This spot for ADT starring Leslie David Baker was a fun but challenging shoot for sound. We started with a gas fireplace playing as a practical that had a fan that that couldn’t be turned off, then ended Leslie’s coverage in a bathtub filled with glycerin soap bubbles. Through careful mic placement we were able to better isolate Leslie’s voice from the roar of the fireplace fan in post, as well as the high-pitched sizzle of thousands of tiny soap bubbles popping in a cavernous, tiled bathroom. Listening back, you’d never know they were there.

Another difficult portion of the shoot was capturing the incredibly dynamic ad-libs of the “Weird Cousin” character opening gifts, which ranged from whispering taunts into Leslie’s ear to full shouts right after one another. This is where the proprietary Neverclip function in my Zaxcom wireless and recorder really came into play, allowing me to capture the full range of the performance without sacrificing fidelity.