Pagosa Creative Records the World with Rycote Microphones and Shields

Partners in creativity and marriage, Jon and Deirdre Rosenberg are Pagosa Creative. The Colorado, USA-based duo specialises in commercial and drone videography, with a special interest in ecosystems and nature. Recent work has taken them from the limpid beaches of Costa Rica to remote mountains in the Sonoran Desert. Capturing pristine audio in such locations is crucial to giving viewers a sense of being there, so they rely on Rycote microphones and accessories. These include the HC-22 shotgun mic and OM-08 omnidirectional mic, protected from handling and wind noise by the Nano Shield kit.

“I want to dive right in and talk about how the HC-22 performed on a recent project,” says Jon Rosenberg. “One of our clients is an influencer in the health and fitness sector, with a YouTube channel. We did a shoot with her in Costa Rica, filming eight hours a day for three days. The location was beautiful visually but less than optimal for audio. It was open-air, there was a lot of wind, and we were also near a pool and jacuzzi whose jets turned on and off unpredictably. I didn’t think any shotgun mic could fully block all that out, but when we reviewed the footage, the HC-22 pretty much did.”

Rosenberg also points out that what the HC-22 does capture is just as important as what it does not. “The build quality of the HC-22 is fantastic,” he observes. “I don’t find myself messing with switches or anything like that, and the sound quality is just incredible. My backup shotgun mic is a different brand, a go-to industry standard, really, and I prefer the Rycote. It’s just so clean. Another of our clients is a podcaster, and she is able to pull all the audio directly off our footage, import it into Adobe Audition, and use it as-is.”

Along with the HC-22, the Rosenbergs also used the OM-08 omni mic for an ambitious shoot documenting the sky island regions of the Sonoran Desert. “Those regions are basically isolated mountain ranges where specific wildlife lives,” Jon explains. “They’re trapped there because they live in these high peaks and can’t make the descent of roughly 7,000 feet to the desert floor. We would go for hikes there with the omni and the shotgun mic, and I was able to pick up incidental sounds like the rattles of rattlesnakes and the calls of many different types of birds. This was a still photography project headed up by my wife, and it was so nice to be able to offer an audio sample of the subject of each image. That really brought the images to life.”

Though Jon and Deirdre appreciate Rycote’s exceptional value for money, they see their customers as its true beneficiary. “I think some of the best feedback we can get as videographers is no feedback. A testimonial is always nice, but when everything goes smoothly and nobody says anything, you know you’ve done a good job. I would recommend Rycote to anyone getting started in commercial, corporate, or nature video. My clients are always so happy with the work I deliver to them.”