The sound team behind Project Harvest are Joss Gardner and Craig Loftus, who have so far covered London and the South West of England and are now embarking on the North of England and Scotland. The pair are travelling around the country in a van containing a portable recording setup, including two DPA 4060 omni-directional microphones with MMA 6000 pre-amp, two 4028 compact wide cardioid microphones, a 4011 cardioid microphone and a Windpac. "We chose the Windpac rather than other wind-proofing systems, because it is more portable and versatile," says Gardner. "It takes up less space and allows us to use it with a variety of microphones."
According to Gardner, the DPA 4060s have proved the most versatile microphones in their collection. "They have been used in a parabolic reflector for such diverse recordings as swans hissing in Wiltshire and wind farms in Cornwall," he says. "We also place them in-ear to make binaural recording, which provides a good stereo image when played out through speakers. This set-up also allows us to record covertly, to record ambiences such as pubs, art galleries etc. Because of their size we can also stick them down pipes, attach them to tap dancers' shoes or put them in beehives to create interesting effects as well as to isolate sounds effectively.
Gardner uses the DPA 4028s as stereo microphone set-up. "We use them for recording ambient atmospheres that don't have to be in surround sound," he says. "We've also lowered them down a mine shaft to record sounds 20 metres below ground, to record wind and rain in the New Forest, artillery fire on Salisbury Plain, fireworks on Bonfire Night, motorway traffic on the M4, cars driving over a cattle grid on Bodmin Moor and snowfall in Cornwall. And so far, the 4011 has been used to record loud sounds such as car engines and exhausts."
(Chris Henry)