São Paulo, Brazil (December 6, 2021)—Veteran sound mixer Leandro Lima handles all the dialogue for Sintonia, a Brazilian series that entered Netflix’s top 10 in Brazil and top 30 worldwide, using Lectrosonics SMQV Digital Hybrid Wireless transmitters and UCR411a receivers.
Created by Brazilian filmmaker KondZilla, Sintonia is a young adult drama following three friends they navigate living in the favelas (shantytowns) of São Paulo. Narrated from the perspectives of the three main characters who grew up together, Doni, Nando and Rita, the series follows the interconnectedness of music, drug trafficking and religion.
Taking Location Sound to New Heights
“The Sintonia project was a big challenge for the audio team,” says Lima. “We had a lot of scenes with live instruments such as guitars, keyboards, drums and a live band playing while the actors were doing dialogue. Everything went perfectly! This was possible because we had a great team orchestrating these scenes — direction, photography, costume, makeup, electrical. All these departments were in sync with sound team.”
For the dialogue component, Lima used SMQV transmitters and the UCR411a. “São Paulo is one of the worst places in the world to film in terms of sound, because we have a lot of problems with radio frequencies in the air,” he explains. “But I was able to use different blocks and quickly scan for new frequencies on the 411s if there was a problem. So, we were able to work with comfort and tranquility. Shooting a scene with fear that RF won’t work is not good for your health, and Lectrosonics gave us peace of mind about this issue.”
