The sound of 'Ferrari' (Michael Mann) comes to life with Sennheiser microphones

Sound designer Chris Jojo chose wired and wireless microphones Sennheiser to capture the sound of 'Ferrari', Michael Mann's latest film.

British sound designer and sound engineer Chris Jojo has specialized in recording authentic cars for movies, simulators and games. For the filming of Ferrari, a film that was nominated for several sound design awards, used, among other microphones, the MD 421-II large diaphragm and AMBEO VR Mic from Sennheiser, as well as evolution plug-on wireless transmitters and receivers EC 6042 of the company.

The biographical film follows a crucial period in the career of Enzo Ferrari: when he was trying to turn his business and his life around on the eve of the 1957 Mille Miglia, a 1,000-mile endurance race on the open road. To capture the sound of so many historic vehicles, Jojo put all his know-how into this very specific line of work: "All the onboard microphones, harnesses and wiring I use are fire treated with custom covers and housings; with racing cars, especially with large displacement engines and high sound pressure levels, the amount of heat they can tolerate is quite high. For engines, I tend to prefer larger diaphragm capsule microphones with modular cables fed to the lapel microphones, but it all depends on the amount of space and the right anchor points to mount them in the engine bay. The wiring on the lavaliers and extension cables can be fragile and degrade with prolonged use. If you accidentally close a door on one or they get caught, for the engines I use 6mm XLR cables that end in the 3mm harness of low profile XLR connectors, so I have that peace of mind.

To Ferrari, Jojo opted for an approach multi microphone, using a wide range of brands. One of the most frequently used is the Sennheiser MD 421-II, whose large diaphragm allows it to record high-pressure sounds: “For exhaust pipes, it combines perfectly with an omnidirectional microphone with a large diaphragm and high sound pressure level, with a more attenuated transient response.” For this task, the engineer also decided to use the receptor EK 6042 from Sennheiser and the transmisores evolution wireless serie 500, of which he owns four: “At Ferrari, they were absolutely fundamental to recording the exhaust channels of all the cars.” On the other hand, to capture sounds from the pilot's point of view, Jojo usually chooses the Sennheiser microphone Ambeo VR Mic for its ability to accurately capture the feel of the cabin.

"I've always loved recording and the process of recording, from the early days of tape to now with 32-bit floating point digital recorders. It's incredible to see how things have advanced technologically. I had to record the limiter on the Ferrari 801, the Lancia-Ferrari D50A, and it was truly extraordinary. You don't get to do that often with such iconic cars of this age and value. The MD 421-II took care of capturing that bite in the mid-range and, In terms of transient response, it is one of the best moving coils I have ever used,” he concludes.

https://youtu.be/ERIBTIlVVJQ