How ‘Sinners’ sound mixer Chris Welcker depended on DPA microphones on set

Production sound mixer Chris Welcker relied on a DPA microphone package to meet the sonic demands of the IMAX film Sinners.

“The theme itself is kind of hard to explain,” said Welcker. “It’s a multi-genre horror film and period drama that’s very heavy on the music. Because of the period nature of it, everything is unamplified: acoustic guitars with resonators, harmonicas and live vocals.”

To capture these performances, Welcker employed an extensive DPA package, which included 4018 Supercardioid and 4017 Shotgun capsules with a rotation of A, B and C preamp bodies and 4097 Micro Shotguns for plantmilking.

The package also included 4099 Instrument Mics, a 5100 Surround Microphone, and a full set of lavaliers, including 4060, 4061, 6060 and 6061 omnidirectional models. Boom operator Ryan Farris also brought additional DPA options from his music studio.

“DPA was a perfect choice for us because the sonic profile of those microphones is very consistent,” said Welcker. “When you cut together a lavalier and a boom, it’s very easy for the editors to make those sound cohesive. That consistency was huge for us.”

Although pre-recorded studio tracks existed as a backup, Sinners captured performances live on set. Welcker coordinated with the film’s composer to use the same DPA microphones in the studio sessions to ensure tonal continuity. “That gave us consistency if they decided to use any prerecorded tracks,” Welcker explained. “It all blended naturally and gave us the presence of the voice and a perspective that matches what you see visually.”

For instrument-heavy scenes, Welcker used DPA 4099 Instrument Microphones, while using dedicated mounting solutions when instruments fell below frame. “The mounting solutions made it really easy for us to jump in and place things quickly,” he noted. “We didn’t always have a ton of time to make those decisions.”

Creative lavalier placement was critical; for one scene, Welcker had the costume department sew a 4060 into an actor's shirt cuff to capture the intricate sound of guitar playing, while staying invisible on camera.

In reflective environments, Welcker frequently turned to the 4018 capsule for its forgiving pickup pattern. A particularly demanding scene involved a live guitar and vocal performance inside a vintage convertible driving down a gravel road. The capture was complicated by wind, engine rumble and shifting environmental conditions. Welcker combatted these with a 4017 in an overhead mount with a large windscreen to capture vocals, alongside a 4018 with a C preamp hidden near the vehicle's gear shift to capture the detailed guitar sound and lavaliers for redundancy.

“We make decisions on set like, ‘Maybe we should switch to the 4018 because it’s more forgiving of reflections and phasing issues,’” said Welcker. “We threw pretty much every microphone we could at that scene. It gave post-production the options they needed to piece it all together.”

Welcker and the music editor also recorded impulse responses inside the juke joint using a DPA 4018 placed in multiple conditions. “That way, even the reverb used in post was captured through the same DPA microphones we used on set,” he said.

Since Sinners was presented in IMAX, the sound team, which included boom operator Charlie Mascagni and utility technician Emily Poulliard, had to rethink their on-set workflow to protect performance authenticity while managing the unavoidable mechanical noise inherent to IMAX cameras. Welcker’s team recorded numerous on-set wild takes, with sound-only recordings captured on-set after filming a scene, to ensure clean dialogue and musical performances.

“Actors repeated their lines and performances without the camera running, which enabled us to capture the sound free from IMAX camera noise,” explained Welcker. “We also had both boom operators holding mics at different proximities – one tight and one more distant, as well as equipping the actors with lavaliers. The distant mic captured more of the space, which was important for preserving the truth of the environment. 

"This approach gave post-production significantly more flexibility to patch together dialogue and musical moments that might have been compromised by camera noise, as well as helped maintain the acoustic truth of the environment, which was essential to the film’s immersive tone.”

As southern Louisiana presented unique environmental and RF challenges, Welcker found reliability to be just as important as sound quality. “We worked in moist, humid environments, and some other brands just don’t hold up,” he said. "In production sound, equipment failure isn’t just inconvenient; it can cause serious filming delays. One of the most important things about the DPA mics is that they actually work when you need them to work.

"They also seem to be very resistant to RF induction, which ensures reduced interference, cleaner signal integrity and fewer technical interruptions on set. Having microphones that blend naturally and capture both presence and space makes all the difference.”