A translation of the 2019 film Joker into a live touring show by London-based concert promotion and production company Senbla Live Events (entitled “Joker, Live in Concert”) saw sound designer and front of house engineer Phil Wright — working with AV production supplier SFL — deploy microphones from DPA, exclusively.
“I’ve always had DPA on strings, but it has been my dream to do a solely DPA show,” says Wright. “Some people were hesitant about whether it would truly make a difference, but now everybody who has heard the show has said that it’s great and there’s a significant uplift. The DPAs have made ‘Joker Live in Concert’ a next level experience.”
The show includes a 48-piece orchestra comprised of conventional strings, brass and woodwinds sections, with 4099 CORE instrument microphones are featured on nearly the entire strings section, with exception of the principal solo cello, which has a 4011-ES compact cardioid mic. The woodwind section has 4011 cardioid mics on every instrument while the percussion section is mainly handled with 2011 twin diaphragm cardioids. The two outliers are the timpani, which utilizes a pair of 4011 cardioids, and the orchestral big brass drum, handled with a shock-mounted 4011.
“When it comes to mics on strings, DPA is an industry standard, the world over,” Wright states. “The inception of the CORE by DPA technology for the 4099 series has been amazing. Even when I had the original 4099s [and 4061s] on strings in the past, I always thought they were great. But then you put CORE 4099s on a string section and you’re aware that the distortion is that much lower, and they are sonically much purer.”
As the orchestra plays alongside the full film, the tour also incorporates unconventional instruments, sound effects and dialogue that are electronically stemmed for performance. In addition to DPA and Wright, the show came together with the help of orchestrator Jeff Atmajian and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. The trio collaborated to re-create musical scores to fit the final edit of the film, compose interlude and outro musical pieces, and put the entire project together for a groundbreaking film experience. Wright built stems and worked alongside Atmajian and Guðnadóttir to create the perfect soundscape to match the film. He also produced all the midi files, punches and streamers, creating a visual guide for Atmajian to keep himself and the orchestra in time with the film.
When not working with Senbla, Wright is found in West London producing immersive audio for Sonosphere, at the Dolby Atmos room in Metropolis Studios, where he also employs DPA mics. “I’m often asked to play back Savoretti’s recording in the studio for demos,” explains Wright. “The sense of space created by the DPAs is so linear and natural that it feels like you are right there with him in the room.”
Having already toured and completed shows in the UK, Iceland, Dubai and Japan, the “Joker, Live in Concert” tour plans to continue the tour and complete a full run through Europe.
