DPA’s d:screet™ 4060 Miniature Microphones proved the perfect choice for sound
recordist David Kamp when he was putting together audio for a new sound library
collection entitled Insects & Swarms.

The clue to what he was recording is in the name – thousands and thousands of
flies, bees, mosquitos and locusts, some of which were recorded individually while
others were captured as part of a large insect swarm.

Kamp, who records and designs sound for animation, art and museum installations,
commercials, short films, games and VR, chose d:screet™ 4060 Miniature
Microphones for this project for their sound quality and because they were small
enough to fit inside tight places such as bee hives and terrariums full of flies.

Based in Berlin, Kamp’s interest in sound recording started in early childhood and
led him to study electroacoustic music composition and sound engineering at the
Folkwang University of the Arts. A few years ago he decided to invest in the best
mobile recording equipment available and actively go out hunting for exciting sound
effects and ambiences to use in his project work. This newly found interest led him
to form Shapingwaves, a company that makes these sounds available to other
sound designers as themed collections.

Kamp’s Insects & Swarms collection began when he needed a sound effect of a long
continuous wing buzz for a project he was working on and realised that his personal
sound library did not cover this.

The project started in Kamp’s studio but he was soon recording beehives in
Germany and cicadas in remote olive groves in Greece. With the help of a doctor
friend at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin he managed to
capture mosquito sounds by recording the insects in the Institute’s massive
Insectariums.

Kamp’s collection was recorded at 96 kHz with the microphones running into either
a Sound Devices 633 or a Sonosax SX-R4+ recorder.

“For the bee hive sounds, I used the 4060s in many different places: on the exterior
left and right of the entrance to get close pass by sounds, and between the racks
containing the hives,’ he says. “Some of my favourite recordings were done by
placing them inside the hive’s box only inches away from the insects. It sounds like
being in another world.’

Despite close exposure to creatures most people would run away from, Kamp says
he has never been stung by any insect bigger than a mosquito in his entire life.

“I am not a big bug enthusiast, so I am pretty happy to be done with these
recordings, but provided you wear protective clothing there’s no real risk. Bees are
quite friendly and not very aggressive. While recording the bee swarms I had
headphones on to monitor the interior mics. Hearing the insects as if they were
right inside my ear did cause some hasty hand gestures!’

Insects & Swarms is now available through Shapingwaves and Kamp has already
used some of the sounds on animated short films.