For Bill Kole, composer, sound designer, and founder of Mission Control Productions (missioncontrolproductions.com), capturing authentic audio requires technical precision and artistic intuition. From scoring television projects to voiceover sessions for major video game titles like 2K Games’ NBA and WWE franchises, Kole’s San Fernando Valley facility handles a wide spectrum of sound production. Field-testing a pre-release model of the forthcoming Lectrosonics S1 (lectrosonics.com) supercardioid shotgun microphone, Kole deployed the mic across specialized studio and location setups, praising its smooth frequency response, low noise, and organic acoustic capture.
Kole’s path to studio ownership began in Canada, where he toured as a drummer and guitarist before winning the country’s largest songwriting contest in the early 1990s. The win led to an A&M Records distribution deal and facilitated the move to Los Angeles. With some early success, Kole purchased a facility in Mission Hills to establish Mission Control Productions where he embarked on a career of music production for artists, television and advertising. Today, the now multi-room studio, provides clients with premier ADR, sound design, mobile recording, green-screen video interviews, audiobooks, and facial motion capture for triple-A gaming studios and independent filmmakers alike.
On location, Kole tested the S1 during an outdoor sound effects shoot recording basketball bounces, rim impacts, and net swooshes for sports video game audio, deploying the S1 alongside a 22-microphone array. “When recording outdoor impacts, we wanted an organic capture of the initial strike as well as the subtle secondary reflections surrounding it,” explains Kole. “Where traditional shotguns isolated the impact and choked out the surroundings, the S1 captured the impact with a rich, natural punch while picking up those secondary reflections in a beautifully open way that made the final assets blend seamlessly into our virtual soundscapes.”
Back inside Mission Control Productions, Kole deployed the S1 for close-up voiceover, ADR, and foley efforts where talent performed the sounds of physical impacts, grunts, and movement effects. “For close voiceover and effort sessions, positioning the mic 18 to 24 inches away delivered a wonderful warmth and natural presence,” notes Kole. “It brought an open, flattering clarity to the voice without feeling clinical or tight.”
Whether recording celebrity talent for video games or capturing field recordings under the California sun, Kole values gear that brings a distinct and predictable sonic signature and rock-solid reliability to his workflow.
“My recordings utilizing the S1 revealed just how versatile and ‘musical’ it can be,” Kole concludes. “Lectrosonics has crafted a lightweight, beautifully built mic with a warm, open signature that really elevates close vocal work and ambient impact capture. It has a very unique pattern that is perfect where other mics fall short and is a fantastic addition to any mic locker.”
For more information, visit lectrosonics.com.
