Award-winning photographer and filmmaker Max Aguilera-Hellweg encountered a potential disaster while shooting a documentary in Singapore about robotics for National Geographic: his Panasonic P2 camera fell and smashed his new Sanken CS-2 short shotgun microphone.
Luckily the mic performed admirably during his filming and he was able to visit Sanken headquarters in Tokyo during his return trip to the US.
“The mic was working fine, but it got badly dented in the accident,” said Aguilera-Hedwig. “I was worried that the electronics would fail, so I contacted Sanken and the response was unbelievable.”
“They immediately invited me to drop by and restored the mic to its original condition.”
Aguilera-Hellweg, who began his still photography career as an assistant to Annie Liebowitz at Rolling Stone, has worked for National Geographic, LIFE Magazine, GEO, Stern, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Fortune, Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, and The London Sunday Times.
His short films have been viewed by 900,000 YouTube viewers, and he regularly shoots video to supplement his still photo features for National Geographic.
In researching shotgun microphone choices for his work, he visited Professional Sound Services in NYC and explained that he was getting too much ambient sound and they suggested the new Sanken CS-2 microphone, well known for it’s ability to target a sound source and achieve great clarity in recording.
“I used it for my coverage of a robotic event in one of the worst situations for audio, a large convention center where they were staging a robotic soccer game,” said Aguilera-Hellweg. “The Sanken CS-2 gave me a very clear sound with great response to the primary sound source I was looking for.”
The CS-2, newest model in Sanken’s comprehensive shotgun microphone line, offers extended reach in a standard length mic, which emulates the operation of much longer shotgun microphones.
“What most impressed me with Sanken, was the response in Tokyo,” said Aguilera-Hellweg. “When a company responds like that, you gain a sense of trust that makes you feel comfortable with the equipment.”
“When you are out there in the field, there are so many variables and you can only depend on the gear and the people behind it. I am trying to bring the full production value of really good sound and Sanken delivers just that.”
