Last summer, we were asked to provide sound effects for big dramatic production for Lamplighter Theater. The story was set in the era of knights and armor and swordplay, so you can imagine the types of props we were required to use to get just the right sound. One scene included a sword fight between two knights in a rowboat (!). We tried to perform the scene and get the right sound in-studio, but we found it nearly impossible to coordinate the slosh of the boat with the footsteps and sword clanks.

What to do? Well, it only made sense to rent a boat and tow it as far into the mountains as we could go (to get away from any traffic sound). After launching the boat, Rob donned a few pieces of random armor in order to have a good creak and clank with every movement. He then proceeded to have a sword fight with himself…in the boat. We had one mic over the side of the boat to capture the sloshing, and one mic in the boat to capture the clanking and clunking.

The few hikers who wandered by must have thought we were nuts…

The sandy beach was perfect to capture the FX of the knight jumping out of the boat and crunching across the sand. Notice the fancy footwear–We brought all the same props we’d been using in the studio to make sure our sound was consistent. Those blue cowboy boots were a perfect purchase on our last Goodwill run. $25 for the perfect heavy-soled thud.