Science fiction television series Farscape has just come to an end after its fourth series, much to the outrage of its huge international fan base. Made by Channel 9 in Australia and Hensons UK, Farscape built up huge following in the States and in the UK (where it was shown on BBC2). Shot on 35mm film with extremely high production values — particularly in sound production — it makes extensive use of the DPA 4060 miniature mics.
 
"Our show is different to a normal show, it's science fiction therefore we have fairly sound-unfriendly and radio mic-unfriendly costumes not just because of the sound the costumes make but where you can physically put microphones on them," explains sound recordist Ross Boyer.
 

The main reason I use the DPAs is because of their openness, their natural sound quality. They are very good full- bandwidth, open-sounding microphones that, when properly placed, are a very good match with the boom microphones - more than I have experienced with any other miniature mic. They sound like a 'real' microphone not a lavalier."
 
Boyer's choice of microphone on Farscape is sometimes dictated by costume design. "So I have an arsenal of microphone heads that can be fitted onto the costumes. They have to be woven into them so it's not easy. Sometimes a DPA won't be suitable for a particular costume. Apart from that, the DPA is my first choice of microphone on almost all voices. They give the voice air, it doesn't sound closed-in."

Boyer is using a Soundcraft digital console and a Tascam DA98 multitrack digital recorder. "With the eight track DA98 we give the sound editor up to seven tracks; one dedicated to each actor or microphone," he explained. "Sometimes there will be two mics on one actor, one with the transmitter gain set for whispers and the other one attenuated for shouts so as not to overload the preamps in the transmitter. The eighth track on the DA98 is a mono mix of the other seven and is used as a guide track."

Boyer said that the 4060 was also the best match for the microphones which will be used by the actors during Automatic Dialogue Replacement (ADR) after the film is shot. "Some of the dialogue will have to be ADR because of all the noises generated on the set by special effects machines and the costumes worn by the actors. I think the DPAs are an easier match for the bigger studio microphones."