Miking Seals and Celebrities, One Lav at a Time

Greater Bristol, UK, (March 10, 2025)―Sound recordist and natural history sound specialist Ellie Williams has long used DPA Microphones, deploying the brand’s 6060 CORE subminiature lavaliers on everything from wildlife to public figures.

On the Apple TV documentary Earthsounds, Williams was tasked with capturing the sounds of elephant seals in their natural habitat. “We noticed that the seals were not fond of the boom mics, so I neatly tucked a wireless transmitter and 6060 into a pouch and bongo-tied it onto a piece of driftwood, then gently slid that right under the seals’ noses,” she explains.

“It was the perfect way to record without bothering the animals. Not imposing on the wildlife while we film is really important to me. The fact that I could get a small microphone of DPA quality in there, and capture very lovely recordings without intruding their space was amazing. The mic picked up all the detail of breaths snorts and bellows while I was recording happily up in the dunes; it was magic.”

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Williams also recently deployed the DPA 6060 lavaliers to record in the Amazon rainforest. “I was hoisted up to the level of the tree canopy and had to record myself talking for the behind-the-scenes part of the program, so I stuck a DPA mic in my helmet,” she says. “I couldn’t monitor the sound as it was too distracting, so we had to get the recording right on the first take. For me, the confidence that DPA provides meant that once the mic was setup, I didn’t have to worry about my audio; it worked great.”

Williams also often relies on her DPA 6060s for interviews with high-profile figures and government representatives. Included among these are legendary UK broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough, HRH the Prince of Wales, former U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

“There’s no way I would use anything but DPA lavaliers on all these famous people,” she says. “I’m always amazed by how well the 6060 stands up against a good boom mic; the quality of sound is incredible. The lavaliers are so small that you can easily hide them in plain sight, which helps reduce clothing rustle, and the wires are wonderfully soft and durable.”