Ole Muth – Tonmeister for concert films
Trained musician, Tonmeister VDT, and for many years behind both microphone and camera. Specialising in classical music.
Shaping the sound
At a concert the brain makes up for a lot: an instrument that’s too loud, too much reverb, a part that gets buried. The eye tells the ear what to listen for. A recording has to do all of that by itself – it has to be better than the real thing. Like a good photograph, it sets the mood and leads listeners where you want them. That’s why my work starts long before the concert – with the music itself, conversations with the musicians and the question of how it should sound.
I shape the sound on location: through the choice of microphones, where they’re placed and sometimes how the musicians are positioned. Ideally, just a few high-quality microphones are used, and the sound is already right during the recording. Accelerando recordings have depth and, more often than not, an understated beauty.
The edit serves the music
In audio editing you mainly cut out mistakes – done well, nobody hears a thing. Picture editing is more creative: when to cut, what to show and what to leave out, how quickly the shots change. This is where you can really support a piece, by bringing out details, gestures and musical dialogue. Picture and music should become one.
Preparation, not repair
Anything that’s right before the recording doesn’t need fixing afterwards. Identical cameras recording in sync, framing and lighting set up in advance – just like the microphones. A concert gives you no second chance.
Accelerando Musikproduktion is based in Andernach, between Koblenz and Bonn. From there I mainly work in western Germany and the Benelux countries; longer trips are possible by arrangement.