good step closer to having my kit setup where I’d like it to be. And the Bubblebee accessories are a godsend - working in documentaries, I always offer to hide my lav mic’s and perhaps not surprisingly, everyone takes me up on it!
It’s really important to have the right bits to hide mics on a variety of wardrobes and ensure it’s all protected from the wind. I probably don’t need to tell those of you reading this from outside the UK that our weather isn’t known for being forgiving!"
Any useful tips gleaned from working in the field? "Buy good headphones, good studio monitors, and be nice!"
A note from all at Bubblebee
We feel overwhelmed by the energy surrounding this competition and would like to sincerely thank everyone who took part and especially DPA Microphones - without their positive collaborative spirit, this would not have been possible. So, THANK YOU!
We have exciting news about the BBIinthewild monthly competition: stay tuned...