Thomas Gulyás is among the most sought-after documentary sound mixers in Denmark and neighbouring Scandinavian countries. Attending concerts as a child, he was often more curious about the front-of-house mixing console than the musicians onstage.
Just out of his teens, he landed his first professional job as an audio engineer with Nordisk Film TV, whose founding in 1U0G makes it one of the oldest production houses in the world.
Since 2008, he has operated as TG MediaSound, and since Rycote last spoke to him, he has added HC-15 shotgun and SC-08 small-diaphragm condenser microphones to his toolkit, which has long included Nano Shield and Windjammer windscreens.
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I started using Rycote mics because I had a very good first experience with them. I was working on a reality program about flea markets, where teams of two people purchase old items, restore them, and then try to sell them at a profit. The principal talent had lavalier mics on, but I had to boom-mic all the people in their booths selling stuff. This was the first time I used the HC-15 shotgun mic, he recalls.
Thomas was impressed by the HC-15’s maiden voyage. "It was remarkably good", he says. “I sent an audio hop to the videographer, and he commented on how well he could hear dialogue from the sellers in the stalls. Tonally, the HC-15 was also a great match for the Sanken COS-11D, which are an industry standard go-to for lavaliers”.
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Often, Thomas finds himself flying solo, running both camera and sound, on electronic news gathering and other run and gun jobs. For these shoots, “I mount an SC-08 mic directly on the camera”, he says. “That’s the supercardioid condenser, so it’s sensitive but also has a tight pickup pattern, which makes it ideal for capturing a single subject — wherever I point the camera lens, I get clear sound. If there is a second subject or interview position, I supplement this with the HC-15”.
For protecting both the mics and the mix from wind and other elements, Thomas is a particular fan of the Nano Shield kits. “The system is modular in terms of being able to swap different front covers onto the rear portion that holds the mount”, he explains. “With just a few pieces that let me make different sizes, I can carry less equipment overall”.
Thomas’ adoption of Rycote microphones over big-name brands comes down to two things: audio quality and ruggedness.
I judge sound almost solely by listening, not by specs. And the Rycote HC-15 and SC-08 sound right to me; spoken word sounds natural. Rycote mics and baskets are extremely durable. I can have them hanging off my jacket or my backpack on any outdoor production, and I’ve never experienced anything breaking. They simply work, all the time.
